Netflix rival, Iflix has announced raising over $50 million as it prepares to go public.
The successful funding round was led by Fidelity International, with participation from returning investors Catcha Group, Hearst, Sky and EMC.
The Southeast Asia’s largest digital entertainment service now has significant firepower to aggressively pursue growth strategies and further increase the active user base which surpassed 17 million in May 2019, up from 9 million six months earlier.
According to iflix Co-Founder and Chairman, Patrick Grove, “We are incredibly proud to have Fidelity International cornerstone this latest round of funding, along with investments from all our major shareholders and some of the region’s most significant media companies. These investments are a clear affirmation of iflix’s business model and growth prospects, and strengthens our ties to some of the region’s largest providers of local content. We have a strong pipeline of new content and are excited to be making our most extensive ever content offering available to our millions of users across the region.”
Some months ago, the company confirmed the sale of the rest of its African business, called Kwesé Iflix, to Econet Global Limited so as to focus on its markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
iflix first announced the launch of its service in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in June 2017. Following eight months of rapid growth, the company joined forces with Econet Global Limited, which saw the international group with pan-African origins acquire a significant stake in iflix Africa.
Subsequent to the partnership, iflix Africa, rebranded as Kwesé iflix, expanded into East and Southern Africa becoming Africa’s latest game-changing digital platform.
However it refocused due to the competition from other companies like Netflix, Showmax and more.
According to Crunchbase, Iflix has raised about $348 million which includes $133 million in August 2017.
