SVOD service iflix launches African office

Subscription VOD service iflix has opened an office in Cape Town as it launches a plan to offer streaming content in sub-Saharan Africa.

iflix Africa will be based in South Africa, and is planning initial SVOD service launches in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Q2 and Q3 of this year.

This is to target Africa’s young adult populations, and take advantage of rapidly improving internet services and increasing smartphone penetration.

Andre de Wet, former CEO of South African shopping comparison site PriceCheck, will lead iflix Africa. “We are passionately focused on providing the broadest selection of premium content at a price everyone can afford,” he said.

The African move comes two years after iflix launched in Asia, where it is now in 18 territories (including the MENA region) and has more than five million members.

It also follows the completion of a US$90 million funding round that saw the likes of Liberty Global and Zain Group join Sky, Ctacha Group and Evolution Media has significant investors in the business.

“The establishment of iflix Africa represents an incredibly exciting step in iflix’s growth story,” said iflix co-founder and CEO Mark Britt. “As Africa transitions from the margins to the mainstream of the global economy, there is a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally shift the way a billion people consume and enjoy content.

“By 2020, Africa will have 720 million smartphone users. We aim to meet the entertainment needs of those growingly connected viewers.”

The iflix service offers thousands of TV shows and movies from Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood (Nigeria), plus other local and regional programming. iflix Africa plans to introduce exclusive series from the continent.