Nancy Matimu appointed MultiChoice Kenya managing director, replaces Eric Odipo as pay-TV operator's first female boss in the East African country.

MultiChoice has appointed Nancy Matimu as MultiChoice Kenya managing director from December 2019 and is replacing Eric Odipo who took up the position in June 2017 and left.

Nancy Matimu was the vice-president, head of mark development for sub-Saharan Africa at MasterCard and becomes the first female managing director to head up MultiChoice Kenya.

"I am delighted to join Kenya’s leading video entertainment company and to be the first female managing director of the business. I’m looking forward to leading this business at what is an exciting time for the industry and the MultiChoice Group," says Nancy Matimu in a statement.

Maharage Chande, MultiChoice Africa northern region director, says "Our strategy is to continuously provide customers with more of their favourite content and thus providing unmatched value. This new appointment will play a major role in delivering the experience our customers deserve, core to our corporate culture".

"We are also excited to welcome our first female managing director to head up our business. Nancy brings a wealth of experience to the role."

Nancy Matimu has an MBA in Strategic Management from Strathmore University, a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Kenyatta University and a Post Graduate Diploma (CIM) in Marketing.

Nancy Matimu is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) & Chief Executive Program (CEP) from Strathmore, IESE and Lagos Business Schools.

MultiChoice Kenya is a joint venture with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.

First 20 students from the MultiChoice Talent Factory film academy's East Africa hub graduate.

The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), MultiChoice's film academy for sub-Saharan Africa held the first graduation ceremony for the academy's 20 students of the East Africa hub at the Nairobi Film Centre in Kenya where students received their certificates from the Kenyatta University accredited training programme.

MultiChoice set up the MultiChoice Talent Factory last year, and modelled it on M-Net's successful Magic in Motion film academy in South Africa, with three film academy hubs in Lusaka, Zambia for Southern Africa, Nairobi in Kenya for East Africa, and in Lagos in Nigeria for West Africa.

Along with their certificates, various students from the MultiChoice Talent Factory in East Africa got placements and internships with the New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts (NYFA) in New York; an Indian Film Industry "Bollywood" production internship with Nihilent Limited in India, a "Nollywood" production scriptwriting internship on an Africa Magic series produced in Lagos, an infinite AVID media composer license, as well as a AVID Pro Tools license by Jasco Broadcast Solutions

"We've encountered some challenges as we travelled our way along this journey, but with the remarkable support of our stakeholders, partners and supporters, we soldiered on and have emerged stronger for the creative industry as a whole," said Maharage Chande, MultiChoice regional director for the Northern region.

The MultiChoice Talent Factory was launched in May 2018 to support and help grow Africa’s creative film and TV industries through the film academy as a training and skills development opportunity for young emerging filmmakers by offering a 12-month fully funded training programme.

The MultiChoice Talent Factory's curriculum is run by three regional academy directors, Njoki Muhoho (East Africa), Berry Lwando (Southern Africa) and Femi Odugbemi (West Africa) with 20 students each for a total of 60.

"Those that made the cut have certainly proved their potential, and all the graduates' hard work during the programme has led to this moment," said Njoko Muhoho, the MultiChoice Talent Factory East Africa director.

"It was truly a privilege to witness as the students worked diligently and demonstrated exactly how important a programme such as the MultiChoice Talent Factory academy is for the preservation of Africa’s creative film and TV industry. I couldn't have been prouder of the students for the work they have so far put in, and for what lies ahead of them," said Njoko Muhoho.

Throughout the past year the MultiChoice Talent Factory has partnered with various institutions and organisations to ensure the success of the initiative who have delivered expertise in various aspects of the film and television and participated in various touchpoints of the initiatives from training at the academy to upskilling industry professionals through masterclasses.

In April 2018, the MultiChoice Talent Factory partnered with the world-renowned New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts (NYFA). 

Every year, starting with the first graduating class, one graduate from each of the three hubs will get to enhance their filmmaking skills through a scholarship. The East Africa class of 2018's recipient is the 26-year-old Kenyan, Hillary Lanogwa.

The 26-year old Jane Moshi from Tanzania was chosen to receive the 2-week Bollywood production internship. The 24-year old Cissy Nalumansi from Uganda was chosen for the 3 to 4-week scriptwriting internship in an Africa Magic series.

Jasco Broadcast Solutions is also giving an AVID media composer licence for the 22-year old Kenya, Hilary Sibuni Sitati, who was chosen as the most-promising film video editor in the East Africa region. The AVID Pro Tools licence for the most-promising sound engineer per region for East Africa was awarded to 24-year-old Anthony Njoroge from Kenya.  

"From the onset, we as MultiChoice believed that working in partnership with creative organisations across the continent and beyond will contribute towards making this initiative a success for the students and broader creative industry," says Cheryl Uys-Allie, the MultiChoice Talent Factory director.

"We truly thank the partners who have come on board to contribute towards equipping our emerging creatives with the technical skills they need to expertly navigate our industry. As the old African proverb says, ‘If you want to run fast, go alone. If you want to run far, go together. It’s our hope that we will see more partners joining us to ignite Africa’s creative industry further."

Hassan Saleh appointed as new MultiChoice Uganda boss, replaces Charles Hamya after his DStv workplace affair and sex scandal.

Hassan Saleh has been appointed as the new MultiChoice Uganda managing director from 1 August 2019.

Hassan Saleh replaces Charles Hamya who was general manager until the end of March 2019 and finally quit after pressure from MultiChoice Africa bosses.

Charles Hamya's exit followed the scandalous revelations of his torrid workplace affair and sex scandal with the DStv Uganda marketing manager Phoebe Nakabazzi who was fired.

Hassan Saleh was most recently the general manager of sales and distribution at MTN Sudan.

Previous work experience includes working at Coca-Cola and Century Bottling Limited, as well as in the telecoms industry with stints at Bharti Airtel Kenya Limited and Vodacom South Africa.

"I'm excited to return to Uganda and taking on the opportunity of leading MultiChoice Uganda at a time when the business is driving customer-centricity as a focal point of everything we do," says Hassan Saleh in a statement.

"My priority is to ensure that we continue to take our brands, product, and services to new heights and making sure we remain Uganda's most-loved video entertainment destination".

Maharage Chande, the MultiChoice regional director for the Northern Region that includes Uganda, says "MultiChoice is fortunate to have someone of Hassan's calibre and experience".

"We are at a crucial point in our business and under his leadership we will successfully realise our strategy in Uganda and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead. Hassan is a visionary leader with a solid understanding of our products, services and markets."

Hassan Saleh has a BA degree in social sciences from Makerere University, a Masters degree in international business from Reutlingen University of Business and Technology in Germany, a CIM post-graduate diploma in marketing management from (CIM) Berkshire in the United Kingdom and a post-graduate certificate in business administration from Leicester University in the United Kingdom.

MultiChoice Africa appoints Stephen Isaboke as new head of regulatory affairs in Dubai; Maharage Chande made the new MultiChoice Africa regional director for East Africa.

MultiChoice Africa has moved Stephen Isaboke (pictured right), who was the East Africa regional director and the acting regional director for West Africa to Dubai where he has been appointed as MultiChoice Africa's head of regulatory affairs from 1 June.

Stephen Isaboke will now be based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is the first Kenyan to join MultiChoice Africa's corporate executive ranks in Dubai.

Replacing Stephen Isaboke, who joined MultiChoice in January 2008 as general manager in Kenya before he was promoted to regional director for East Africa in November 2011, is Maharage Chande who is MultiChoice Tanzania's managing director.

Maharage Chande (pictured right) is now the new MultiChoice Africa regional director for East Africa and will be acting director for West Africa, and will continue to look after Tanzania. Maharage Chande joined MultiChoice Tanzania in June 2016.

"We are excited to welcome the senior executives on board. It is our hope that their wealth of experience will complement MultiChoice Africa's current focus on customer satisfaction and market growth," says Brand de Villiers, MultiChoice Africa CEO.

"The new appointments will play a major role in delivering the experience our customers deserve – and we are determined to put this at the centre of our corporate culture and values."

About Stephen Isaboke's appointment, Brand de Villiers says "I believe he is the right person to help me manage the many issues that we face and which potentially threaten our right to operate".

Stephen Isaboke says "I am excited to have been part of the media and entertainment development in Kenya and the East Africa region especially on local content development at a time of disruption with shifts in consumer habits driven by convergence of TV and Mobile technologies. During this period, we saw an accelerated growth in pay-TV and implosion of consumption of content through various platforms including over-the-top (OTT) services through the internet".

Maharage Chande says "I believe that I can use the Tanzanian success story to further enhance our business growth in the regions".