Three Kenyans, a filmmaker, a musician and fashion stylist, managed to appear on the fifth anniversary of Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list of 2019.
They include Kevin Njue (27), a producer, director, writer, and CEO of Rocque Pictures, Karungari (Karun) Mungai (24), a musician, and Yaa Bonsu (28), a fashion stylist and creative.
The future looks bright for this Kenyan trio. This article takes a peek into the judges rationale for selecting these honorees into the coveted list.
Africa Forbes 30 under 30 list
According to Forbes Africa’s Managing Editor, Methil Renuka, “Every year, there emerges, in the continent of a billion-plus people, young luminaries who are blazing a trail to the finish line, and the idea of the list is to unearth and uncover them on their way up”.
These honorees were chosen among 120 personalities spread across four sectors: business, technology, creatives and sports.
Forbes usually advertises nominations where interested individuals can send applications either by themselves or through referrals.
All nominees are vetted by a panel of Forbes Africa editors and the editorial team.
The 2019 nomination criteria included:
Business and Technology categories
1. Must be an entrepreneur aged 29 or younger on 30 June 2019
2. Should have a legitimate REGISTERED business on the continent
3. Business or businesses should be two years or older
4. Nominees must have risked own money and have a social impact
5. Must be profit generating
6. Must employ people in Africa
7. All applications must be in English
8. Should be available and prepared to participate in the Under 30 Meet-Up
Sports Category
1. Must be a sports person aged 29 or younger on 30 June 2019
2. Must be representing an African team
3. Should have a proven track record of no less than two years
4. Should be making significant earnings
5. Should have some endorsement deals
6. Entrepreneurship and social impact is a plus
7. All applications must be in English
8. Should be available and prepared to participate in the Under 30 Meet-Up
Creatives
1. Must be a creative aged 29 or younger on 30 June 2019
2. Must be from or based in Africa
3. Should be making significant earnings
4. Should have a proven creative record of no less than two years
5. Must have social influence
6. Entrepreneurship and social impact is a plus
7. All applications must be in English
8. Should be available and prepared to participate in the Under 30 Meet-Up
Note: The entry needed to include:
1. Country
2. Full Name
3. Company name/Team
4. A short reason why they should be an Under 30
5. Links of published material about the nominee
6. Contact information
7. Shared photographs, via email.
Here is a look into these trailblazers’ accomplishments:
1. Karungari (Karun) Mungai, 24
Musician
You might know Karun from the pop trio Kenyan group Camp Mulla, nominated for a BET Award in the US in 2012.
But this alternative R&B pop artist is now taking on the world solo and is one of Kenya’s rising new wave artists.
Born Karungari Mungai, she started her music career at 14 and went on to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the US.
Since then, she has had the opportunity to perform at live festivals and shows across the globe such as the SXSW 2015 (Austin TX) as part of the collective Cosmic Homies.
Karun also performed at the Madaraka Festival (Seattle), Blankets & Wine in Kenya and most recently, the Africa Nouveau Festival, Kenya’s most forward-thinking electric three-day music festival.
She has been covered by publications such as The Fader and OkayAfrica and local Kenyan publications such as The Daily Nation.
The young artist is currently working on a full-length project, and is in the process of planning a pan-African and northern hemisphere tour.
“The goal is to be the biggest female R&B act out of Africa. Watch this space,” she tells Forbes.
2. Yaa Bonsu, 28
Fashion stylist and Creative
In 2017, Yaa Bonsu met international model Naomi Campbell who told her to believe in herself, and then signed a copy of her Vogue magazine.
Bonsu took her advice and has been climbing the international ladder in fashion since.
“I remember flipping through Vogue magazines when I was 15 years old and being engrossed in this glossy world.
After I watched the film, The Devil Wears Prada, I knew the fashion world belonged to me,” she says.
Today, she spends her days with runway models, designers and in the thick of fashion shoots for some of those glossy magazines.
In 2016, she relocated to Dubai where her career in the fashion industry took off.
She connected with industry powerhouses such as Naomi Campbell, Zeynab El-Helw and Shashi Menon.
She has had the opportunity to style an advertorial for the luxury brand Fendi, SS19, in April 2019.
The same year, she produced a fashion editorial for Revolution magazine that featured high-end jewelry, Dior, de GRISOGONO, Bvlgari and Piaget, an achievement she says she is most proud of.
She has set her goals on becoming an internationally-renowned fashion powerhouse joining the leagues of icons Victoria Beckham, Edward Enninful and Vanessa Kingori.
3. Kevin Njue, 27
A producer, director, writer and CEO: Rocque Pictures
At university, Kevin Njue and his partner used his student loan of $200 to direct and produce a short film that he had written in the hostel.
The film, Sticking Ribbons, was released in 2013 and Njue went on to win the award for Best East African Talent at the 2014 Zanzibar International Film Festival.
Njue used the monetary reward of $1,000 to invest in his next short film, Intellectual Scum, which went on to screen in 15 film festivals globally.
“I was proud to thought-provoke the audience on the unequal racial relationships in Africa’s cultural and political landscape,” he tells FORBES AFRICA.
After gaining experience creating short films, Njue decided it was time to make bigger ones, a full-length feature film.
This ultimately led to him founding a business in 2016, Rocque Pictures.
With only enough money just to register the business, he knocked on doors while pitching his first feature film, 18 HOURS.
Of the $45,000 dollars needed, he managed to raise $13,000 from a university professor and an entrepreneur.
In the end, the film was finished and launched in November 2017. It sold out at a cinema premiere in Nairobi.
In 2018, the film won the Best Overall Movie in Africa, Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, making history as the first Kenyan film to be nominated and win in the history of the awards.
“As the CEO of Rocque Pictures, the goal is to set up a state-of-the-art film studio with a sound stage, backlot, a film park and an underwater film stage in Nairobi by 2030,” he stated.
