THERE’S something exciting about being able to access Namibian content on a platform created and owned by Namibians.
This is what IbiaTV’s Romeo Shilunga (23) brings to the table – a space for Namibian creators to showcase their content to a larger local audience.
The mechanical engineering student at the Namibia University of Science and Technology says he started the platform because of the lack of support for individual artists in the entertainment industry.
“You don’t know the artists you don’t know,” Shilunga says.
He says artists are faced with the challenge of balancing promotion and sales after production.
“This platform would allow us to pull in respective fans who can be exposed to and support similar artists.”
The platform also provides space for local sporting events, such as football, he says.
Shilunga launched the platform with his partner, Panduleni Victor, a computer science student.
Victor developed the software to run the app. His own company, Muhoko Org, hosts the IbiaTV website and also serves as a marketing tool.
Although they used their own money as start-up capital, Shilunga says the app can be downloaded for free.
The platform generates an income through subscription packages.
Shilunga says eight people cooperated to make the dream come true, including social media influencers such as Taimi Nuunyago, Laina Ashipala, and Martin Pombili.
“Our greatest accomplishment was to have the platform up and running,” he says.
He says creators sign contracts allowing them to share content on the platform.
So far, they have signed Dubai Media LLC, Optimistic Media Group, the producers of ‘ShortCut’ and ‘Uushimba’, as well as Jack Domingo.
Once featured, viewers determine whether work stays on the website, depending on how many views it has generated.
Movie creators are paid according to the number of views they receive, while the influencers have a pay-per-view arrangement.
“We hope that in five years’ time, everybody will know about us and what we do,” Shilunga says.
He says artists nowadays have more opportunities to make a living, compared to 30 years ago.
“Support in communities need to be created. A lot of talent goes untapped, because people are not encouraged to go into the entertainment industry,” he says. – Afterbreak Magazine
