Mansa Streaming Platform Launches with $8M to Spotlight Global Black Culture

Woodland Hills-based streaming platform Mansa announced its full launch along with the close of an $8-million seed round of financing. The round was led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from WndrCo, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Investment Partners, Base Ventures, Dubin & Co, Rainmaker Films and Robert F. Smith.

Mansa is a free, ad-supported streaming platform showcasing content focused on Black culture from across the globe. The company was founded in 2021 by filmmakers and actors David Oyelowo, Nate Parker and Chiké Okonkwo, along with tech entrepreneur and film financier Zak Tanjeloff.

“Black culture is at the forefront of global culture,” said David Oyelowo, co-founder of Mansa, in a statement. “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.”

Mansa said that it has come out of stealth after a successful year-long development and beta phase. The company’s team includes executives from Netflix, BET, Hulu, Roku, Tubi, Redbox, Complex and Uber.

During the beta phase, the team developed the Mansa platform with a multiscreen interface designed for viewing across devices that includes community features tied to its programming.

Mansa offers long- and short-form films and TV shows, user-generated content, digital linear (FAST) channels and video podcasts. It has already licensed over 1,500 hours of content and secured partnerships with 50 content suppliers as more than two dozen licensed FAST channels roll out.

Information for this article was sourced from Mansa.