The O-Farms team is very pleased to announce the in-person event Scaling Up Circular - How to move circular agribusiness from margin to mainstream, which took place on June 16th as part of Mettā Nairobi’s “What’s Next” event series. O-Farms is the first African SME accelerator completely focused on circular agribusiness, implemented by Bopinc and Village Capital and E4Impact in Kenya, with support from the IKEA Foundation. At this event, we explored how we can move circular agribusiness from margin to mainstream through an expert panel discussion, a showcase of front-running Kenyan SMEs in the O-Farms Accelerator and a short presentation of research findings from our Scoping the Potential of Circular Agribusiness report series. We invited investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, enterprise support organizations, researchers and other stakeholders to join us in charting the course for making circularity a mainstream approach in East Africa and beyond.

In this episode, we had online discussion powered by Hivos East Africa, with some of the foremost female filmmakers and professionals in Kenya. We delved into their various exploits as they shared what they learned over the years. During this session of Women In Film, we addressed some of the following topics (but not limited to): A look at the state of the film industry in Kenya – how it is as compared to other markets in Africa, what’s missing in the ecosystem and how we can fill that gap with other key stakeholders. The barriers/ challenges when it comes to making a film in Kenya. Kenyan filmmakers, the kinds of stories that we tell, and their impact on society. The current needs of filmmakers, and the bodies/ organizations trying to address those needs. Financing the creative arts & local film industry and what needs to be done to attract necessary capital for the sector. The future - what’s next for local filmmakers and the film industry as a whole. The speakers included: Judy Kibinge - Filmmaker, writer, producer & Founder of Docubox. Toni Kamau - Creative producer, director and founder of "We are not the machine". Wanjeri Gakuru - Writer, Freelance Journalist, essayist and filmmaker (Lusala). Sheila Munyiva - Actress and film director.

I this episode we sat down with 3 storytellers and creative experts who tell stories through a variety of different media. Hear how they use different their different kinds of content to tell meaningful and engaging stories, how they create, what trends they’ve seen in the industry, what they've learned along the way, how tech is changing how they tell stories, the explosion of the content creation industry, and so much more. The panel was be made up of: Muthoni Maingi - Head of Digital Strategy at Oxfam International Trevor "TJ" aka The_Mentalyst - Photographer & Filmmaker Jacque Njeri - Art Director, at Snake Nation Dan Aceda - Singer-Songwriter This podcast was made with support from Hivos East Africa as part of the creative catalyst program.

The starting point for this conversation was instigated by the concept of examining hegemonic structures in the visual artistry field along vertical. The focus was on exploring innovative artists who are moving on the circular and have embedded their practice and process within the wholistic ecosystem of the art landscape. These artists are cultural shifters, notable for the important sociopolitical thematic work plus their valuable engagement with the community and the different platforms they have initiated and are part of on physical and digital space. The panel was made up of: Thom Ogonga. Artist, Writer, Curator, Founder, Editor/Producer of ‘Nairobi Contemporary, Wambui Kamiru Collymore Multi-Disciplinary Artist. Founder of Artspace Kenya. Naitiemu Nyanjom. Multi-Disciplinary Artist. Festival Manager, Art Director of Nairobi Design Week. And the conversation was moderated by Photographer and Creative Director, Barbara Minishi. This podcast was made with support from Hivos East Africa as part of the creative catalyst program.

In this 4th and final episode of the Creative Podcast Series, we talked about creating in the midst of a crisis and the different kinds of constraints imposed on fashion designers. We wanted to highlight some of the different challenges faced by fashion creatives in this pandemic from disruption of supply chains, changing consumer habits, to the impact of COVID on their creativity. We also sought to understand from our speakers how covid forced them to think outside the box, the economic hurdles they faced, and some of the lessons they picked up along the way that others can learn from. The speakers included Collins Karanja, Founder and Creative Director at TUG (The Urban Gents Ltd), a brand that is centered on inclusivity, diversity, and creativity. Neema Nkatha: Founder, Ohana Swimwear a swimwear line that celebrates African heritage through the combination of bold colors, prints and latest fabrics. And Kawira Mirero: Founder &; Creative Director of Mambo Pambo Design Studio, a womenswear brand producing both Right To Wear and Made To Measure Fashion. The conversation was moderated by Ogake Mosomi founder and creative director of Ogake Bridal. This episode is brought to you by British Council East Africa, under the creative DNA program, which is a 12-month incubator implemented by Metta and the UK partner fashion scout. The program supported 11 fashion businesses through trainings, coaching, a fashion film feature, and seed grants in a bid to play a part in boosting the growth of the sustainable creative industry in the face of covid.

The goal of the podcast was to dissect the dynamics of how to achieve circularity and its viability in the fashion business. The panelists included our Creative DNA participant, Lynda Nanu (Favoloso by Nanu) and Oliver Asike who is the creative director at 2ManySiblings, Thrift social Nairobi and Vitimbi. The session was moderated by Ogake Mosomi, founder, Ogake Bridal. The panelists discussed how they incorporated circular fashion within their businesses and actionable steps that fashion brands can take to participate in circular fashion in a bid to shift the local fashion industry from a linear to circular model.

In partnership with the Creative DNA program, we hosted the Co-Creation Initiatives live podcast recording. The goal of the podcast was to showcase the intrinsic dynamics of a sample real-life co-creation initiative powered within and outside the Creative DNA program. The discussion surrounded co-creation initiatives that the panelists have been part of. Such initiatives included the partnerships that took place in the program which were the Epica Jewellery-Ohana Swimwear collaboration and the Gentara Face Masks partnership.  The panelists included the following:  1. Sam Omindo, founder, Genteel Fashion and Grooming  2. Sharon Wendo, founder, Epica Jewellery  3. Barbara Minishi, photographer and creative director  4. Ogake Mosomi, founder, Ogake Bridal 

Mettā in collaboration with Hivos East Africa is excited to bring you the #WomenIn Literature. In this episode, we sat down with 4 leading ladies in the literary space to listen to their stories & ideas about the literary scene in Kenya. They talked about what inspires them, how they navigated the publishing space when they 1st started out and why it's so difficult for new authors to get published and how they can overcome some of those challenges among other topics.

This episode is brought to you be the Creative DNA Program which was a 12 month incubation program, powered by the British Council Kenya, that sought to help 11 fashion businesses grow by tackling various growth stage challenges. In this episode, we discussed how creatives can create during a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic using the creation of WAUZINE— a 3 limited edition magazine that showcased Nairobi's fashion scene and the 11 fashion designers to the UK and beyond—as a reference.

Mettā in collaboration with Hivos East Africa is excited to bring you the #WhatsGood Creative Ambition podcast series. In the second edition of the #WhatsGood Creative Ambition series, we looked into the music industry where we focused on two big questions: 1. Why are there so many broke artists in the music industry? 2. Is the music industry broke or disorganized? The reality is that a vast number of Kenyan musicians don't make much money from their craft, yet they are in it for the long haul.  In this event, we sought to look into what's working, what's not working or missing in the industry, and the way forward in terms of making money in the digital era. We will also talked about copyright which is not a popular topic but a fundamental component in income generation in the music industry. The rights in the music and the lyrics, the sound recordings, the performance, and published editions, merchandising, and other sources of money that flows through the music industry.