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Introducing Africa Story
Tell us about yourself and your startup
I am a director and founder of an animation studio that has produced several campaigns for reputable clients as well as an award winning short film. Also a youtube Edutainer, a lover of stories and I’ve had years of experience in the tech media space as an analyst.
My startup is currently called AfricaStory, in a nutshell it’s a streaming service specifically for authentic accurate African edutainment. We are aiming to re-connect the masses with their history as well as plug the massive existing gap of factual, educational media about Africa made by Africans and with African interest at heart.
What led you to where you are today?
It all began with wanting to learn about Nigerian history myself. Being from Nigeria, I was never taught it in school so the best way to learn was to buy books off amazon or a library and read. This was time consuming, daunting and boring… but it was also incredibly eye opening and it annoyed me that the average Nigerian wasn’t aware of this information.
I thought, “How could I fix that?” and voila, my passion project was born, a youtube channel where we teach about nigerian history using a mixture of animation, video editing and comedy to make it fun and easily digestible for the masses.
Soon it took on a life of its own and as many more Africans requested the same thing for their nation, I decided it would be best to grow this library of content and make a real difference in the world. It is my belief that if we can inspire the masses whilst equipping them with the information and knowledge they need, then they are more likely to take charge of their own destiny and make the positive change we all want to see.
What has been the biggest highlight of your Founder's journey so far?
The biggest highlight so far has been being able to create such a sizeable community out of nothing. Discovering people that just like me love learning about African history and hearing them clamour for us to make more content.
I’ve also been successful in securing some grant funding from the Future Boss programme which I’m now using to make some new exclusive content for the newly launched streaming service and I’m looking forward to meeting more individuals that can help this business grow.
What lessons have you learnt that you would like to pass on?
If you’re working on something that is as community focused as what we’re doing, then don’t be afraid to ask for some help from the community. You’ll be surprised at what people are willing to do to help.
If you could invite anyone to join the Black Valley community, who and why?
I would love to invite Jeremiah Emmanual BEM to join the black valley community as he’s a young inspiring entrepreneur that’s working on a pretty cool idea for brands to connect with their customers in an interactive, gamified manner and I believe his idea has a lot of potential.
Final thoughts?...
I believe I’m in the most exciting part of my journey as I’m constantly discovering and exploring new opportunities/avenues for my business every day, building a team and learning so much about the startup process. It can be disheartening when you feel stuck or lost but so electrifying when you identify a way to continue.
I am eager to increase my social capital through the Black Valley programme and I sincerely believe that putting my startup through the fire of multiple criticism will only result in it being a more solid idea in the end.
