The February 1, 2023 edition of Africa 500 features guests DeShuna Spencer of KweliTV and Stephen Selaise Asuo of Young Africa Media Center and YALI TV.
DeShuna Spencer is a social impact executive who is the founder & CEO of KweliTV, a global streaming service that curates the largest library of indie Black films & docs from across the globe.
As a former journalist & radio host, DeShuna’s work focuses on the intersection of media images and implicit bias. She speaks frequently on media representation, diversity in the streaming & the OTT space, social entrepreneurship, the effects of Black trauma content, challenges & opportunities in the media landscape, starting a media tech venture, women in media & tech, and her journey as a Black founder.
For years, Spencer had dreamed of building a service that told Black stories, with a focus on independent films and documentaries. But as a former journalist and magazine editor, she had no connections in Hollywood, no tech programming knowledge, and practically no budget. Getting the service off the ground and keeping it afloat has been a constant challenge.
But after launching KweliTV in 2016, Spencer’s work is finally starting to pay off. While the service still operates on a small scale, with 47,000 registered users who have access to 600 pieces of content, she recently raised $100,000 from New Media Ventures, plus another $100,000 and counting through the crowdfunded investment site Republic. The actor and comedian Lil Rel Howery also began curating comedy programming for the service in 2020, and in January, Apple picked KweliTV as one of five apps to showcase from Black app developers.
Being a niche streaming player is never easy, and the list of failed ventures is long. But as major streaming services become more expensive, bloated, and cumbersome to navigate, it may create an opportunity for smaller companies with a more specific point of view–KweliTV among them.
“We’re really about changing the Black narrative, and that means everyone—no matter what they look like—we want them to experience the Black experience from our perspective,” Spencer says.
https://www.deshuna.com
https://www.kweli.tv
Stephen Selaise Asuo is a Mediapreneur and Communications Consultant. He has over 10+ years’ work experience in community engagements and advocacy working with NGOs and CSOs across Ghana. He has focused his work on issues of communication, education and access to information.
Currently he is the founder/CEO of Young Africa Media Center and general manager of YALI TV, a fast-growing online television channel dedicated to tell the stories and impacts of YALI Alumni and young leaders across Africa. He leads over 100 YALI TV Correspondents and associates across Africa, and the channel has covered major events on the continent in English, Portuguese and French. He is also the coordinator of the Black History Festivals which began in 2022. The 2023 Black History Festival will take place in Columbus Ohio.
As he continues to develop content best in value-based leadership, Stephen aspires to be a renowned Media Entrepreneur and Development Communication Consultant in Ghana. Steven hopes to transform the socioeconomic fortunes of the continent through a renewed media vision for Africa through leadership, storytelling and peer partnerships.
https://www.youngafricamediacenter.com
https://blackhistoryfestivals.com
Listen to the February 1, 2023 show here:
Africa 500 broadcasts every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on HANDRadio’s Web site, in an update of this post and on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).
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AFRICA500
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
https://handradio.org
https://kuumbareport.com
https://webuyblack.com
https://kweli.tv