KES 153.3 Million invested in 42 % of the pitches presented during the first season of locally produced Lions’ Den
The first season of the award-winning business reality show, KCB Lions’ Den show has successfully come to an end with over KES 150 Million invested in local businesses. The Lions’ Den show came through the 2jiajiri initiative of KCB Bank Kenya which aims to tackle the unemployment scourge facing the youth in Kenya today.
72 local businesses were represented on the show for a period of 12 weeks and 30 lucky entrepreneurs were able to convince the 5 celebrated and renowned Lions in the Den: Kris Senanu, Wandia Gichuru, Darshan Chandaria, Olive Gachara and Myke Rabar, to invest their own money in exchange for equity in the local business. Total amount invested in Season 1 of the Lions’ Den was KES 153.3 Million. Some of the winners include The Founder.co.ke magazine, Digiskool, Tosheka Textiles, Bentos Energy not forgetting Mzee Amdones” Neem Soap”.
Speaking on the success of the show, KCB Bank’s Marketing Director, Angela Mwirigi noted, “It is with pride that KCB Bank celebrates local entrepreneurship milestones, seen on the Lions’ Den show. In line with the 2jiajiri initiative, Lions’ Den came as a response to the entrepreneurs’ call for more opportunities as more than 40% of the youth in Kenya between the ages of 15 and 34 years old face unemployment. KCB Bank believes in entrepreneurship as a solution to the high unemployment rates in the country and we seek to come up with innovative platforms such as Lions’ Den to curb this menace.”
As an adaptation of the globally acclaimed Dragons’ Den, Quite Bright Films (QBF) produced Lions’ Den in collaboration with Sony Pictures International for the Kenyan market. These local entrepreneurs applied for the show at any KCB Bank Kenya branch nationwide or through the Bankika online portal, www.bankika.co.ke
The success of the Lions’ Den show can be further seen with the show claiming the 2016 PRSK Award for Excellence as the “Consumer Relations Campaign of the Year” Award for the strategic development and implementation of the campaign, as the campaign with the most effective communication awareness campaign in 2016. Further more, the show attracted close to 5 Million unique viewers in the 12 weeks of airing on NTV Kenya and trended No.1 on Twitter every Monday during the airing period.
“We made a lot of key learnings from the premier show through the feedback from the Lions’, the contestants and the public on social media. We hope to incorporate this feedback to improve the quality of the show in the subsequent seasons of the show ” said Ms. Mwirigi.
The first of its kind in Kenya, Lions’ Den is a variation of the original show that was first aired in Japan and has now been produced in over 30 countries. KCB Bank is working at the show’s second season as the applications open in March 2017 for Lions’ Den Season 2.