The Hangout Duo – African Creative Entrepreneurs building a Community
One thing most of us can agree on is that the term entrepreneur is used mostly together with stories of great capitalist growth and future market domination. Over the past few years, we have been introduced to new forms of entrepreneurship like social entrepreneurship and Zimbabwe’s very own, Hustler entrepreneurship. The Zimbabwe startup scene seems to be made up mostly of extremes of both. There are people who want to make a social difference and those trying to make a quick hundred bucks. Who can blame them? we live in a country constantly seeking hope. Recently I came across a group who call themselves The Hangout Duo and with this encounter I met a new form of entrepreneurship; Creative Entrepreneurship.
The Hangout Duo and Creative Entrepreneurship
The concept itself cannot be termed to be new although the focus on it as a serious sphere of entrepreneurship is new. The Hangout Duo has set out to bring the stories of African creative entrepreneurs to light and to tell these stories on a stage where more people can access them. This is more than welcome because our economies (well, most African countries) are not creativity-friendly. Constantly getting the eye for kuita zvemagitare (making music but loosely translated to “fooling around with guitars”) and not getting support until you have made it in your art. Creative startups need someone in their corner and they need a community where they can build together and upon each other’s successes. Entre le Hangout Duo!
African youths do need a voice and a platform to share their stories. The Hangout Duo is the perfect and vibrant group of millennials to give this voice and to trust with the task. If you are interested in the creatives in our beautiful motherland or you are a creative, consider giving them a look. The show itself has not come out yet, but if you are into beautiful, witty and all round amazing hosts helping build the creative Africa you want to live in then follow The Hangout Duo and become a part of it. Below is their online press release:
The Hangout Duo is an online youth-oriented show that is aimed at showcasing rising young African creative artists and connecting them through events, fashion, entertainment, entrepreneurship, brands, and places.
The show idea came about when Donovan Faranando and Mitchell Mbele couldn’t find places where creatives like to hang out, the challenges they were facing better yet what they are all about. They are located in Cape Town but now they have expanded to Zimbabwe and Zambia because they realised it’s now a movement.
The show will be presented by Donovan Faranando, Mitchell Mbele, Nompumelelo Nteyi and Anamkhaya Mbombo who are fellow creatives in their own right.
The show episodes will be screened on YouTube and Facebook.They are embracing digital broadcast. The first episode will feature Boris Van Haupt (musician), Phile Mazibuko (graphic designer), Denver Mazibuko (model) and other creative artists like Daniel Moleka (fashion designer) from Congo.
They will also have creatives from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Senegal, and Malawi being featured on the show.People can subscribe to their YouTube channel and follow them on their social media networks for more information:
http://www.facebook.com/thehangoutduo
http://www.youtube.com/TheHangoutDuoShow
http://www.instagram.com/thehangoutduo
Like4DislikeYou can also join the recently launched #IamCreativeForAfrica campaign created together with African Curators and Business Blunders and Brilliance (hey, that’s us!) which aims to grow the community with more depth and share stories from beyond creative entrepreneurship. One of the smart people I listen too but am too lazy to remember said, “People come to you for your content but stay for your community.”This can be the community that Creative entrepreneurs stay in. Let us continuously improve ourselves. #kaizenYOU
