Local startup taps sports and creative economy with super app

Amid Kenya’s burgeoning youth restlessness, a local startup has embarked on ambitious plans aimed at harnessing the energy of the youth population.

Truly Kenya Ltd aims to create new economic opportunities for the country’s growing youth population, with its sights on the sports and creative economy sectors to provide economic opportunities as well as showcase Kenya’s potential and attract investors.

The firm has bagged major partnerships with three firms with a global footprint in its bid to tap into a demographic shift that could reshape the country’s economy. 

It will partner with Urban Icon International to set up two facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa, Super Star Pro Golf in organising golf tournaments in Kenya that will be graced by world-renowned athletes and Imagine BC to develop the first Kenyan super app.

“Truly Kenya is a startup that was born out of patriotism to showcase Kenya’s potential and attract investors,” said Alex Chesosi, the firm’s founder and chairman. 

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“We have focused on sports and the creative economy, areas that engage young people through their talents while also marketing Kenya as a destination for sports, business, and culture.” By next year, the National Council for Population and Development projects that nearly 20 million Kenyans—about 35 per cent of the total population—will be aged between 15 and 34. 

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reports that this group already makes up over half of the country’s workforce.

However, many remain underemployed, a contributing factor to the widespread protests earlier this year, where young people demanded better governance, affordable living, and more opportunities.

Mr Chesosi said the company is setting up two multi-use indoor arenas in Nairobi and Mombasa in partnership with American firm Urban Icon International, founded by former NBA player Charles Smith. 

These multi-purpose hubs will house courts for sports like basketball and volleyball as well as serve as innovation spaces for the youth and at the same time house various amenities and programmes for youth and young adults.

The goal, he said, is to provide a professional environment where young talents can innovate and flourish. “We want these arenas to be more than just sports facilities,” said Mr Chesosi. “They will also have restaurants, hotels, and innovation hubs, creating an ecosystem where the youth can explore their talents and potentially turn sports and creative economy sectors into high-growth industries.”

Social media platform

Beyond physical infrastructure, Truly Kenya is developing a “super app,” which it says will have Kenya’s first homegrown social media platform as well as streaming services for music, movies, and gaming. 

James Njuguna, co-founder of Truly Kenya, explained that the app will cater specifically to the needs of the Kenyan youth, providing a unique platform for content creation and consumption while also generating income for content creators.

He said Truly Kenya has developed a revenue share model that is not exploitative to the content creators while also ensuring the sustainability of the innovation hub.

The app will be co-developed with Imagine BC. “Kenyan content creators, sports personalities, and artists often get a raw deal. With our model, they will receive 70 per cent of the revenue generated on the platform,” said Mr Njuguna. 

The app will also feature a lottery and a marketing feature where users can earn money by watching ads. Njuguna noted that with proper planning, users could make up to Sh10,000 a month, offering a novel way for young Kenyans to supplement their incomes.

“Those who come on the advertising platform will be earning about Sh35 per completed advert. There is no other app that compensates you for the time spent watching content. If a user can plan their time, they can earn Sh10,000 per month of additional income,” he said.

The firm’s ambitions extend beyond entertainment and into sports diplomacy. The company plans to host high-profile golf tournaments featuring iconic athletes. “By using sports, we are looking at soft diplomacy as a new way to market the country and attract investment,” said Mr Njuguna. The tournaments will be organised in partnership with Super Star Pro Golf.

“We are engaging high-level A-list sports personalities, who have since retired but remained iconic. These include the NBA and Engling Premier League (EPL) Hall of Famers, some of them retired but remain iconic. These are personalities that will further enhance Kenya’s position as a sports tourism destination.”

“Our goal is to re-engineer how sports and the creative economy operate, turning them into significant economic drivers.”

The move by Truly Kenya to tap into sports and the creative economy is partly because Mr Chesosi is a sports enthusiast and is always looking for opportunities where young people can be engaged through sports. He is an avid golfer and regularly plays basketball.

Mr Chesosi said he believes in the holistic empowerment of people, more so the young people, partly the factor that led him to form the company.