Nurturing Gender Equity: Kenya’s New Incubation Programme to Unlock Billions in Women-Led Film Enterprises

Kenya’s film industry, a dynamic, high-potential component of the nation’s Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI), is undergoing a strategic recalibration aimed at inclusivity and economic competitiveness. While the film industry stands as one of the most profitable creative sectors globally, its vast untapped potential in Kenya is directly linked to the need for greater gender equity, particularly in technical and leadership roles.

In a landmark commitment to structural reform, the Kenya Film Commission (KFC), in partnership with the German development agency GIZ, has launched the Women-in-Film Incubation Programme. This flagship initiative is designed to be a catalyst for change, specifically aimed at advancing gender equity in the country’s burgeoning creative economy.

Despite the fact that the broader creative and cultural sector employs approximately 130,000 people directly and indirectly, women currently make up only 30 to 40% of the workforce, a figure that shrinks dramatically when looking at high-value technical roles such as cinematography, sound design, and, critically, decision-making positions like producers and directors. This Kenya-German collaboration, financially supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through GIZ’s broader engagement in African creative markets, seeks to remedy this imbalance by deliberately elevating women’s participation and leadership across creative, technical, and entrepreneurial domains.

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Economic Stakes and the Call for Competitiveness

The decision to focus resources on this sector is underpinned by its significant, though underestimated, contribution to the national economy. Kenya’s film industry contributes an estimated KSh 20 billion (USD 130 million) annually to the national GDP. However, the latest Film Industry Statistical Abstract (FISA) report revealed that the combined film and broadcasting sector accounted for just 0.4% of GDP between 2016 and 2022, a figure that the KFC views as underscoring the substantial room for targeted, inclusive growth and greater competitiveness.

This low percentage, when contrasted with the overall national GDP, highlights a maturity gap compared to film economies in countries like Nigeria or South Africa. The lack of robust infrastructure, clear regulatory frameworks for intellectual property, and limited access to finance for independent producers have historically constrained the sector.

The KFC’s CEO, Timothy Owase, emphasized the Commission’s strategic commitment to inclusive sector development, noting that the programme directly addresses the persistent gender gaps in the industry. By targeting women entrepreneurs, the initiative aims not only to fulfill a social imperative but also to introduce new voices, business models, and narratives that can drive up the sector’s overall economic output and cultural influence.

The Incubation Pipeline: From Residency to Investment

The Women-in-Film Incubation Programme is structured as an intensive, multi-phase experience designed to transform creative ideas into commercially viable, sustainable enterprises.

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Phase 1: The Intensive Residency and Enterprise Strengthening

The programme’s inaugural cohort featured ten women selected through a highly competitive, nationwide application process. The participants represented diverse counties and creative disciplines, embodying the geographic and cultural breadth of Kenya’s film landscape.

Over a two-week residency, the participants engaged in intensive training centered on core enterprise competencies crucial for scaling a business in the CCI framework:

• Strategic Planning: Refining business vision and identifying target market niches.
• Financial Management and Legal Compliance: Ensuring transparent bookkeeping and adherence to industry-specific regulations and intellectual property laws.
• Human Resources: Developing sustainable team structures and talent management practices.
• Digital Marketing and Market Access: Utilizing digital platforms to reach global audiences and secure financing.

This foundational training recognized film not solely as a medium of artistic expression but as a commercially viable sector with real market opportunities. Recognising the emotional and psychological demands of creative entrepreneurship, the programme uniquely integrated mental wellness support, an essential pillar of the Women in Entrepreneurship Hub, equipping participants with tools for resilience, conflict resolution, and clarity in their highly dynamic professional environments.

Phase 2: The Grant Awards and Pitching Session

A critical highlight of the programme was the awarding of €5,000 grants to five outstanding women-led film enterprises. These grants, which form part of KFC’s broader Film Empowerment Programme, were distributed following a rigorous pitching session before a distinguished panel of industry judges. The chosen enterprises demonstrated exceptional potential for growth, innovation, and measurable impact, particularly in job creation and cultural representation.

The five successful Women in Film Award recipients and their focus areas are:

1. Grace Murema – Grycelle Studio: A seasoned SFX makeup artist with deep roots in theatre and film, Grace is renowned for her transformative character work in screen storytelling, focusing on enhancing production value through specialized technical craft.
2. Faith Njeri Heho – The Makeup Tower: A beautypreneur committed to uplifting women through professional makeup training and income-generating opportunities, addressing the dual needs of technical skills development and economic empowerment.
3. Louiza Wanjiku Ndung’u – NBOFF (Nairobi Film Festival): As founder and curator, Louiza delivers high-quality cultural cinema experiences to diverse audiences, occupying a critical space in the value chain—distribution and exhibition.
4. Wanjira Maina – IConnect Kenya Initiative: Leader of a women-led organization empowering refugees, youth, and women in Turkana through storytelling, digital innovation, and entrepreneurial training, focusing on leveraging film for social impact.
5. Tracy Annette Sandere – Rebella Afrique Media: A creative force bringing African Blues narratives to life through film and digital media, specializing in niche cultural content that targets global festival and streaming markets.

To ensure the longevity of this investment, each awardee will also receive tailored training in grant administration and financial management to ensure the effective and sustainable use of their funding. This focus on financial stewardship is paramount in a sector often plagued by inconsistent cash flow and poor financial governance.

Phase 3: Mentorship and Investor Readiness

The journey does not end with the residency or the grant money. Over the next three months, participants will engage in a rigorous mentorship and shadowing phase. During this period, they will work closely with experts in law, finance, human resources, and digital strategy.

The entrepreneurs will advance through specialized modules focusing on business modelling, access to finance, pitch development, and investor readiness. This final stage is crucial for ensuring that these women-led enterprises are not merely surviving but are positioned for commercial scale. Bi-weekly coaching sessions will offer personalized guidance to help each entrepreneur refine her business model, deepen market understanding, and strengthen operational systems in preparation for securing larger investments from institutional and private equity sources.

Contextualizing the Creative Economy and Global Trends

The Women-in-Film Incubation Programme reflects a wider international trend that recognizes the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) as a major, yet highly sensitive, economic driver.

In Kenya, the film industry sits within a larger CCI framework that includes music, performing arts, visual arts, and heritage. Understanding this framework is key to appreciating the economic contribution: the overall cultural sector’s economic weight is significant, and accelerating growth in the film segment—from a starting point of 0.4% of national GDP—can have multiplier effects across tourism, technology, and export markets.

The collaboration with GIZ is strategic because it taps into the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s focus on supporting sustainable economic growth in developing nations. By linking the local industry to international standards of business management and gender inclusion, the programme enhances the global competitiveness of Kenyan film products, making them more attractive to international co-production partners and global streaming platforms.

This effort aligns with a broader continental movement to formalize and professionalize the film sector. Across Africa, the film and audiovisual sector is estimated to be worth over $5 billion annually, employing millions, a figure projected to rise substantially with continued investment in infrastructure, training, and distribution. Kenya aims to capture a larger share of this market by focusing on high-quality production and robust entrepreneurial ecosystems for women.

The Vision for an Inclusive Future

The Women-in-Film Entrepreneurs Incubation Programme reflects KFC’s broader vision of a vibrant, inclusive, and economically competitive film ecosystem. The impact is expected to go beyond mere statistics by changing the face of the industry’s leadership.

As KFC CEO Timothy Owase concluded at the graduation and award ceremony, “Kenya’s film sector holds immense untapped potential—not only as a driver of jobs and investment, but as a powerful engine for national identity and global influence. By investing in women entrepreneurs, we are widening the creative and economic space for Kenyan stories to thrive. This programme is a step toward a more inclusive industry, and a stronger future for our creative economy.”

By providing both capital (the €5,000 grants) and crucial business support, the initiative is effectively de-risking women’s entry into executive and technical roles, ensuring that future growth is built on a foundation of gender equality and entrepreneurial resilience. The long-term goal is to see women occupying 50% or more of technical and decision-making roles, thereby unlocking the full KSh 20 billion economic potential and making the Kenyan film industry a truly global, representative, and commercially thriving powerhouse.

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Photo source: Google

By: Montel Kamau

Serrari Financial Analyst

9th December, 2025