By 
By Ibrahim Sagna , Investor | Chairman | Host
Africa’s media and entertainment industry is experiencing a digital renaissance. With a surging creator economy, growing global appetite for African stories,, and a hyper-engaged online audience, the region is poised for transformation. But long-standing challenges persist—rampant piracy, opaque licensing structures, and unreliable royalty flows.
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Enter blockchain technology, not as a fad, but as a foundational infrastructure shift. It has the potential to unlock fair monetisation, restore trust, and rewire how intellectual property is valued and distributed.
Why It Matters Now
The global blockchain market is projected to jump from $20.1 billion in 2024 to a staggering $248.9 billion in 2029 with applications across sectors—including entertainment—expanding at a 65.5% CAGR. Within this 61% through 2033. In this context, Africa has a unique opportunity: to bypass legacy systems and build creator-first ecosystems from the ground up.
From Hype to Use Case: Global Signals, Local Relevance
The most promising applications of blockchain in entertainment are beginning to take shape:
- Rights management
- Digital collectibles
- Decentralized streaming
- Smart contract-based royalty distribution
Platforms like Audius, a decentralized music streaming service, are already attracting African talent eager to sidestep traditional gatekeepers. Meanwhile, Vezt enables fans to directly purchase music rights from artists, opening up new capital in markets where fair pay is often elusive.
For Africa, blockchain doesn’t just digitise rights—it makes them trackable, tradeable, and transparently monetizable.
Piracy Is Still Africa’s Billion-Dollar Leak
Piracy drains Africa’s creative industries of billions annually. In Nigeria alone, 50-70% of the entertainment industry’s revenues are lost due to unauthorised distribution. Traditional enforcement models have fallen short, particularly in fragmented legal environments. Blockchain’s immutable ledgersoffer an elegant workaround: allowing for real-time IP tracking, embedded digital watermarks, and automatic license verification.
For Nollywood filmmakers, Afrobeats artists, and digital storytellers across the continent, this could mean finally regaining control over how, when, and where their work circulates..
Fair Pay, Automatically
Ibrahim Sagna
Smart contracts – blockchain-powered self-executing digital agreements conditions are revolutionising how royalties are distributed. Instead of waiting months for payments, creators can be compensated instantly when a song is streamed, a video is viewed, or an image is licensed. This automation dramatically reduces middlemen, disputes, and delays.
In a sector where creators often receive a fraction of the value they generate, blockchain makes it possible for every contributor—be it artist, editor, or producer—to become a direct stakeholder in their intellectual property.
Startups to Watch
Africa’s blockchain entertainment ecosystem is still nascent but gaining traction.
Key innovators include:
- Custos Media Technology: Embeds blockchain watermarks in digital content and rewards users who report piracy, creating a community-driven IP protection layer.
- Streamlivr: Offers decentralized streaming via video NFTs for ticketed access and exclusive digital collectibles. Tailored for creators hosting concerts, workshops, and live events, it enables tokenized ownership and monetisation of digital experiences.
IN THE VALLEY’s Perspective
Blockchain in Africa is not about speculative crypto—it’s about critical infrastructure. It can help address systemic inefficiencies: fractured licensing, opaque payments, and fragile IP rights. But real impact will require more than platforms.
It will require local capital backing local IP. Regulatory clarity. Technical upskilling. And above all, a mindset shift that sees African content not just as culture, but as capital.
As digital infrastructure and blockchain literacy improve, the question isn’t if—but how quickly—African creators, investors, and regulators will embrace this new model. Those who don’t may find themselves locked out of the next frontier of global media.
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