( CNN ) -- When Jason Njoku graduated from his UK-based university in 2005 , he was filled with high hopes of entrepreneurial success . But after his business endeavors failed to take off for years , Njoku had no option but to move back to his mother 's house in London . Returning home as a penniless 29-year-old was `` a harrowing experience '' but provided Njoku , a chemist by training , with his Eureka moment -- he realized there 's a growing appetite for Nollywood films after noticing how his mother and other relatives had difficulties getting their hands on their beloved movies from Nigeria 's booming film industry . The tech entrepreneur spotted the gap in the market and in 2010 he founded iROKO Partners , an internet company that distributes Nollywood films to viewers across the world . Described as the `` Netflix of Africa , '' Njoku 's company has today grown to have more than 500,000 registered users . It has offices in London , New York and Lagos with some 100 staff and has secured $ 8 million in funding from U.S.-based hedge fund Tiger Global , early investors in Facebook . Earlier this week it launched a new internet subscription service which enables viewers to watch exclusive Nollywood films for $ 5 a month . CNN 's Marketplace Africa spoke to Njoku about entrepreneurship in Africa , Nollywood and his plans for the future . CNN : Why did you decide to launch the subscription service ? Jason Njoku : When we started the company , iROKO Partners , we were trying to solve the massive , I would say , dislocation in the popularity of Nollywood and the value it 's created . A big part of what we did was actually focusing on cleaning up and organizing the content so we can provide a superior user experience , something which Nollywood lovers can really be proud of . Read more : Nigerian blockbusters for the internet generation . Having more than 500,000 registered users in a short space of time demonstrates that the appetite is there . People really love this content , which means it should be organized and given to them in the best format possible . We 've spent a lot of money -- in the industry , licenses , organizing our team , we 've got a staff of 100 people -- so our view is that some additional value needs to ... be given to this new subscription service we 're rolling out , ( called ) iROKOtv+ . CNN : Your company has been described as the Netflix of Africa . Do you want to be as big as Netflix ? JN : At the moment we are focusing on the 30 million African diaspora . We 've just reached 500,000 registered users , we think our additional market in the West is at least five to 10 million people , there are lots of Africans who love this stuff . I guess , ultimately , the big market is Nigeria ... this is where the content originates from . If you spend any time in Nigeria , it is difficult to come across a person who has n't heard of Nollywood . But at the same time , the pan-African nature of it -- from the Kenyans to the Ghanaians to Gambians to people in the DRC -- there 's a massive base of people who really love this content . So because of the broadband restrictions in Africa , we are currently focused on the diaspora . CNN : Do you see the potential in the future to become as big as Netflix ? JN : I think Netflix has 25 million subscribers across South America , U.S. Canada and the UK . We are really young , as ambitious as we want to be . Are there 25 million people who love this content ? Most definitely there are 25 million people in Nigeria who love this content . Are they willing to pay for it ? That 's the big experiment we 're kind of playing now . So we would n't want to compare ourselves to Netflix but we have an interest and opportunity to at least get somewhere along that line . CNN : Where are most of your viewers based ? JN : Currently our biggest markets are the U.S. , the UK , Canada , Italy and Germany . See also : African cinema at Cannes . CNN : What about Nigeria ? JN : Nigeria has been growing -- I think it 's in the top 10 , but , again , just to put it in context , I believe we have more people watching just in London than we do have in the whole of Nigeria . CNN : Web connectivity and internet penetration are major issues in Africa . Have there been any improvements recently ? JN : Eighteen months ago when I moved to Nigeria , broadband was really expensive and not that great . Now it 's less expensive and it 's much better . Internet adoption has definitely exploded in Nigeria and we feel it 's better -- again , we 're trying to serve very data-intensive , bandwidth hogging files , so we 're always going to be slower on the uptake but it is improving . Read more : Web savvy Africans fuel online shopping . CNN : What prompted you to start the business ? JN : I went to university to study chemistry with high hopes , my mum was really happy . I graduated in 2005 and then I started an entrepreneurial sort of trail . Whereas my friends went into banking , consulting , finance , I just wanted to be an entrepreneur , to work in projects which really interested me . Unfortunately , for five , almost six years I failed miserably at being an entrepreneur . So , in fact , literally what prompted the whole genesis of iROKO was at 29 , almost 30 I had to move back with my mum . That was itself a harrowing experience but the interesting thing was that for the first time in eight years since I 'd moved out I was actually able to see the viewing patterns of my mom change ... She 'd gone from watching western films to watching African films . Watch : Africa 's internet awakening . Because I was able to observe her and we lived together then I could actually relate and she 'd spend hours watching it . Then I had to drive her around to go and see my aunts and uncles who I had n't seen in a long time -- it was exactly the same thing for these guys and I was like 'well , how can it be that so quickly so many people 's viewing , video and entertainment habits change . ' So it was really intriguing to find this stuff . Watch : Genevieve Nnaji : Nollywood 's Julia Roberts . CNN : What has been the reaction from the Nigerian film industry ? JN : The key thing is that we 've invested more money in Nollywood in the shortest space of time -- far more than anybody else has done . We are remunerating movie producers who , quite rightly , are receiving additional revenue form their films as we have opened up a new funding avenue for them . Before , they were losing out to the pirates , now they are gaining financially from iROKOtv . Hopefully this new approach to monetizing Nollywood content will lead to producers re-investing in their films .
Emmanuel Njoku is the founder and chief executive of iROKO Partners . The film company distributes Nollywood films to viewers across the world . Called the ' Netflix of Africa , ' Njoku 's website has over 500,000 registered users . He says iROKO has invested more money in Africa 's film industry than anyone else .