Netflix appoints Ebi Atawodi as Director of Payments, EMEA Region
Netflix Inc has appointed Ebi Atawodi as the company’s new Director of Payments for the EMEA Region, adding a high-profile Black executive to senior management.
Ebi Atawodi joins Netflix from popular ride-sharing and logistics company, Uber, where she was responsible for leading their expansion in Lagos and other West African cities in her capacity as the General Manager.
Her appointment comes amidst the streaming giant’s explosive subscriber growth in the EMEA region where the current 66.7 million subscribers are expected to surpass those in North America in about two years.
Announcing on her Linkedin page, Ebi Atawodi wrote: “Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with Netflix – the culture, the product, the impact it has had on the art of storytelling. Excited to be joining Netflix as Director of Payments, [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] and can’t wait to do the ‘best work of my life.”
She described her exit from Uber as “a ride of a lifetime,” after spending three years as the General Manager, West Africa and another four years as Head of Product (payments).
In her new role, Atawodi will oversee Netflix’s payment dynamics in the EMEA region so as to keep the streaming giant ahead of local competitors like Showmax – the SA-owned streaming service that has been working to dominate the market by offering on-demand video streaming and live TV content including football matches, music and news.
Netflix launched in Africa in 2016 and has since been exploring mobile-only subscription plans to take advantage of smartphone and internet penetration in the region. In February 2020, the streaming giant released its first African original, the South African crime series “Queen Sono.” It launched its “Made in Africa” collection in May 2020, featuring hundreds of Netflix titles shot in Africa.
It included Nigerian drama Lionheart, which Netflix won the right to distribute after its Toronto Film Festival premiere. The same month, it followed this up with “Blood and Water,” starring South African actress Ama Qamata. “Blood and Water” presents several perspectives of the dynamics of cultures found in one African country, including those around affluent areas in Cape Town, which deviates from the continent’s stereotyped, poverty-stricken depiction.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.