The Greek-Kenyan giving local speakers and artists chance to shine on global stage

After living and working in London for 11 years, the allure of Africa’s economic take-off drew George Issaias back home to Nairobi to set up a speakers bureau and talent booking agency.

This marked the birth of the Nairobi-based African Speakers and Artists (AS+A). His objective was to connect global brands with speakers and artists from the region who can offer unique perspectives and/or entertainment for their events and marketing campaigns.

“Over the last three to four years, the thematic focus of events and campaigns has begun to dramatically shift towards Africa. The ‘noise’ about Africa, and in particular East Africa, has been getting louder and louder,” Mr Issaias says.

“In line with this, East Africa is a region that is beginning to produce many successful, creative, innovative personalities who now have a globally relevant story to share.”

He explains that the service AS+A provides is not unlike a matchmaking service of sorts for African speakers and artists.

Born and bred in Nairobi for the first 13 years of his life, the Greek-Kenyan, an alumnus of Kenton College, completed his schooling in the UK before moving to St Andrews University in Scotland to study history.

He later moved to London to work for Jack Morton Worldwide, a global brand experience agency that has produced some of the most high-profile events in the world, from Olympics ceremonies to game-changing brand experiences. He was sales director.

During his time at the firm, the agency was involved in numerous projects in Africa, including the Pan-African re-brand campaign from Celtel to Zain, and the 2010 World Cup ceremony in South Africa.

Global events

Eventually, he was bitten by the ‘Africa rising’ bug and packed his bags to return home.

“Even from as far away as London, I could sense that Kenya, and Africa, was becoming an intoxicating, exciting place to do business. I heard the same thing from so many friends who had returned from the diaspora: ‘Come!’

“The key thing for me was to find the right thing to do, and once I spotted the opportunity to set up African Speakers and Artists, and to champion local speakers and artists on the world stage, I couldn’t get here fast enough,” he recalls.

Issaias aims to leverage his experience as sales director at a major global events agency, and his considerable network of marketing and events clients who span most Fortune 1000 companies.

His agency’s roster today includes Kenyan musician Eric Wainaina and band Sauti Sol, Ethiopian businesswoman Bethlehem Alemu and Ugandan entrepreneur Ashish Thakkar.

To build the AS+A roster, he says, he proactively sought out individuals who are already very visible in the public domain and who have extensive experience in public speaking.

In addition, he began to seek out ‘the next big thing’ — young, up and coming people with incredible stories to share, such as Patrick Ngowi from Tanzania or Tonee Ndung’u and Mark Kaigwa from Kenya.

“I now see my role as a matchmaker, connecting international brands with East African speakers and artists who can provide real African insights, perspectives and entertainment for their global events and campaigns,” Issaias says.

The mission

He draws inspiration from a statement made recently by US President Barack Obama when he attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi: “Africa is on the move”. Issaias believes this is a sentiment felt by most multinationals around the world.

In fact, he argues local artists and speakers lack nothing when compared against their counterparts from the rest of the world.

“Everyone on our roster is ready to hit the global speaker-and-entertainment circuit. Our role at African Speakers and Artists is to work closely with all our talent to make sure they are presented and marketed in the best possible way, and to make sure they get their story across in the most engaging, immersive way possible.

“For any up and coming speakers, my tip would be to ask yourself the following questions: why should someone pay to hear my story? Is my point of view unique? Is my content truly original? If you can answer these questions positively, then we’d love to hear from you!”

Issaias sees part of AS+A’s mission as addressing the historical lack of recognition for East African artists and speakers, and with this is mind, most of 2015 has been spent building a roster and promoting the platform around the world.

“The ‘Africa rising’ story has already been well documented, but what has been less documented are the people on the ground making this happen, the people who are putting this corner of the world firmly on the map.

“AS+A is simply bringing these individuals together under one roof, and giving them a platform from which global brands can access them.”

[email protected]