We sat down with black owned female led media startup Adedayo Fashanu – Founder, and CEO of TANTV (The African Network) to discuss her vision for TANTV, her experience at the Halcyon Fellowship, and her feature on Technical.ly DC.
The Black population of the United States is diverse, growing, and changing. About 4.6 million, or one in ten, Black people in the U.S. were born in a different country as of 2019 (Pew Research). The African diaspora accounts for the fastest-growing groups of the US Black and immigrant population yet African immigrant and minority voices continue to be under-represented in US media. There is non-existent US journalism/media focused on our community (only 17% of US newsrooms are black) especially when it comes to documenting our everyday stories, lived experiences, and successes. It is why Adedayo decided to found TANTV.
Adedayo Discusses her Vision For TANTV
TANTV is a leading editorial and subscription streaming service catering to the underserved and underrepresented U.S. Africans and the multicultural diaspora. Our mission is to advance the inclusion of this niche community in American media and society. American media often fail to realize that black storytelling is not monolithic and due to a lack of diversity and understanding ignore our experiences, conflate the Black experience as one, and fail to pay attention to the needs of our community.
We have a premium editorial platform and are creating the first smart journalism and largest AVOD & SVOD (OTT) streaming service aggregating the best African & multicultural diaspora talents in various consumer categories. Offering an array of culturally relevant TV Shows, original programming, news, and movies from experienced & influential voices that inform, inspire, and entertain.
And, with over 350 million Africans living outside of the continent, we are starting with America first. We are aggressively acquiring customers, content, and technologies to support both users (DTC) and advertisers (B2B) on the platform.
Halcyon Incubator Experience
When we joined Halcyon, we existed only as an editorial platform. Through the program, we intensified efforts at developing new formats for engaging our audience across various consumer categories. This is why we are excited about our new product “TANTV Streaming” which we intend to launch in a few months. TANTV Streaming will serve as an OTT AVOD/SVOD aggregator of the best diaspora voices and talents to inform, inspire, engage, entertain, and change American media.
Our biggest takeaway has been the access to world-class business coaches, mentors, and advisors from reputable organizations like Capital One and Goodwin Procter LLP who were always readily available to guide and provide support. Additionally, we are being supported by organizations like Morgan Stanley, TEDCO, and ISBI who are working to guide us through our pre-seed fundraising path.
TANTV Feature on Technical.ly DC
We are excited about our growth potential and are gaining tremendous support from African diaspora business leaders, investors, and institutions who are championing our mission. Our feature on Technical.ly is just the start of many more exciting news to come. You can read the full article on TECHNICAL.LY.
About Halcyon – Halcyon accelerates the impact-driven future of business. We believe there’s a competitive advantage to having a social mission in your DNA, and that impact-driven businesses represent a powerful opportunity to drive equity and inclusivity in the workplace and society.
