Creative entrepreneurs sometimes follow unusual career paths. This is true of filmmaker, actor, director, and cinema owner Rashid who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
As co-founder of Jimsal Cinema, Rashid is a tireless creator and collaborator. Through his cinema, he provides a platform for showcasing his films and those of others, offering support in marketing and distribution to amplify their reach and grow audiences.
Rashid had learnt that crucial to the viability of a career as a filmmaker are festivals and the financial rewards received for successful nominations. He submits his films to festivals, and any rewards are reinvested to offset production costs and fund future projects.
Connection is crucial. Rashid fosters relationships between filmmakers and the public, focusing on creating and showcasing films which can connect with local audiences. Rashid and his team embody the spirit of creativity, entrepreneurship, and vision, contributing to a vibrant film industry that enriches both creators and audiences alike.
The importance of the informal economy in Kenya cannot be overstated; it accounts for 24% of Kenya’s GDP and also employs five times more workers than the formal economy.
TRANSFORM has been working to understand the current realities and future possibilities for the millions of entrepreneurial Kenyans who hustle to sustain livelihoods across the informal economy (read more about the context of the work here).
Brink, Procol Africa, Busara, Laterite, Ideas Unplugged, and TRANSFORM have collaborated throughout to deliver this work, alongside hundreds of ecosystem actors and informal economy entrepreneurs.
These blogs offer an insight into the lives of some informal workers we spoke to over the course of the project, told through images.
