In 2010, a young Nigerian-British entrepreneur named Jason Njoku noticed that Nigerian films were hard to find legally online, especially for Nigerians living abroad. He began licensing films and uploading them to a YouTube channel called NollywoodLove. It attracted huge numbers of views. Soon after, he launched iROKOtv, a subscription streaming service for Nollywood. Dubbed “the Netflix of Africa,” it raised millions of dollars from investors and became one of the most talked about African tech companies of the 2010s.
Jason Njoku and the launch
Jason Njoku was born in London to Nigerian parents. Before iROKO, he had tried several business ventures, some unsuccessfully. The YouTube channel NollywoodLove offered free Nollywood films supported by advertising, proving there was demand online. iROKOtv launched as a dedicated streaming service in 2011, offering Nollywood films to subscribers around the world. The company attracted investment from international firms, including Tiger Global, making it one of the best-funded African startups of its time.
Nigerians in Britain, the United States and elsewhere were among its first and most loyal customers.
Licensing, ROK and competition
iROKO bought digital rights to thousands of Nollywood films, giving producers a new income stream. The company set up ROK Studios to produce original films and series, led by Mary Njoku, Jason’s wife, an actress and producer. Expensive data, slow internet and payment difficulties made streaming hard in Nigeria, and the company adjusted its strategy several times.
Netflix, Showmax and Amazon later entered the market, increasing competition for viewers and content. In 2019, ROK Studios was acquired by Canal+, the French media group. iROKOtv helped Nollywood find digital audiences and showed that African content could attract global investors.
Lessons and Mary Njoku
Its story illustrates both the promise and the difficulty of building tech businesses in Africa, where infrastructure and payments can slow even the best ideas. Many later African streaming services followed paths that iROKO pioneered, from licensing back catalogues to commissioning original series for local audiences. Mary Njoku, an actress and producer, became a leading figure in Nollywood through ROK Studios, overseeing a large slate of films and series.
iROKOtv started with a YouTube channel and a hunch about Nigerians abroad. The streaming giants that followed it into Africa found the hunch had been right.
