Jason Njoku, the CEO of IrokoTV, has shared insights into the challenging journey of the online movie-streaming platform in recent years.
In a recent article on his website, Njoku revealed that in 2019, he had the option to close the company and distribute the remaining cash to shareholders but opted to reinvest in IrokoTV.
Describing the past three years as “brutal,” Njoku detailed the company’s struggles with “debt restructuring, cost reductions, and completing the turnaround of iROKOtv.”
Despite the challenges, he chose not to exit the company when there was an opportunity in 2019, emphasizing his belief in the potential and the fight left in him.
Reflecting on the decision, Njoku explained, “For some strange reason, I still felt I had plenty of fight left. I knew what I knew, and I knew who we wanted to become.
So we defocused on customer acquisition and productizing Africa and just reverted to where 80% of our revenues were coming from; North America and Western Europe.
We were back in survival mode. We needed a turnaround, but turnarounds aren’t rapid.”
He highlighted that, despite the challenges, international markets have consistently been the primary revenue driver for the company, stating that “89% of 2023 revenues are non-African.”
In 2020, iROKOtv underwent a resizing process that involved the dismissal of 150 staff members.
Addressing concerns about disgruntled employees referenced in an article, Njoku clarified that they were not actual Iroko employees but were employed by Ikenga, an agency, to manage paid campaigns for Iroko.
