STEP 5: NICHE

Creative and Cultural industry is an emerging sector of economy and knowledge society. It is relatively wide with a range of choices for would be entrepreneurs. According to IBM corporate service corps – Kenya team 6- sub team 3 report 2012, Kenyan creative industry framework is made up of a mix of new

Finding a niche is a about making a choice on what specific area to train and skill on, or to invest in. During the period 2012 – 2016 GESCI successfully implemented three African Knowledge Exchange (AKE) skills development initiatives in the Digital Creative Media (DCM) sector in Kenya. The AKE initiatives address the issue of youth unemployment by developing and deepening skills related to the DCM industries. Senior tutors from a leading Irish Media College, the Ballyfermot College of Further Education, worked with four Kenyan tutors to conceptualize the AKE model of tutoring/mentoring, inter-disciplinary and collaborative learning and skills development in key areas of technology- driven commercial enterprise: Animation, Games and Apps Development, Digital Music Production and Graphic Design/New Imagery.
This one year programme provided the participants/ young entrepreneurs with the opportunity to focus on five central objectives of the project:

1. Provision of access to the full range of digital media equipment, software and tools in GESCI’s digital media production studio to allow participants to improve their creative media skills in an inter-related and collaborative environment involving Animation, Games Design and Apps and Music and Sound Design
2. The identification, selection and development of multi-media projects which have promising commercial potential in themselves and also have blueprinting or replicable potential in the marketplace
3. Provision of professional advice and external mentoring on the processes of start-up formation
4. A professionally- designed Living Lab action research was adopted throughout the project with the objective of developing a new, unique and scalable training and enterprise model which integrates creative digital media skills development, product identification and their development to commercial standards. This was carried out in conjunction with the University of Aalto Media Lab, Finland, an expert centre on the Living Lab model.
5. Formation of a number of start-ups with already -commissioned project work