Orange Digital Ventures, Orange’s special fund with the aim of investing in early-stage tech startups, just announced its participation, alongside TheFamily, Cross Culture Ventures I L.P. and ACE & Company, in the funding of Afrostream, a subscription video on demand service (SVOD) of African, African-American and African-Caribbean films and tv series.
Afrostream’s unlimited SVOD streaming service is available in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Senegal and on the Ivory Coast and is now looking into accelerating its development in Europe, Africa, the Carribean and South America.
On its side, Orange is not new to the startup, which was already supported by Orange Fab France and Y Combinator, and this additional investment illustrates its constant support to talented entrepreneurs through a combination of measures made available to start-ups, from the acceleration program to early stage financing.
Taking advantage of its sound presence in African and Europe, Orange will facilitate Afrostream’s development by providing its expertise in networks, distribution and payment.
“This investment is part of ODV’s ambition to finance services that are able to address different geographical areas in which Orange is present. It will enable us to develop the video-ondemand market, particularly in Africa. It will also enable us to enrich the content we already offer to our customers in France, as Afrostream should be launched on Orange TV by next summer.” – Pierre Louette, Deputy CEO of Orange and President of Orange Digital Ventures
Tonjé Bakang, CEO of Afrostream, commented – “The future of television is mobile. With this strategic investment by Orange, Afrostream now brings together the best of the mobile internet and the best of African content. This new alliance will enable us to revolutionize the entertainment industry and to reach all audiences.”