Why Jason Njoku’s co-founder Bastian Gotter left Iroko

The co-founder of iROKOtv, Bastian Gotter has exited the platform after almost seven years of growing the company alongside Jason Njoku, the tech company’s CEO.

Njoku had reportedly met Gotter while they acquired knowledge at the University of Manchester. They would later become friends and go on to set up iROKOtv, which has grown into a global film distribution network.

iROKO was not only their joint investment, however, as the pair went on to invest in Hotels.ng and ToLet.com.ng.

Gotter has now left to pursue further investment in start-ups in Africa.

In this interview with Forbes’ Mfonobong Nsehe, Gotter discusses how he got business bruises and starred in a Nollywood film during his iROKO sojourn in Nigeria.

Talk to us about your tenure at iRoko – from a 2010 YouTube channel start-up to $33m VC-backed, pan-African entertainment and tech powerhouse brand.

‘iRoko was my first large personal investment – I always believed in young western educated people returning to their home country to build businesses. However, that we would go on to change the nature of the Nigerian film industry was beyond my imagination at the time. Especially after we closed on the initial investment from Tiger Global, the business got very real, very quickly, and I decided to leave BP, leave London and head for Lagos.

‘Along the way I’ve acted in a Nollywood movie, I’ve picked up a few business bruises, as well as a Nigerian accent. But let’s be honest, iRoko was a huge step out of my comfort zone as a derivatives trader stuck behind 8 screens in London. Today I leave iRoko in the knowledge that the company has a strong vision and a solid management team to execute it. iRoko’s relentless focus on riding the macro trends of high-quality local content and mobile in Africa, will drive it to become a massive consumer success and I’m proud to have been there from the start.’