Our Team Lead, David Ogutu had a conversation with the Afrika Design Podcast(Nairobi) in an episode where they discussed the challenges that creatives in Africa face and the possible solutions/steps that can be taken to elevate freelancers and those in the creative industry.
He shared his life experiences and how they have shaped the company and opened doors for not just him but other creatives around him. He talks further about his main goal, which is to provide what he lacked as a creative to make it easier for those who come after him.
David Ogutu - Team Lead Kafunda Kreative
I'm a self-taught creative. I've somehow been in the creative space my entire life but never went to creative school. The closest I got to that was Art School. And I was privileged to be able to do that because it has informed a lot of the ways I do things. Other than that, I taught myself a couple of the thing I know which partly inspired me to create a space for creatives.
I went into broadcast by auditioning to be a radio presenter. I ended up getting the role alongside two other people. Those two end up getting a radio show and I'm just the guy that’s seated there watching them so I decide to use my time effectively. I walk into the production studio and learn how to do audio production. That’s how I learned audio production.
In 2009, social media was just sort of becoming a thing and I found that space intriguing. I remember thinking that in order for me to be able to do this, I need some graphic design knowledge. At that point, I was getting tired of asking people in the big monolithic organization to do things for me because it took forever. So I taught myself graphic design and started doing my own graphics. And it has always been that way, like every challenge that has come my way, I have learned a skill to help me through it.
When Kafunda Kreative started doing the ‘KoiKoi’ campaign, for example, I was not a photographer, but you know, on the first trip that had about six of us, most people in this particular group were not photographers. So I'm just like, Oh, you know what? I need to learn how to photograph and I did. I am really not like a huge professional at all these things but I just sort of kept doing them and I have slowly mastered the craft.
My biggest inspiration to sort of drive this whole thing home and start Kafunda Kreative is that I had all these skills, right? But I was struggling to make money
My biggest inspiration to sort of drive this whole thing home and start Kafunda Kreative is that I had all these skills, right? But I was struggling to make money and I was just like, I can't understand how I know all these things, but struggling to find a way of getting paid. I did not know how to find markets or find the people who needed my services.
So the problems we are trying to solve as Kafunda Kreative are problems I have faced as an individual and I am hoping that by solving them, I can make life for the creatives who come after me a lot easier.
Kafunda Kreative is a platform that connects creatives with markets to further their creative career. Its fellowship of creatives learning from one another, growing together & collaborating to build brands, products and services that kick ass.
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