Global streaming giant Netflix released a report on Wednesday detailing the economic impact that the company has had on South Africa and the greater sub-Saharan Africa region.
Since 2016, Netflix says it has contributed R1.8 billion in local South African content, with a further R2.5bn contributed towards the country’s GDP.
The report stated that the GDP amount stems from direct investments in content production, which had a ripple effect, that generated extended fiscal contributions to the local creative community and the broader economy.
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) had collected R605 million from Netflix between 2016 and 2022, and paid R2.4bn to local talent in the country. The company said more than 7 000 jobs had been created in this period through Netflix productions in South Africa.
“We have had over 170 South African movies, series and documentaries come onto the Netflix service. Through our productions such as ‘Blood & Water’, ‘How to Ruin Christmas’ and ‘My Octopus Teacher’, we have – and continue to have – directly contributed to job creation, skills development, and capacity building in the local creative industry,” Netflix said in a statement.
The streaming giant said its biggest production ever in Africa, ‘One Piece’, had created 1 000 full-time jobs, with 27% being for women, and was filmed in Cape Town.
It also said it had spent R897m on local services suppliers, with the majority being small, micro and medium-sized enterprises.
Shola Sanni, a director of public policy for sub-Saharan Africa at Netflix, said: “South Africa has been at the forefront of Netflix’s investments in the creative industry since 2016 when we first began our journey in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We believed that South African talent, creators and storytellers had what it takes to compete on the global stage and the investments that Netflix has put into South Africa and the positive social and economic ripple effects they have had show us that the possibilities are massive.
“Expanding our business here is good for Netflix, but also good for the creative industry and good for the wider economy in South Africa.”
BUSINESS REPORT