Safaricom Director of Innovation and Strategy Joe Ogutu said the platform has allowed the mobile company to interact with about 44,000 youth
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 13 – Safaricom has financed 28 businesses and invested Sh16 million in youth-led companies through its Blaze platform.
Safaricom Director of Innovation and Strategy Joe Ogutu said the platform has allowed the mobile company to interact with about 44,000 youth in the last two years through mentorship forums across the country.
Speaking during the Creative Business Cup Africa Summit in Nairobi, Ogutu said the creative economy could be the fuel that will power the engine of Kenya’s economic growth and reduce Kenya’s youth employment rate.
“The creative economy could be the fuel that will power the engine of Kenya’s economic growth and reduce Kenya’s youth employment rate from the current estimate of 26 per cent,” said Ogutu.
“Safaricom is pleased to be supporting youth through platforms such as BLAZE that are investing in creative ideas and offering mentorship and networking opportunities that are helping young Kenyans create careers in media, the arts, design, among others,” he added.
Organized by Junior Achievement (JA) Kenya, GEN Kenya, NIC Bank and BLAZE by Safaricom, the two-day summit aims to promote the creative economy by bringing together an extensive network of creative minds, policymakers, businesses, investors and academia to engage in discourse and spark action that will tap into the potential presented by this economy.
Founded by Rasmus Tscherning in Denmark in 2010, the Creative Business Cup is a global initiative for entrepreneurship and innovation. Its objective is to empower entrepreneurs in the creative industries, connect them to investors and global markets and strengthen their innovative capabilities to the benefit of industry and society.
