63 entrepreneurs are set to battle for capital injection to grow their businesses in Kenya’s biggest business reality TV show.
63 entrepreneurs to battle for capital in Kenya's biggest business reality TV show
Only 63 contestants were chosen to face the Lions from a list of 5,000 applications.
Kenya Commercial Bank’s leading entertainment and entrepreneurship show—the KCB Lions’ Den—premiers on September 5, 2017, pitting 63 entrepreneurs seeking growth opportunities for their businesses.
Competing entrepreneurs will be expected to pitch their ideas and negotiate for the capital they need to take their enterprises to the next level in exchange for a stake in their business.
The financing will come from one or more of the five Lions—renowned Kenyan business gurus who are part of the panel who will be evaluating the ideas.
“We are promising viewers a high quality shows with much more expectation than the first season because applicants had time to learn from Season One. We can tell from the quality of applications that the standards have changed so much for the better and we certainly have great applications that will without a doubt engage the Lions and the audience intensely,” said KCB Director of Marketing and Communications Angela Mwirigi regarding the show’s second season.
“Our desire as KCB Bank is to see young entrepreneurs connect with successful venture capitalist who have already cut their teeth in the business world, not only at the show but also SMEs out there watching the show,” said Ms Mwirigi.
And from a list of 5,000 applications, only the 63 successful contestants were chosen to face the Lions.
Of the successful applicants, 32% of them were women and 68% were men with businesses cutting across agriculture, design, education, energy, ICT, health, publishing, food & beverages, manufacturing, environment, entertainment and service.
The KCB Lions’ Den mainly seeks entrepreneurs looking for financial, social and intellectual capital for their new and innovative businesses in the country.
Audiences will engage with the contestants as they battle in the Den.
The Lions are Kenyan-based business moguls who have risen through the business world and established themselves as trailblazers in their respective industries in their journey to grow Kenya-based businesses.
They include Myke Rabar, CEO Homeboyz Entertainment; Darshan Chandaria, Group CEO and Director of Chandaria Industries; Olive Gachara, Founder and Publisher of Couture Magazine Africa; Kris Senanu, CEO of Blackrock Entertainment and Wandia Gichuru, Co-Founder and MD of Vivo Activewear.
The TV show is part of the KCB Group 2Jiajiri programme expected to benefit at least 500,000 youth in a period of 5 years.
The programme, which also encompasses a business challenge for start-ups, will enable young entrepreneurs to submit their business ideas for funding.
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