StarNews Mobile, a Cameroonian mobile video network, raised $3 million pre-Series A funding.
Africa-focused venture capital firm Janngo Capital led the investment, although French footballers Aurélien Tchouaméni of Real Madrid, Jules Koundé of Barcelona, and Mike Maignan of AC Milan invested.
The three players, managed by Excellence Sports Nation, an athlete representation firm, join a growing list of French-descent football stars investing in the region. Francophone startups receive less funding than English-speaking ones.
Some analysts believe the linguistic barrier between English-speaking investors, the continent’s most significant investor group, and Francophone businesses may have lowered investment levels. Francophone Africa’s strict regulatory environment has prevented international investors and encouraged them to prefer Anglophone economies, contributing to the funding gap.
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“Francophone Africa inherited the French system’s bureaucracy, heavy administration, and governance style; processes and regulations can be stricter than in other regions,” said Coura Sene, Wave’s General Manager for the eight French-speaking WAEMU countries.
As a Cameroonian, Tchouaméni supports these founders who speak their tongue. I love supporting StarNews […] Fernand Tchouameni, spokesperson and investment advisor for Aurelien Tchouameni, loves appearing on StarNews as a gateway to the African diaspora.
Top French male football stars earn an average of €33,927 per year and have several sponsorship deals, so they see this as an opportunity to grow their region and diversify their financial portfolios.
Édouard Mendy, former Chelsea goalkeeper and Senegalese national team footballer, contributed $5 million in Julaya’s pre-Series A extension last year. Mendy made its first African IT investment.
Football stars and other high-net-worth individuals in the sports business participate in venture capital for two reasons, according to Julaya co-founder and CEO Mathias Léopoldie: “The first one is that even though it’s a risky asset, it brings great returns. Second, they need to use their image to indicate that they care about their sports profession and wish to inspire their country.
Former French player Blaise Matuidi and former English star Kieran Gibbs supported Bloom, a Sudanese fintech, in its $6.5 million seed round with Visa and Y-Combinator.
Non-francophone Africa trend
Footballers like Wilfred Ndidi of Nigeria and Rudzani Ramudzuli of South Africa are also investing in African startups outside Francophone Africa.
African digital entrepreneurs also invest in local football clubs. Shola Akinlade, co-founder and CEO of Paystack, founded Sporting Lagos last year to develop Nigeria’s football talent. As of this year, Akinlade owns 55% of Aarhus Fremad, which leads the Danish 2nd Division, the third division of Danish football.
Shola stated Sporting Lagos and Aarhus Fremad should deepen their partnership to establish an environment that promotes education, progress, and opportunity for players and the community.