Kenyan-based startup Wowzi — created to transform social media users into brand influencers — has secured $3.2 million in its latest seed round. TechCrunch reports the round was led by Africa-focused venture capital firm 4DX Ventures. Participating investors were ​To.org, Golden Palm Investments, LoftyInc Capital, Afropreneur Angels, and Future Africa. Andela co-founder Christina Sass, and former Andela executives Jessica Chervin, Justin Ziegler, as well as Johnny Falla, who is currently the chief development and growth officer at Wowzi, also participated. The new funds will spearhead operations in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa to fulfill the company’s goal to expand beyond their current scope of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. “We are primarily focused on expanding across Africa in 2022 and in other emerging markets globally,” Wowzi co-founder and CEO Brian Mogeni said, according to TechCrunch. “We are also adding new product capabilities and features, as we continue to develop our...

Since its initiation on Feb. 14, 2005, YouTube has taken the world by storm, providing a platform for content creators across the globe. Over the years, the site has served as the blueprint for sharing videos across the Internet for its competitors. Today, the company works to continue to hold the title as the No. 1 place to watch videos, and of course, it’s no secret that the platform dishes out big bucks for its content creators. The platform first began to pay for the content produced in 2007, just a few years shy of its initial launch. Now, Fortune reports that over the past three years, YouTube has dished out $30 billion to its creators. “Our responsibility as a global platform has created this place that works,” said Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer, in an interview. And, the company plans to remain true to its original concept with no intention of letting up any time soon.