Standing in iflix JoBurg empty offices after the abandoned Africa
Media has always been a brutal destroyer of wealth for those who fail to get it rightFT on Quibi's $1.8B launch debacle.
February 2018, I was with my investment bankers doing the rounds trying to raise money for IROKOtv. We had spoken to all the big VC/PE funds for Africa. Our perspective was that we needed local capital who grasped local problems. My problem was, no one believed in our little company. The numbers weren't that pretty. We had spent the best part of 7 years trying to figure out paid content in Africa and still had largely not figured it out. At scale, most people in Africa were not interested in paying for TV + Data. They wanted entertainment, but were resolutely uninterested in paying for it. Fund after fund turned us down flat. What about iFlix? They are better funded and have massive international momentum. What about Kwese? they had a telecoms + broadband mogul as their chairman and had just si...