African startup WRAPPED is positioning itself as a centralised digital marketplace connecting freelancers, agents and production companies.
Founded by filmmaker and industry advocate Zoe Ramushu, the platform is tackling a long-standing challenge where production jobs are typically circulated through scattered WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities, spreadsheets and personal networks.
This fragmentation leaves many qualified professionals unaware of opportunities that disappear within minutes.
By creating a single platform where industry professionals can be discovered based on their skills and experience, WRAPPED aims to significantly simplify recruitment while reducing pre-production workloads by as much as 33 per cent.
Having already attracted more than 600 sign-ups within days of launch with minimal marketing and secured support from MultiChoice, Ramushu believes the startup is responding to a genuine industry need while laying the foundation for a globally relevant technology platform built from Africa.
“WRAPPED is the app that I wish I had when I was trying to break into this industry. Right now, hiring in film and television is done through WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups, spreadsheets, and institutional memory captured in human brains,” founder, Romushu said.
She described a hiring process where opportunities disappear almost as quickly as they appear.
“A message drops in a WhatsApp group, a gig is gone in two minutes. You didn’t even know what that job was. Two minutes.”
What is WRAPPED and What Does It Do?
WRAPPED is a specialised digital hiring platform designed exclusively for professionals in the film and television industry. Rather than relying on fragmented communication channels to recruit cast and crew members, the platform provides one central location where freelancers, talent agents and production companies can connect efficiently.
The platform organises professionals according to their skills and experience levels, enabling production companies to quickly identify suitable candidates for different production roles.
Ramushu explained that the platform’s simplicity is precisely what makes it valuable.
“What WRAPPED does is give the industry one centralised place where everybody is, where all the jobs are getting booked out of, at the click of a button.”
“We’re categorised by skills and experience level so you find exactly who you’re looking for. We cut down 33 per cent of the pre-production workload. It sounds simple and it is, that’s the innovation,” she added.
By eliminating the need to search through multiple messaging groups and personal contacts, WRAPPED allows production teams to spend less time recruiting and more time preparing for filming.
The Problem WRAPPED is Trying to Solve
For years, recruitment within the film and television industry has relied heavily on informal networks rather than structured digital systems.
Production managers often recruit through WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities, spreadsheets or recommendations from colleagues, making it difficult for many qualified professionals to access opportunities.
This approach not only limits visibility for freelancers but also creates significant inefficiencies for employers who spend valuable production time searching for suitable crew members.
Ramushu believes the industry’s dependence on scattered communication channels has created unnecessary barriers for both job seekers and production companies.
By centralising hiring into one searchable platform, WRAPPED seeks to improve transparency, increase accessibility and streamline one of the industry’s most time-consuming processes.
A Personal Experience that Inspired the Startup
The idea behind WRAPPED emerged from Ramushu’s own experiences working within the industry and advocating for greater diversity.
She revealed that after co-founding Sisters Working in Film and Television (Swift), an organisation she spent five to six years building voluntarily, she worked on her first Netflix production involving nearly 120 crew members.
During the production, she challenged the team to ensure every department included at least one woman.
“I said to my line producer, we need at least one female in every department. Silence in the room. Like I was joking.”
Although the production team eventually succeeded in identifying women across every department, the process exposed how difficult it was to locate qualified professionals quickly.
“We found them, a female in every single department. But it was an exercise.”
She described the recruitment effort as both demanding and expensive.
“Time-consuming. In production, time is literally money. That was the moment I said this cannot be the way things work. WRAPPED was real and existed in my mind from that moment. And glad today it’s now real for everyone else.”
Strong Early Adoption Signals Growing Industry Demand
The platform’s early performance appears to validate the demand for a dedicated recruitment platform within the creative industry.
According to Ramushu, WRAPPED attracted approximately 600 sign-ups within its first two to three days despite minimal promotional activity.
She believes the response demonstrates how strongly professionals have been searching for a centralised networking and hiring platform.
“That just spoke to the desire, the complete demand, for people working in this industry to have a centralised place to gather. A place that allows them to connect and be seen.”
The rapid adoption suggests many industry professionals are ready to move away from fragmented hiring methods toward a more structured digital ecosystem.
MultiChoice Partnership Provides Funding and Industry Backing
Beyond user adoption, WRAPPED has also secured strategic support through its partnership with MultiChoice, a development Ramushu described as instrumental to the startup’s growth.
She credited the media company with providing not only financial backing but also the confidence needed to accelerate the platform’s development.
“Our partnership with MultiChoice has been invaluable. They’ve been championing African stories for decades and having meaningfu funding as well as their support has really just changed the shape of what we’re building.”
The collaboration provides WRAPPED with both credibility within the entertainment sector and resources to continue expanding its services.
Built in Africa, But Designed for the World
While WRAPPED originated in Africa, Ramushu insists the platform’s ambitions extend well beyond the continent.
Rather than viewing the startup as an African solution for African users alone, she sees it as a globally competitive technology product capable of serving film industries everywhere.
“It is built by Africans but it is a global platform. If it’s good tech, it’s good tech. If it’s a good product, it’s a good product.”
She pointed to the company’s growing international visibility as evidence that the platform is already gaining recognition beyond Africa.
“Our presence at Berlin, at Cannes, three years running, those invitations are evidence that we are global. That’s not a plan. That’s already happening.”
Her comments reflect a broader confidence that African-built technology can compete internationally when focused on solving universal industry challenges.
A Freemium Model Designed to Encourage Widespread Adoption
WRAPPED has adopted a business model that lowers the barrier to entry for individual professionals while generating revenue from organisations that regularly recruit talent.
Under the model, freelancers and talent agents can join and use the platform free of charge, allowing them to showcase their experience and connect with employers without paying upfront.
Production companies, meanwhile, can subscribe to different paid plans depending on their recruitment needs, providing WRAPPED with a sustainable revenue stream while ensuring employers have access to efficient hiring tools.
As the platform expands, this approach could help establish WRAPPED as a digital infrastructure for film and television recruitment, replacing informal hiring practices with a more organised, transparent and accessible ecosystem for creative professionals across Africa and beyond.
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