A brand new fund to help African companies has been established by Sony Group by way of its ventures arm – titled the Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF: AF) – with $10 million allotted to go to startups in movie, music and, in fact, gaming.
This follows the preliminary closing of the Sony Innovation Fund 3 which backed rising tech companies, investing $215 million in complete.
Leisure is the underdog
Whereas funding for African firms is predominantly given to fintech – comprising almost half of all enterprise capital final yr on the continent – Sony’s fund is as a substitute specializing in leisure.
The Sub-Saharan African video games market noticed an 8.7% year-on-year income rise in 2022, demonstrating the urge for food for video video games and thus the benefits additional funding would possibly carry. With cellular gaming main the cost in relation to progress price, some consider Africa to be “the following frontier”.
Sony Ventures’ fund will deal with seed rounds and early-stage investments, however may also supply help with additional investments in its portfolio enterprises. Prior to now, help has meant collaboration alternatives for roughly 40% of its portfolio firms who’ve strategically partnered with Sony sooner or later. There’s a trace that this may also apply to firms benefiting from the brand new African fund.
“The leisure subject has been a key space of focus for Sony Innovation Fund because the starting and can proceed to be. Africa, specifically, has a vibrant group of creators and entrepreneurs trying to invent new methods to boost leisure experiences for audiences and that propelled Sony to ascertain SIF: AF,” mentioned Sony Ventures CEO Gen Tsuchikawa.
“Since Sony’s leisure enterprise group is exploring and supporting younger proficient creators in Africa, this fund may also attempt to help these creators and the expansion of leisure enterprise in Africa in numerous methods equivalent to offering applied sciences, collaborating with creators, mental property, and contents, advertising and marketing help, and others which Sony can contribute.”
Sony Group Company government vice chairman Toshimoto Mitomo added: “Sony Group has been fostering next-generation applied sciences and startups and selling open innovation by way of its company enterprise capital actions. Via the actions of Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, we hope to speed up the expansion of the African leisure trade and contribute to the progress and improvement of the area by offering alternatives for collaboration with the leisure companies throughout the Group.”
Sony Ventures has surpassed 100 investments complete throughout robotics, AI, leisure and different sectors.
Final month, Spectarium raised €5 million through its seed spherical to bolster personalised AI RPG Myths.
