WRAPPED, a platform created to connect film and television professionals with production companies, is seeking to replace the informal hiring methods that dominate much of the industry with a centralized recruitment marketplace.
Founder Zoe Ramushu said the idea grew out of her experience working in film production, where hiring often depends on WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities, spreadsheets and personal networks. According to Ramushu, those fragmented processes can cause job opportunities to disappear within minutes.
“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,” Ramushu told Disrupt Africa.
The platform allows production companies to search for talent by skill set and experience level, while freelancers and agents can maintain profiles in a single location. Ramushu said the approach reduces the amount of work required during pre production by 33%.
“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,” Ramushu said.
The concept emerged while Ramushu was working on her first Netflix production after co founding Sisters Working in Film and Television (Swift), an organization she spent five to six years building. She recalled the effort required to identify women across every production department after asking for at least one female team member in each area.
“I co-founded Swift (Sisters Working in Film and Television) and spent five-to-six years voluntarily building that organisation because I believe in being part of the change I’d like to see. Then I got my first Netflix project. Close to 120 people on set. I said to my line producer, we need at least one female in every department. Silence in the room. Like I was joking.
We found them, a female in every single department. But it was an exercise,” said Ramushu.
“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.”
Ramushu said the platform attracted 600 sign ups within its first two to three days despite limited marketing activity, which she views as evidence of demand for a dedicated hiring platform within the industry.
“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,” said Ramushu.
WRAPPED has also received support from MultiChoice, the media and entertainment company that operates television and streaming services across Africa. Ramushu said the partnership has contributed funding and support for the platform's development.
“Our partnership with MultiChoice has been invaluable. They’ve been championing African stories for decades and having meaningful funding as well as their support has really just changed the shape of what we’re building.”
Although the company was founded in Africa, Ramushu said its ambitions extend beyond the region, pointing to the platform's participation at industry events in Berlin and Cannes over the past three years.
“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. Same as film. 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,” she said.
WRAPPED is free for freelancers and agents, while production companies can subscribe to plans based on their hiring needs.
