Ndiho Media,LLC.

BY: PAUL NDIHO

A Ugandan filmmaker is making his mark on the world stage and changing the narrative. He’s one of 14 filmmakers from six countries across the continent picked to create an anthology of short films for Disney

Raymond Malinga, 32-year-old, founded his company, Creatures Animation Studios, in 2015 after studying animation and visual effects in Malaysia. He had an ambitious plan to become the next Taylor Perry and tell the African story. 

“The narrative in Africa has been you switch on the news right now, and I bet it’s something bad about Africa. But, there are like these small glimmers where people come up and say, ‘hey, that guy has invented an app, this guy has done this right,’ and I think we contribute to that conversation. So, what it means for us as the directors and for me is an opportunity to contribute to that conversation and, not only that, to take it further. Because the way I view it is that this is just a platform, but there is no reason why an African studio or an African individual cannot rise above Disney, cannot become bigger than them; I don’t see any reason why.”

His team operates out of a makeshift innovation village built from repurposed shipping containers in the capital Kampala. Their big break came in 2017 when they produced “A Kalabanda Ate My Homework.”

It was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival and won best animation film at the African International Film Festival.

That led to the current project – Disney’s “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.”

For Malinga, it’s a chance to provide African consumers with characters like themselves.

“When you start showing people themselves on screen, right? They can fall in love; they can get angry, they can advocate for change, they can be the hero, they can go to space; you start getting a new breed and crop of kids who start saying, ‘Why can’t I go to space too because I saw the other guy going to space.'”

‘Kizazi Moto’ premiers on Disney Plus later this year, but Malinga says he sees it as a platform for tremendous success.

“Of course, we lacked the money, you know, and it was quite difficult, but I have a mindset which is that you have to start from somewhere, and as long as I can prove that I can make one thousand shillings or one dollar, it just means that I can scale that and that and that’s just my perspective.”

After all, he says, there’s no reason why an African studio or individual cannot rise above Disney. And perhaps, every dream is valid.

Startups play an essential role in developing innovative solutions that meet the needs of developing and emerging countries. As a result, they have real potential for job creation and impact Africa’s development.
For example, in Nigeria, Talemia is an Edtech solution supporting early-stage African founders to launch their startups faster than they would on their own.
For more, I spoke to Victor Onyekere, Co-founder and Head of Growth at Talemia based in Lagos, Nigeria.

On Monday night, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster after the worst floods in recorded history in the KwaZulu-Natal state. Paul Ndiho has more.

The death toll from South Africa’s “unprecedented” floods nears 400. Rescuers widen the search for the missing. Police, army, and volunteer rescuers widened the search for dozens still missing five days after the deadliest storm to strike South Africa’s coastal city of Durban. A54’s Paul Ndiho has more

According to local officials, prolonged rains and flooding in the Durban area of South Africa have claimed the lives of over 250 people, damaging the port, major highways, and surrounding areas in KwaZulu-Natal province.
For the latest update, VOA Correspondent Paul Ndiho spoke to Asmaa Botmi- Clarke, a Freelance Journalist based in Durban, South Africa.

Imagine having the opportunity to invest in “the Next” big tech company before anybody has heard about it. Even better, do you think you could spot that future African visionary – that entrepreneur. A 24-year-old Moroccan investor is doing just that, investing in early-stage, pre-seed, and seed startups in Africa.

To learn more, Africa 54’s Technology Correspondent Paul Ndiho, via Skype, spoke to Aya Zaghnin, a rising angel investor in the African startup ecosystem based in Morocco.

The growing need and consumer preference for digital payments over cash are changing the nature and ways in which people interact with money, in Africa. In Nigeria, a 21-year-old app developer is building a social digital payment system that simplifies the process of paying, requesting payments, or splitting payments between friends by sending an email, phone number, bank account, or debit card. For more, I am joined by Khalid Ismail, the CEO and Co-found of the Byte app based in Lagos, Nigeria.

These are the new buzzwords for people who follow tech trends. AI, Nonfungible tokens or NFTs, Web 3, 5G, The Internet of Things, Blockchain tech, and metaverse. But what does this all mean for ordinary people? To learn more, our Technology Correspondent Paul Ndiho spoke to Mojisola Alabi, a tech entrepreneur, and analyst based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Last month, In a VOA exclusive interview with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, VOA journalist Peter Clotty asked Mr. Museveni about the torture in Uganda.

A Ugandan court last week issued an arrest warrant for Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, an award-winning author who fled the country after being charged with insulting President Yoweri Museveni and his son, General Muhoozi Kinerugaba.

Kakwenza claims he was tortured during his month-long detention and slipped out of the country last month to seek treatment abroad for his injuries.

Prosecutors asked the court to issue a warrant of arrest against the satirical novelist after he failed to show up for the trial.
Please be advised that some of the images used in this interview are very graphic viewer discretion is advised.