Businessman Jason Njoku explains why a dilemma facing his mum was the inspiration for him to launch his online Nigerian film distribution platform,
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| Jason Njoku |
“I’VE BEEN to Nigerian parties and one of the first things they ask you is: ‘Who do you work for? And ‘what level are you at?’”
Jason Njoku is all too familiar with the expectations of many Nigerian elders, who want their young peo- ple to be in “organised employment by becoming doctors, lawyers or accountants.” But the budding businessman always had other ideas.
Growing up in south London with his Nigerian mother, Njoku always boasted a sense of determina- tion. So by the time he reached university, he had his sights set on success and fortune.
“I read so many business books and when I left uni- versity, I told everyone around me that I was going to be rich,” Njoku recalls. “I told them by the time
I was 40, I would be worth 40 million dollars. They all laughed at me, but that was what I planned to do.
“I was broke and desperate and desperate people do some crazy things. I knew there was money out there to be made and I was determined to find a way to make it.”
Enter the early blueprint for iROKOtv. Upon discov- ering Nollywood’s popularity – and an apparent void when it came to capturing the value of Nigerian film content – Njoku decided to capitalise on this market.
The fact that his own mum struggled to decipher “what content was good and what wasn’t”, provided the perfect inspiration for the aspiring entrepreneur to turn his attention to Nigerian films.
“Nollywood has been a phenomenon for the past 20 years, so I was actually quite late to it,” says Njoku, who set up iROKOtv in 2011. “For me, the inspira- tion was my mum, who really struggled to find con- tent. She’d go to the local ‘mom and pop’ stores and along with buying yam and plantain, she’d buy Nollywood movies.
“But there was no differentiator; no awareness of what content was good and what wasn’t. iROKOtv is the bridge that allows people to see what content they’re getting.”
He continues: “It has changed the Nigerian film in- dustry, fundamentally. There was this huge discon- nect between the millions of people around the world who loved the content and being able to capture that value. iROKOtv has captured some of that value. We’re one of the biggest acquirers of Nigerian cin- ema content and we put that back into the market, selling to users in over 100 countries.”
Considering the secret to the success of Nollywood, Njoku says: “The analogy I like to use is EastEnders. If you came from Nigeria and sat down to watch Eas- tEnders, you wouldn’t get it. Similarly, if an American came to the UK and started watching EastEnders, they probably wouldn’t get it either. But it’s that real, gritty drama; that amplification of our own existence hat makes it popular in the UK.
“It’s the same with Nollywood. The people, the names, the strong presence of religion, the extended family – those elements that we can relate to. The religious element in particular is key. In a Nollywood film, you’ll probably always hear someone say, ‘to God be the glory’ or something along those lines.”
He continues: “We believe in Nigerian and Nollywood content and iROKOtv is essentially a means of bring- ing Nollywood to people around the world, across all devices, primarily their mobile phones. We’re es- sentially distributors and facilitators who bring people closer to Nollywood content.”
With the company boasting huge success, is Njoku’s mum – who, at one point, urged her son to “get a proper job” – fully on board with his decision to not become a doctor or a lawyer?
“When you’re on the BBC and CNN, it’s a very visible success – so my mum’s friends know who I am,” he laughs. “But more importantly, her friends were some of the earliest users of iROKOtv so they know what the company is about.
“We’re still growing and developing, but we’ve raised 24 million dollars. And when your son raises 24 mil- lion dollars, there’s not much you can say except, ‘Thank God’.”
Source: Voice-Online News
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