NIGERIA: Nokia Signs Deal with ‘iROKOtv’

Streaming ‘Nollywood’ movie service iROKOtv has partnered with Nokia NOK1V.HE +1.80% to launch the Nigerian company’s first mobile app, exclusively on the Windows Phone platform, the company announced Tuesday.

For the struggling Finnish phone giant the deal is a way of trying to build momentum. While Nokia is a major brand in Nigeria, and has done other content deals on its lower-spec Asha range, this tie-up with the Lagos- and London-based Company is designed to build awareness for its Lumia range.

For iROKOtv, the deal is about getting access to Nigerian consumers, although the offer is open to any Lumia owner worldwide. A deal in France between Paris-based streaming music service Deezer and Orange resulted in a huge uptake in Deezer users in France. Given that the deal targets just Lumia phones it won’t be on that scale.

Nollywood is the name given to the Nigerian movie business; second only to India’s industry in terms of the number of titles released a year.

Jason Njoku, CEO and Founder of iROKO Partners, said Nokia engineers had worked with iROKOtv to help them build the app. “Most importantly, they have helped to optimize it for Nigeria’s networks.”

Mr. Njoku expected Lumia users in Nigeria, who will get the first three months access to iROKOtv’s premium service free, mainly to access the library of 5,000 movies over Wi-Fi networks, although “a lot done technically with this app to make it feasible to use on 3G.”

The app will give customers extras including interviews with Nollywood stars and additional news.

Outside of the Nigerian community iROKOtv is something of an unknown. Formed in 2010 by Mr. Njoku, multiple-times failed entrepreneur living in the U.K., he had moved back in with his mother. She asked him to find some Nollywood movies to watch online. When he was unsuccessful he realized there was a huge untapped market.

The company-started life as a YouTube channel before launching as a company in its own right in 2010.

While the company has been successful in targeting the Nigerian ex-pat community mainly in London and New York, where the company has offices, reaching African consumers has been harder he said.

“2013 is Africa year. We are very focused on finding African solutions. There are more people using iROKOtv in London than there is in the whole of Nigeria. This is ridiculous.”

Mr. Njoku closed an $8 million funding investment round from Tiger Global in April 2012.