Meet the Entrepreneurs
Marodi TV January 2014
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marodi tv
CONTACT INFORMATION
An easily accessible and affordable platform to watch African TV content and video on demand
Dakar, Senegal
+33 6 29 23 20 36
contact@maroditv.fr, serigne.ndour@maroditv.fr
www.marodi.tv
Serigne Massamba Ndour, Patrick Kengne, and Nourou Dina Issaka, Senegal
CHALLENGE Africans living on other continents often do not have access to African television (TV) or video content from their home country as access to TV channels is either too limited, too expensive to obtain, or channels broadcasting African content beyond its borders simply do not exist. As a result, several online platforms have emerged offering local African content. However, those platforms either offer a replay of specific TV content or video on demand (VoD). No medium exists providing a low-cost and easily available platform to access TV content as well as to view VoD.
“MARODI TV DEVELOPED OUT OF A GROWING DESIRE TO EASILY ACCESS AFFORDABLE VIDEO AND TELEVISION CONTENT FROM THEIR HOME COUNTRY WHILE LIVING OR TRAVELING IN OTHER AREAS OF THE WORLD.”
IDEA The entrepreneurs of Marodi TV, Serigne Massamba Ndour from Senegal, Patrick Kengne from Cameroon, and Nourou Dina Issaka from Benin, met while studying telecommunications in France. These three creative minds realized that access to African TV and local video content was limited and costly. After some brainstorming, they came up with the idea of developing an online platform that would allow users to replay TV shows they had missed earlier, as well as access to VoD. The entrepreneurs launched the platform in January 2012 focusing primarily only on Senegal; one year later, Marodi TV expanded to offer content from Cameroon. Apart from the online platform, the mobile application Marodi.tv was developed and is now available on iOS/ Android smartphones and tablets. During the fall of 2013, Marodi TV emerged as one of the winners of infoDev’s VentureOut Challenge, and received USD10,000 in seed funding. This financial support was key for the start-up to expand the business internationally.
“DUE TO ITS FOCUS ON THE AFRICAN DIASPORA IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES, MARODI TV HAS BEEN INTERNATIONAL FROM DAY ONE.”
/maroditv
@maroditv
BUSINESS MODEL Though Marodi TV’s target market is the African diaspora in Europe and the United States, a small share of users also enjoy the platform from within their home countries. 80% of Marodi TV’s user base is made up of viewers connecting from outside Africa’s borders, with the remaining 20% viewing from within the continent. Marodi TV has partnered with more than 30 content producers such as Senepeople, Senegal TV, and Yoro to offer African content on its platform. The start-up is competing with various TV and video content providers in the market, such as Irokotv and YouTube. However, the start-up’s competitive advantage lies in what its product offers, as Marodi TV enables users to not only replay TV content, but also to view content on demand (such as the 13,000 videos the platform has made available). Per month, Marodi TV has over 2.3 million video views, and has attracted over 400,000 visitors, though the entrepreneurs aim to reach one million visitors by the end of 2014. The Marodi TV app has so far been downloaded more than 30,000 times. In 2013, the entrepreneurs also added the social component ‘Marodi Connect’; users are now able to comment and share their opinions on the content they view. The content is offered for free to attract as many users as possible. To monetize the platform, Marodi TV currently sells advertisements that come before, after, or alongside video and TV content. In the future, Marodi TV aims to offer its platform for a fee to content producers that have catalogs of content which are currently not available on a digital platform. Additionally, the team plans to develop a revenue model in which they aim to earn revenue from partnerships with handset and device manufacturers, as well as telecommunications operators.
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
ENTREPRENEUR’S INSIGHTS
NEXT STEPS
WORKING WITH infoDev
Identify investors and sources of funding • TRY TO SECURE ENOUGH FUNDING: As with many young technology start-ups, access to sufficient funding that will allow them to continue building and scaling up the business remains a challenge. • KNOW YOUR COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE: A business needs to know its competitors and develop a unique product line to successfully compete in the market.
Expand to other African countries (Benin, Ivory Coast) Expand the product line to include other complementary online platforms in order to cross-promote Marodi TV
PROGRAM: VentureOut Challenge 2013 SUPPORT PROVIDED: USD10,000 cash award, mentoring and online coaching to support internationalization MAIN BENEFITS FROM ENTREPRENEUR’S VIEW: • Six months of mentorship support helped the team to raise further funds that were essential in scaling up the business.
“EXPENSIVE INTERNET ACCESS CREATES A BARRIER TO USERS ACCESSING OUR PLATFORM.”
• Through online coaching the entrepreneurs acquired the necessary skills to analyze the market and develop a competitive product.
KEY OUTCOMES VALUE FOR USERS Bring African TV and video content to the African diaspora: Marodi TV meets a need by providing low-cost and easily accessible African content to countries within the continent and overseas. Create a market environment for African video on demand: Marodi TV’s online platform offers an additional distribution channel for content creators.
BUSINESS FACTS INVESTMENT ATTRACTED
USD10,000
JOBS CREATED
10
USERS REACHED
(winner of VentureOut Challenge, 2013)
Supported by:
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
30,000+ downloads 400,000+ individual visitors per month 2.3 million video views per month 30,000 likes on Facebook