Mansa has raised $8 million to build a streaming service for Black culture

A streaming service that centers Black culture and content is emerging out of stealth. Mansa, which has raised $8 million in seed funding, is led by a group of actors and entrepreneurs that includes Emmy nominee David Oyelowo.

At launch, Mansa’s library includes more than 1,500 hours of licensed content. The platform blends several different content formats in one place: Mansa is a cross between a VOD service, a free ad-supported television (FAST) hub, a social network, and a short-form video app.

Film financier Zak Tanjeloff co-founded Mansa alongside actors Oyelowo, Chiké Okonkwo, and Nate Parker. He told TechCrunch that the platform is a “streaming platform for curated global Black culture” that will be delivered “to the world for free.”

Rather than competing with Black-oriented subscription services like BET+ and ALLBLK, Mansa is catering to consumers in the FAST lane. It has pointed to a 2021 Nielsen study, which found that Black viewers make up 40% of the audience on Tubi and 36% on Pluto TV. Mansa’s free, ad-supported offering will appeal to those viewers with a mix of on-demand programming and live channels.

Mansa will also appeal to Gen Z and Millennial consumers by incorporating a TikTok-style feed on its mobile app. The feed will highlight Black creators by aggregating a stream of popular posts from YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

That won’t be the end of Mansa’s relationship with creators. The young company is developing a fund that will support 100 Black filmmakers, and it has plans to launch original programming. The partners responsible for those shows will receive equity in Mansa.

“Black culture is at the forefront of global culture. Yet at the same time, only the tip of the iceberg has been cultivated and propagated; we’re here to showcase the true breadth and depth of it for a Global audience,” Oyelowo said in a statement. “We aim to change the paradigm around creator fairness, resolving to address long-felt challenges in the industry through addressing, ownership, transparency, and community on a foundational level.”

MaC Venture Capital led Mansa’s $8 million seed round. There are some big names on the platform’s investor list. DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg is contributing through his firm WndrCo, and NBA legend/Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson is backing Mansa through his Black Capital VC.