MAL36:20 MAL36 | Page 46

CREATIVE INDUSTRY
Embracing Reality
And Creating The
Future We Want
Tried Approach
State-of-the-art
Qualitative research suite
By Mukui Mbindyo
In the first few months of 2020, the
Covid-19 pandemic has upended life
as we’ve known it. To slow the spread
of the novel coronavirus, governments
around the world have instituted a number
of measures meant to preserve public
health systems including lockdowns on
cities and whole regions, stay-at-home
orders, and bans on local and international
travel.
In March 2020, the Kenyan government
mandated the closure of schools and a
ban on large public gatherings, lockdowns
of movement in key urban centers, and
instituted a country-wide night-time
curfew to encourage Kenyans to social
distance. The effects of these orders
were immediate on the economy, and
many industries faced cataclysmic losses
including the creative industry.
Creatives who made their livelihoods
from gigs and events were the first to see
their incomes cut off due to closures of
restaurants and event spaces. The negative
effects of social distancing orders spread
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MAL36/20 ISSUE
across the industry as other creatives saw
cancellations of bookings, postponement
of planned work, and the cessation of
movement of raw goods from suppliers.
Every sub-sector of the industry has been
affected.
In Heva Fund’s Covid-19 Resilience:
Creative Industry Options and Strategies
report in which they surveyed practitioners
across the creative industry, 97% of
respondents said their businesses had
been directly affected by the pandemic
slowdown which has led to significant
changes in income and operational costs.
On the loss of income, 88% noticed a
decrease in income due to Covid-19,
and 76% reported financial losses of up
to Ksh 500,000 in the first quarter of
2020. Creatives expect that this crisis
will not end soon -- 80% project further
cancellations and for losses to reach Ksh
700,000 for the rest of 2020.
The pandemic has starkly highlighted the
existing gaps in our economy, including
lack of social safety nets and insufficient
Creative businesses can no longer rely on
the same traditional models to earn revenue
as they did before, since social distancing
is likely to be in place for the next 18-
24 months. Resilient creative businesses
will have to adapt to a new normal of engaging
customers on multiple platforms,
and building multiple streams of income.
access to essential resources like water in
some of our communities. Specifically,
the creative industry has again been
made aware of the challenges that have
long hampered the development of the
industry, including the fragmentation of
sector and sub-sector bodies meant to be
advocating on behalf of creatives.
In addition, the informal nature of creative
work in our country meant that too many
creatives were caught flat-footed with no
means to support themselves to weather
the crisis. In Heva’s report, 68% were
individual practitioners, and 80% were
not registered with any government entity.
How can these creatives secure support
from government and other entities
should such support come?
Global health officials suggest that social
distancing is expected to be the new
normal until a cure or vaccine is found. If
this is the case, how can creatives manage
this crisis? If the world has changed as we
know it how can creatives retool to survive
and emerge more resilient than before?
The African Digital Media Foundation
(ADMF) has held a series of webinars
discussing the challenges creatives are
facing as a result of the Covid-19 crisis,
and what we can do as an industry to
come out of this better and stronger. The
clear message that has emerged is that
creatives must use this time wisely to learn
and innovate, that is, the creative industry
must embrace the reality brought about
by Covid-19 as the new normal and use
these new challenges as a catalyst to create
a new future.
We can do this by using this time to learn
Tried Approach Focus Group Suite offers the perfect QUALITATIVE
research experience with spacious multi-tiered observation room;
comfortable client viewing room with a one way mirror, respondents
suite, respondent waiting lounge and a client service/debrief room.
The suite allows your team to offer their client an amble working
environment in between FGD sessions.
Other special features include:
• Audio recording • Printing & photo copying services
• High speed internet • Video recording [charged separately]
• Web streaming [by March 2018]
CONTACT US NOW:
Tried Approach. Daykio Plaza (Next to Faulu)
2nd Floor Office: 2.4. Ngong Road, Nairobi
Mob: [phone]