PublicVine, a United States based social video platform founded by a Nigerian, has secured investment worth over $5m in a bid to commence its global launch billed for June 2014.
Founder and CEO of Publicvine, Nam Mokwunye, said the firm was founded and designed to rival existing video platforms like Youtube but offers video content owners and distributors opportunity to be paid by viewers.
According to him, the firm was out to revolutionise video content distribution and use globally.
He said, “What PublicVine will be doing is to present film makers, video vendors and consumers a marketplace for them to transact business. It is an online social video marketplace that enables video vendors and their consumers to connect, transact, and get paid.”
He explained that the firm secured about $5 investment fund in the United States due to the potential that people had seen in it, adding that publicvine is pioneering a new innovation in online video distribution.
Mokwunye said the firm had already started video vendor registration starting from Nigeria due to the huge potential that is existent in the market.
“We have seen the local film industry grow astronomically with latent potential for further growth. PublicVine believes that with our online marketplace, greater market can be created for the country as vendors get opportunity to own online distribution channels on PublicVine. This will create greater efficiency and also increase value for local video and film industry,” he said.
He added that beginning with Nigeria and South Africa, Publicvine would make it possible for video vendors in sub-Saharan Africa to open their own online video stores to rent and sell their music videos, documentaries, and films to consumers globally.
Mokwunye also said discussions had been held with several telecommunication companies about a marketing partnership that would make PublicVine available to all telecom companies on subscription base within South Africa and the rest of Africa.
The firm is now fully immersed in fine-tuning and launching PublicVine, the social video marketplace that is also its flagship platform.