French Football Stars Kick In for African Creator Economy Startup StarNews in Pre-Series A Round

Star News Mobile, a platform that helps African creators make money, just raised $3 million in a funding round led by Janngo Capital. They’ve gathered almost $8 million in total from investors like LoftyInc Capital and Expert Dojo.

In this round, StarNews got support from famous footballer Jules Koundé, along with Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni and AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

StarNews, founded by Guy Kamgaing in 2017, was created to help African creators make money. They work with telecom companies like MTN and Orange in countries like Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, and Benin.

Right now, they have 4 million active users and partner with 120 content creators. They provide funding and support to these creators, as well as creating local content.

By using content from the 2021 African Cup of Nations and sponsoring a Fally Ipupa concert, they attracted 600,000 new users and gained 500,000 subscribers. Fally Ipupa, a major creator on the platform, has nearly a million subscribers. Other creators include Nigerian dancer Kaffy and Cameroonian musician Lady Ponce.

Monetizing content for African creators has been tricky, but StarNews seems to have found a solution. They paid out $1 million to creators in 2022, with an average of $70,000 monthly. They also recently announced the StarNews Mobile Creator Fund, which provides upfront payments to creators using an AI model to determine potential payments.

Most of StarNews’ users are from Francophone Africa, but with more funding, they plan to expand. By 2024, they aim to be in 11 countries and strengthen their presence in Nigeria and Ghana.

Fernand Tchouameni, who speaks for Aurélien Tchouameni, said, “I am very excited and proud to back StarNews, the first media platform that supports African creators and tells the world the real African story. Being of Cameroonian descent, I can also see StarNews becoming a bridge to connect with the African diaspora, and I personally look forward to being on it,”