MultiChoice Kenya is a pioneer public private partnership set up in 1995 as a joint venture between Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and MultiChoice Africa . The company uses the power of entertainment to enrich millions of lives across the country by providing video entertainment that tells the most-loved Kenyan and international stories , which bring people together around shared passions . Through its entertainment platforms - DStv , GOtv , Showmax and the DStv App , MultiChoice delivers content that Kenyans love straight into their hands and homes .
With their phenomenal products and services , MultiChoice has been able to create thousands of jobs and invest heavily in Africa ’ s film and TV industry , as well as contribute to the local economy , driven by the belief that a key ingredient of business prosperity and sustainability is having the right partners . By forging longterm partnerships with Government , the regulator , the national broadcaster , local audio channels and free-to-air ( FTA ) channels , MultiChoice has in the last 26 years contributed immensely to Kenya ’ s GDP and in turn enriched the lives of thousands of individuals and communities in the country . The company is rooted in the countries where customers live and keeps them at the heart of every decision made .
MultiChoice believes it has a great responsibility to the community especially at this time when the role of entertainment is ever more relevant . The group takes its role in providing information and entertainment seriously and continues to make significant long-term investments in the country by supporting the local film and entertainment sector .
Marketing Africa crew sat down with Nancy Matimu , Managing Director MultiChoice Kenya in a discussion on The Future Of Content Creation In Africa and the place of Pay TV in a digitally evolving world . Here-under are excerpts from the deliberations .
Your mission as a business is to enrich lives . Tell us briefly what that means .
At MultiChoice Kenya , we believe the success of our business is rooted in the partnerships and relationships that we create in our country . We believe in uplifting , supporting , and investing in the communities where we live and work , to grow our operations and in turn meet the growing social and entertainment needs of the people in those communities . This means empowering the local supply chain by working with local suppliers and distributors to grow our distribution networks .
We currently work with 373 dealers and 1135 installers across the country . The trickle-down effect of these jobs means a livelihood for thousands of families across the country . That is why we believe that our role is more than just offering entertainment , it really is to enrich lives through the entertainment that we offer .
Give us a brief outline on your investment in the country to date .
Our local investment story has been a long and fruitful one . I can summarize it based on the latest socio-economic impact study conducted by Accenture and released in October 2019 . The report highlights the value created for the economy and society , the creative industry , adjacent industries and consumers and provides an overview of the impact that MultiChoice has on both internal and external stakeholders and places the company in the context of the entire Kenyan economy .
In summary , the report found that MultiChoice had contributed 56.9B KES to the Kenyan economy between 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2019 which translates to 30.4B KES of GDP . We created value worth more than 3.3B KES for the creative industry through the commissioning of approximately 6,273 hours of local content , while approximately 4B KES was spent on content and production infrastructure . The downstream effect of our investment in the local film industry was the creation of 6,440 jobs in adjacent industries and an estimated value of 11.5B KES for industry partners .
Initiatives implemented for the benefit of our employees , social investment beneficiaries and consumers generated value of about 2.9B KES , while indirectly influencing value creation of 20.2B KES in the supply chain . Multichoice has also implemented initiatives that address specific societal challenges . Since 2015 , the lives of 400,000 people have been positively impacted through our collective investment of 1.2B KES in education , sponsorship and development of the entertainment industry which included the flagship shared value initiative - The MultiChoice Talent Factory .
That is a brief snapshot of our achievement up to 2019 . A lot more has been done since then , information which we can share when we release our next socio-economic impact report .
You have made extensive investment in the local film and entertainment sector . What is your take on the future of content in Africa and in Kenya ?
The future of content creation on the continent is already here and it is local . If we had any doubts about the future of the sector , we would not make such significant investments into it . If anything , we are increasing our focus on local content investment across the continent and in Kenya . The industry is growing and going global , very soon we will have a constant presence on the red-carpet award scenes at the Oscars and Emmys .
For any business to be able to win today and shape tomorrow , it must be able to tell the right story , at the right time , to the right person . At MultiChoice , our absolute focus is to leverage technology and become obsessed with pleasing our customers by telling stories that connect with them .
What can you say has so far been the outcome of your investment in the local film industry ?
We have numerous positive reviews from our audiences . Through our Maisha Magic East and Maisha Magic Plus channels , we have developed award-winning shows with top Kenyan stars and we are sharing this original programming across the continent . Our flagship shows Kina , Kovu , Selina , Pete Date my Family , Stori Yangu , Maisha Mkanda and Our Perfect wedding continue to perform exemplarily well . Hyper-local content remains a strategic