Cape Media Ltd, the parent company of fastest-growing media brands in Kenya – TV47 and Radio47, on Monday, July 8 signed a partnership deal with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports.
The deal will see TV47 become the main media partners of ‘Whoz Next’, a custom-made programme by the Ministry that will identify, nurture and monetise talents in the field of creative economy.
Speaking during the official signing of the partnership deal at Talanta Plaza in Upper Hill, Nairobi, Cape Media CEO Mwenda Njoka assured the media company’s commitment to support the ‘WhozNext’ initiative achieve its goal, which is developing talent in the creative economy.
“We are very delighted today to have this partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports. Our role is to provide the support needed from us. We want to assure the Ministry that we are going to work very hard towards achieving the goal,” Njoka said. “We are committed to this course, and we are going to make a donation that will go a long way towards supporting the industry.”
Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba underscored the importance of ‘WhozNext’ in providing a pipeline for the deliberate, intentional and structured identification, nurturing and monetisation of the talents of our young people.
“We decided to start off with sporting activities that had gone down the drain like football which had been banned by FIFA, Rugby where our team had been relegated from the HSBC series. We also helped counties form county football teams. It is now time to be deliberate in offering the same support for the creative industry,” CS Namwamba said.
The CS took time to highlight the key successes of the Talanta Hela programme.
“Kenya entered, for the first time, the school world cup in China for U18 boys and girls…Our U17 girls (junior starlets) became the first ever team in Kenyan history to qualify for FIFA World Cup. When we were invited to COSAFA, we chose not to send Harambee Stars, but Junior stars and they performed exemplarily. Also, we made sure that Kenya is back to the HSBC Rugby Series by focusing on Chipu, Kenya’s Under-20 rugby team.”
By dubbing the ‘WhozNext’ programme as historic, CS Namwamba said that the Ministry was igniting the most exciting, revolutionary, and transformative initiative the creative industry in Kenya has ever seen.
“Our creatives who have been wondering ‘is Talanta Hela all bout sports, football, athletics?’. We have also been working on the creative segment of Talanta Hela. WhozNext is the opposite of the Talanta Hela coin, and will provide a platform to creatives that Talanta Hela has been providing for sportsmen and women.”
On his part, Ismael Maalim, the Principal Secretary State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, said that the Ministry is deliberate and has been rolling out programmes that develop talent through the creative economy, because it is one of the five key pillars of the Kenya Kwanza Government Plan.
“We are very grateful to have witnessed this wonderful and great partnership between ourselves (the Ministry) and Cape Media, our media of choice for partnering with us in development of the talent of young people. The development of these talents is very key priority for our administration whose captain is President William Ruto,” PS Maalim said.
The PS aaded: “To achieve this very important aspect, our CS through his leadership has given us a vehicle or a conveyer belt through which we achieve the development of this very important programme of nurturing talent. And from today’s partnership, those talents will be showcased to the rest of the world through Cape Media (TV47).
He emphasised that the Ministry will no longer abandon talented Kenyans to find a path on their own. “You are no longer alone, we are with you. We will make sure we give you all the necessary support that you require to be successful.”
