Netflix, with over 190 million subscribers, currently has two directors from Europe
Netflix adds Zimbabwean billionaire to its board. Source: pexels.com
Strive Masiyiwa, a Zimbabwean billionaire has been named to join the Netflix board. Strive will become the first African director in one of the leading streaming services. This comes as Netflix Inc. looks to venturing into new markets to boost its growth.
Masiyiwa, Econet Global founder and the executive chairman will bring experience and connections to the streaming giant. Econet provides satellite, broadband, and mobile payments services across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. He is one of the richest persons in Africa and has been named among the 50 most important people in business in 2020.
He will be the third international media executive and the first African to join Netflix’s board.
The company is looking to expand beyond Europe and the United States. In the last quarter, Asia had the highest number of new subscribers. In Africa, however, the number of subscribers is still few, with just a few million customers in a population of more than one billion.
This trend could change as Netflix looks to offer cheaper, mobile-only plans.
Masiyiwa’s vision and commitment to building businesses globally are expected to bring valuable experience and insight into Netflix.
As Susan Rice leaves Netflix’s board to join the presidential administration of Joe Biden, Netflix will have Masiyiwa as the only black director.
We’ve reported that popular live-streaming app Periscope confirmed the termination of its operations by March 2021.
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