MICHAEL MAPONGA H’24
A streaming service for Black movies and TV from around the world
Growing up in Harare, Zimbabwe and then Dallas, Texas, Maponga was always struck by the lack of availability of authentically African stories. Africa was largely invisible in the global film and TV landscape with African voices relying on Hollywood, only to be let down by inauthentic portrayals. Despite Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, being the world’s second-largest film industry, global distribution for Pan African stories remained scarce.
As a seasoned media entrepreneur and actor with more than 15 years’ experience in the global entertainment industry, spanning the US, Africa, Europe and Asia, Maponga wanted to empower Black creators to authentically reach global audiences and bring valuable and often overlooked stories from the African diaspora to US audiences. He founded AfroLandTV in 2015, built on an empowerment model that aims to give African writers, directors and performers a platform to tell their own stories and share them with the world.
“My dream is to build the largest film studio in Africa, producing some of the most remarkable stories from the continent.”
Enabling Africans to value their stories
AfroLandTV tackles underrepresentation by offering Black, African and Nollywood content to unite global Black communities through entertainment thereby promoting cultural enrichment and bringing a sense of pride to African ancestral roots. The streaming service celebrates Pan African stories and voices and is the go-to platform for Black audiences in the United States where it serves 2 million monthly users. With diverse content from Africa, the US, Caribbean, Europe and South America, AfroLandTV’s 5 000+ hours of Pan African stories invites audiences to rediscover their ancestral roots and ignite African pride. Content is either accessed via their platform/app or through 3rd party distribution partners. The platform also offers two live TV channels (AfroLandTV & AfroKiddos).
AfroLandTV not only fosters diversity in media and provides an inclusive, authentic space for global Black stories but represents a $50 billion opportunity to serve underserved Black audiences worldwide. With partnerships with Comcast, Roku and Samsung, AfroLandTV is the leading destination for Pan African stories.
The platform is backed by media conglomerate, Comcast NBCUniversal, and reaches millions of audiences in the US through distribution partnerships with Comcast, Roku, Vizio, TCL, Xumo and Peacock. Their primary business model is advertising and TV commercials, which allows AfroLandTV to keep the platform free for its viewers while driving rapid growth. In 2024, AfroLandTV signed their biggest advertising partner in Amazon (Prime) and have worked with other major advertisers such as Nissan & General Motors. Despite limited capital and a lean team, the company is experiencing year-on-year revenue growth.
In 2024, Maponga launched Maponga Studios, a film and television production company dedicated to producing premium Pan-African stories, aiming to elevate African narratives on the international stage. Through Maponga Studios, Maponga envisions building an ecosystem of infrastructure to create a sustainable African film industry.
Both Maponga Studios and AfroLandTV are part of Maponga’s broader mission to bring authentically told African stories to a global audience.
LEARN MORE ABOUT AFROLANDTV
AfroLandTV is a streaming service for Black movies and TV from around the world.
Celebrating the global Black diaspora
ABOUT MICHAEL MAPONGA
Maponga has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is an entrepreneur, actor and executive producer with 15+ years of experience in the entertainment industry. His work has spanned internationally from US, Africa, Europe and Asia. The start-up was selected for Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs accelerator in 2020 and Berlinale’s 2020 start-up class.
I AM A HARAMBEAN
Maponga wants to be part of a community that not only challenges but inspires him to evolve as a leader and to drive entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa. He believes that the value of a passionate, Africa-centric support network is immeasurable.
“I want to inspire the next generation of African storytellers whose stories can resonate with and influence millions globally.”