AMP Global Partners with MaC Venture Capital raises $5.6 million to expand its blockchain-based video platform

Building and scaling category-leading companies requires hands-on support in areas such as operational strategy, branding, recruiting and mission-critical onboarding.

MaC Venture Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, contributes to this expansion strategy by investing in technology companies that capitalize on changes in cultural trends and behavior.

With a $2 million investment, the LA-based VC completed a $5.6 million seed round for African startup AMP Global Technologies. MaC is a subsidiary of entertainment powerhouse MACRO, which has received 15 Oscar nominations and three wins since its debut in 2015.

AMP Global Technologies is developing the world’s first blockchain-based video entertainment platform. Derrick N. Ashong, AMP Global’s Ghana-born, Harvard-educated founder and CEO, created the Take Back the Mic (TBTM) platform, powered by an Ethereum-compatible blockchain, to reward fans and creators for building movements around great content. On the platform, fans can earn points that can be exchanged for digital currency that can be used to buy mobile data.

The interactive talent competition and documentary series The Mic, which is their flagship program, has garnered two Emmy nominations, two Telly Awards (gold and silver) in competition with Netflix, HBO and Disney+, a Murex D’Or Award, almost a billion media impressions globally , and five Times Square billboards in New York City. With the recent opening of the office in Dubai, AMP Global is now also present in Hollywood, Buenos Aires and Mauritius, an East African island.

The company’s work lies at the intersection of technology and entertainment. AMP is a unique platform that not only uses blockchain technology to incentivize people to access and engage with award-winning content through its play-to-earn model, but also advocates and creates revenue options for artists, distribution partners and global brands.

Africa has the highest mobile data prices in the world, making it more expensive and challenging for young people to access the internet. Ashong used his experience working for the biggest names in entertainment, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and ABC-Disney, as a proof of concept for the company’s technology to develop an original interactive content property that provided rewards to viewers and artists who used TBTM -platform to play the show. The web series was selected as an “Outstanding Interactive Program” finalist for two consecutive Emmy Awards.

In an effort to tackle the difficulties that young people in Africa have in accessing the internet, Amp is developing the 70×25 moonshot initiative with partners in the public, private and creative sectors to bridge Africa’s digital divide.

“Through 70×25, we will work to increase high-speed internet usage on the continent to 70% by the end of 2025, enabling the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population to participate in the global economy. We are linking the hugely significant cultures of the African diaspora to the growing wave of cultural innovation that comes from Africa itself through connecting the continent, says Ashong.

Ashong says they are honored and eager to work side-by-side with their role models as a company that sits right at the intersection of technology and entertainment.

“MaC was actually our top choice, so getting this approval from them means the world. It’s impossible to overstate the influence that [MaC Managing General Partner] Marlon Nichols has had on Silicon Valley, while [General Partner] Charles D. King’s influence in Hollywood needs no introduction,” declared Ashong.

Marc Byers, a former general manager at Motown and Amp’s innovation advisor, was one of the biggest executives in the industry who fully understood the implications of this change. Marlon Nichols and Charles King were introduced to each other by Byers, who also identified MaC as the ideal VC partner. For the purposes of what the company does, a tech fund working with a Hollywood studio was the ideal match.

“Although most technology investors do not understand the media/entertainment industry, it has long been our belief that the media titans of the future will indeed be technology companies,” adds Ashong.

Ashong believes Amp’s mobile data strategy makes it easier to inform individuals in the Global South about the importance of blockchain technology.

“It’s a simple offer to consumers: “I can use the TBTM (Take Back the Mic) app to engage with material I like and earn points that can be converted into ‘Kola’, a virtual currency that I can use to buy mobile data Simple incentive structures like this show how useful blockchain technology is in real-world applications,” Ashong expressed.

Amp is delighted that MTN Group has agreed to sponsor Season 3 of ‘The Mic: Africa’, their internationally acclaimed interactive talent search program designed to empower and identify outstanding children across the continent.

According to MTN, this production serves as a physical representation of its dedication to localize and give “do-ers” from across Africa a platform to use their voice in response to the question “What are we doing today?”

Audiences will be able to watch “The Mic: Africa” ​​across 20+ African countries on premium free-to-air satellite TV as well as on the premium free-to-air channel in ayoba Superapp, in addition to watching it on the TBTM app and online platform (tbtm . app).

On upcoming consumer-relevant solutions that support financial and digital inclusion, Ashong says, “With our world-class content, the TBTM app becomes a gateway to the internet for a generation of entrepreneurial youth across the Global South, and our digital Kola currency offers a new way for brands and creators to reward their biggest fans.”