Sony Group has announced the establishment of the Sony Innovation Fund: Africa to invest in the entertainment industry in Africa, with an estimated $1000 million in funding to support the growth of new startups in gaming, music, film and content distribution.
Sony has currently made over 100 investments through its funds in consumer and enterprise sectors, including entertainment, robotics, artificial intelligence, mobile, fintech, healthcare, logistics, and software as a service (SaaS).
Last year, Sony also raised a total of US$2.15 million in three fundraising rounds for its Innovation Fund, aiming to foster new startups in various sectors. The newly established Sony Innovation Fund: Africa aims to invest in African startups with significant growth potential.
While many startup investors are targeting Africa's financial technology sector, which has considerable development potential, and logistics, healthcare, and mobile travel are also promising areas for startups, Sony is focusing its investments on the entertainment and content industries.
Sony stated that due to its own creative entertainment and technological capabilities, it hopes to tap into new creative potential by investing in more industries in the same field. The Sony Innovation Fund, established in 2016, also focuses on the entertainment sector, hoping to enhance the audience's entertainment experience through innovative means.
Judging from the overall investment situation, Africa's gaming, music, film, and content distribution industries do have considerable development potential. However, as of 2022, this industry has actually received US$4200 million in investment, accounting for only 0.9% of all new venture capital investment in Africa. Sony, however, values the future growth momentum of this sector.
Taking the gaming industry as an example, according to statistics from market research firm Newzoo and South African game and digital content publisher Carry1st, the market value of the gaming market in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow to more than US$2024 billion in 10.
At the same time, the number of video subscriptions in Africa is expected to increase from 2021 million at the end of 489 to 2027 million in 1370, while revenue is expected to increase from US$2021 million at the end of 6.23 to US$2027 billion in 20. Streaming video companies such as Netflix and Amazon have also begun to increase their investment in African film content, and even African music has begun to attract investment from global record companies in recent years.
