KCB Lions Den becomes first Kenyan production to be available on Netflix

Entrepreneurship reality TV show KCB Lions Den is now available for streaming on the video on demand platform, Netflix. Lions Den becomes the first Kenyan production to be made available on the platform.

KCB Lions Den was launched in 2016 and currently has four seasons but only two seasons are available for streaming on Netflix. It offers entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of five investors who evaluate them for the possibility of being funded.

The investors, who are called Lions, are angel investors, which means that they provide capital in exchange for equity in the businesses they select for investment. The Lion serves as a business partner to the contestant whose business they invest in. In the case of a successful pitch, the Lions mentors the entrepreneurs and help ensures that the business becomes a success.

The investors on the show include Joanne Mwangi, Kris Senanu, Olive Gachara, Myke Rabar and Darshan Chandaria. Wandia Gichuru was also an investor for the first three seasons before being replaced by Joanne Mwangi. By season 3, The Lions had signed deals worth Ksh. 219.4 million in various businesses.

Before Netflix, it was only available on Kenyan TV station, KTN Home with a few episodes on YouTube. The Lions’ Den TV show was licensed to Quite Bright Films by Sony Pictures Television Network, who then partnered with KCB Group and KTN as the broadcast partner.

The TV show is part of the KCB Group’s 2Jiajiri Programme. The 2jiajiri initiative that seeks to create job opportunities for the youth as well as up skill them for self-employment while at the same time provide training, funding, market place and mentorship for future entrepreneurs. The initiative aims at empowering 10,000 youth every year to start small businesses for the next five years, which is projected to create 50,000 direct jobs and at least 250,000 indirect jobs during the period.

Earlier this month, Netflix announced the introduction of a Made in Africa collection, which is a curated list of African series, films and documentaries. They took this step in a bid to celebrate Africa Month and demonstrate Netflix’s commitment to Africa and the African creative community.

The collection is available globally at netflix.com/madeinafrica. It includes over 100 titles, including older licensed films and shows. There are also Netflix Originals like Queen Sono, which debuted on Netflix in February, and Blood & Water, which will premiere this month.

The collection includes critically-acclaimed films and series that includes:

• Jerusalema
• King of Boys
• Lionheart
• Mokalik
• Oscar-award winning film Tsotsi
• Uncovered
• The Wedding Party
• Tjovitjo
• Castle and Castle
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
• Azali
• Potato Potahto
• Joy

The collection also includes major international films and series that were either predominantly or completely filmed on the continent, such as Holiday in the Wild (South Africa and Zambia); The Red Sea Diving Resort (Namibia and South Africa); Troy: Fall of a City (South Africa), Beasts of No Nation (Ghana), Blood Diamond (Morocco, Sierra Leone and South Africa), and documentaries, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Ivory Game and the Oscar-nominated Virunga.