Sony launches $10m fund to support African entertainment startups

The fund has been established to invest in seed- to early-stage startups in the gaming, music, film and content distribution sectors. Sony will allocate $10m towards such investments at first.

Since its inception in 2016, the broader Sony Innovation Fund has supported the growth of its portfolio companies by providing opportunities for collaboration, ranging from the provision of Sony-owned technologies to joint development and business alliances. It says that through the Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, it will continue to make value-added investments, and potential expansion will be considered based on its progress.

To see through the launch of the Africa fund, Sony has collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a global development institution and World Bank Group member that focuses on the private sector. The IFC actively invests in emerging countries, including African startups. 

IFC managing director Makhtar Diop said: “We are excited about our collaboration with Sony, aimed at generating value for businesses in Africa’s creative industry. This partnership will harness IFC’s expertise in emerging markets and our extensive investments in the digital landscape. Sony’s exceptional track record as a leading global player in entertainment, media and technology positions us well to contribute to the economic growth of the creative sector.” 

Sony has been participating in the ecosystem of new business creation around the world and has supported the business growth of startup companies through its Sony Innovation Fund (2016), which invests in seed- to early-stage companies, the Innovation Growth Fund (2019), the Sony Innovation Fund: Environment, which supports companies addressing global environmental issues, and the Sony Innovation Fund 3 (2022), the successor to the Innovation Growth Fund.

“Sony Group has been fostering next-generation technologies and startups and promoting open innovation through its corporate venture capital activities to date,” Sony Group Corporation executive deputy president and chief strategy officer Toshimoto Mitomo said. “Through the activities of Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, we hope to accelerate the growth of the African entertainment industry and contribute to the progress and development of the region by providing opportunities for collaboration with the entertainment businesses within the group. And I am confident that our collaboration with the IFC, which has a strong presence in emerging markets, will enhance this activity by leveraging both parties’ strengths.”