Johannesburg - Mosunmola Abudu’s dedication to telling African stories using international norms and standards has resulted in her owning her own TV channel.
Ebony Life Television, which launched in 2013, is Africa’s first global black entertainment and lifestyle network.
“For the longest time, we have left it to everyone else but ourselves to tell our own stories,” said Abudu.
As an African descendant born in England in 1964, Abudu’s journey as a traditional storyteller began when she had to answer strange questions from people who had never visited this continent. These were questions like: Do you live in a hut back home? Do you walk around half-naked?
“People abroad are curious to know. I knew then that my children, who attended schools in England, had the same experience.
"Nothing will change the world’s perspective of our continent until something is done,” she said.
Ebony Life TV produces premium, home-grown programming focusing on genres like drama, reality, talk, life and entertainment.
According to Abudu, Ebony Life’s premium standards set the channel apart, and, at the same time, enhance its platform in an internationally acclaimed space.
“The team effort involved in creating everyday TV content means hours of editing and the bringing together of a number of elements to portray visual art that has the right look and feel about it,” said Abudu.
When asked what message African media platforms should focus on in the African market, Abudu made reference to Ebony Life’s series The Governor, a story about a fictitious state in Africa where a black woman is suddenly promoted to the position of governor after the death of a man who was meant to be governor.
She is faced with the challenges of being a mother and wife while running a state.
The pressure gets so much that she is tempted to quit everything and get away.
But she rises to the occasion and portrays the strength that black women have in multi-tasking, growing up and achieving their dreams.
“The reality that many seem to miss is that what is happening in America is happening in Africa, and what we have to say to that, through the stories we produce, is that we also have global activation that we would want to share with the world,” she said.
The mother of two and media mogul, named by Forbes as Africa’s most successful woman, looks beyond the colour of her skin and gender in a male-dominated corporate world.
“The only issue for me is the success of my business and keeping it successful over everything else,” she said.
@June_Hlongwane