PublicVine, Nigerian Youtube Gets $5m ahead of Launch

PublicVine, Nigerian version of YouTube, founded by Nam Mokwunye, a Nigerian has secured investment worth over $5 million, ahead of its global launch in June.

The United States based social video platform is designed to rival existing video platforms like Youtube but offers video content owners and distributors opportunity to be paid by viewers.

Mokwunye, said that the firm was out to revolutionise video content distribution and use globally.

According to him, “what PublicVine will be doing is to present film makers, video vendors and consumers a marketplace for them to transact business. It is an online social video marketplace that enables video vendors and their consumers to connect, transact, and get paid.  We have secured between $5 million investment in the United States due to the potential that people had seen in it.

He added that publicvine was pioneering a new innovation in online video distribution.”

Mokwunye said the firm had already started video vendor registration starting from Nigeria due to the huge potential that is existent in the market.

“We have seen the local film industry grow astronomically and observed that latent potential for further growth. PublicVine believes that with our online marketplace, greater market can be created for the country as vendors get opportunity to own online distribution channels on PublicVine.”

This will create greater efficiency and also increase value for local video and film industry,” he said.

He added that beginning with Nigeria and South Africa, Publicvine would make it possible for video vendors in sub-Saharan Africa to open their own online video stores to rent and sell their music videos, documentaries, and films to consumers globally.

Mokwunye also said discussions had been held with several telecommunication companies about a marketing partnership that would make PublicVine available to their (telecom companies’) subscription base within South Africa and into the rest of Africa.

The firm, he added, is now fully immersed in fine-tuning and launching “PublicVine”, the social video marketplace that is also its flagship platform.