On 20th November 2020, Kenya Film Commission launched Gaming and Animation equipment and software at the Swahili Pot Hub, Mombasa County, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. In attendance was KFC Board Director Mr. Ernest Kerich, KFC CEO, Mr. Timothy Owase, Swahili Pot Hub Chairperson, Mr. Mahmoud Noor and Daystar University faculty. The presentation of the equipment is in line with the Commission’s mandate to develop the skills and capacity of the filmmakers in Kenya. The support to Swahili Pot Hub is aimed at empowering the region’s creatives with new technology in the Gaming and Animation genres of content creation.
Kenya Film Commission is collaborating with various strategic development partners in boosting Gaming and Animation as the new products in the screen industry. One such organization is LudiqueWorks – a Video Game Publishing Company that builds, invests in and publishes globally benchmarked games from Africa. LudiqueWork’s mode of operation was showcased through a demonstration by the company’s CEO, Mr. Douglas Ogeto.
Additionally, the team from Daystar University that has also partnered with KFC demonstrated a component of an online training platform that will offer an online self-learning modular to filmmakers on the following areas: Programming, Entrepreneurship, Video Game Creation and Animation. This also features an instructional design course which will culminate in certificates of participation.
Being a community space that focuses on the youth with an interest in Technology and Arts, Swahili Pot Hub is expected to develop more success stories from the ideas and initiatives of its community members. With the state-of-the-art equipment, the youth from Mombasa are now able to harness the power of art and technology to create job opportunities and wealth for themselves and others.
Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Mr. Joe Mucheru was represented virtually by Principal Secretary – Innovation, Mr. Jerome Ochieng’ – who noted that the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs has intensified efforts to identify all categories of sector jobs such as those in the creative and entertainment industry to ensure that the Kenyan youth turn their creativity into innovations and further scale to entrepreneurship ventures, thus expanding digital employment.
KFC CEO, Mr. Timothy Owase, noted that film has proven to be an industry that generates significant employment opportunities and wealth creation among the youth. “With the new editing suites we are presenting here today, we hope that the creatives utilizing this facility will tap into the huge market and generate wealth opportunities,” said Mr. Owase. He also commended the efforts of Swahili Pot Hub’s Chairperson – Mr. Mahmoud Noor – for his efforts in transforming the facility into an innovative hub that supports multiple talents.
With the new equipment, Swahili Pot Hub users have the opportunity to access digital job opportunities through the Ajira Digital Program to ensure that the creatives get digital employment.
