
Episode #194
Episode 194 - Produce in Shillings. License in Dollars: Jason Corder’s Plan for African Media
I met Jason Corder last week to discuss NorthSouth Media, and our meeting became what I like to call a “gangster podcast”: an informal, impromptu Pure Digital Passion conversation recorded without the usual studio production. Jason is the founder and CEO of NorthSouth Media, a Nairobi-based company building an end-to-end system for financing, producing, owning, localizing and distributing African content. We discuss his journey from San Francisco to Africa, his work as a visual artist and performer, his experience acting in Mali , and how a trailer filmed in his Kilimani apartment became Stay , a television series backed by Nokia and subsequently distributed across multiple markets. Jason explains why that experience convinced him that African production companies must retain intellectual-property ownership. We also examine NorthSouth’s connected film and creator studios, direct-distribution strategy, localization relationship with Aview International and ambition to build a substantial library of owned African content. The conversation challenges the assumption that mobile and streaming growth must mean the end of television. Free-to-air broadcasting remains accessible, communal and commercially important across Africa and the wider Global South. NorthSouth is currently raising US$1 million at a US$7 million cap for a 24-month runway. The company plans to produce an opening slate of five owned shows, enroll 25 creators before scaling to 50 and build a sales operation targeting broadcasters and brands. CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction 00:13 – Why this became a “gangster podcast” 01:00 – Human stories made by human hands 04:23 – How African culture and storytelling travel globally 06:46 – Jason Corder’s origin story 14:27 – Why intellectual-property ownership matters 18:22 – Producing Stay with Nokia’s backing 22:36 – Free-to-air television and Africa’s media economy 31:11 – Film, community and human connection 38:35 – From artist and producer to entrepreneur 40:33 – Using Bordy and AI to accelerate the business 46:36 – Building NorthSouth’s end-to-end infrastructure 49:28 – The NorthSouth Media elevator pitch 51:16 – The Nairobi headquarters and Creator Studio vision 55:16 – Microdramas, mobile video and the “shiny object” 58:53 – A model for rebuilding African media 1:00:55 – How to connect with Jason 1:02:34 – Jason’s parting perspective ABOUT JASON CORDER Jason Corder is the founder and CEO of NorthSouth Media. He has worked across visual art, music, television, cultural diplomacy and media production and has lived and worked in more than 60 countries. NorthSouth Media: https://northsouth.africa Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncordermedia






