Arts Culture & Entertainment

Svetlana is a passionate marketing and communications expert who believes in the power of storytelling to shape perspectives, influence minds, and ultimately enhance lives. With a deep commitment to delivering value through effective communication, she has built a career focused on creating meaningful connections between brands and their audiences.

Her journey began in Japan, followed by a move to Singapore, before settling in Kenya in 2015. In 2018, she took a bold step and founded Tandem, a creative agency driven by innovation and impact. Over the years, she has collaborated with some of Kenya’s leading brands, spanning industries from financial services to FMCG, crafting campaigns that resonate and drive results.

One of Svetlana’s most impactful contributions is her work on SKY Girls KE, a behavior change initiative empowering teenage girls to make informed, positive life choices about their bodies, health, and future. Through her leadership, she continues to harness the power of marketing and communication to drive social change and lasting impact.

About Tandem and the SKY Girls Initiative

Tandem is a creative marketing agency founded in 2018 with a mission to craft campaigns and projects that drive real impact. Guided by the motto, Creativity with Purpose, the agency goes beyond delivering results—it creates experiences that educate, entertain, and provide genuine value to audiences.

One of Tandem’s standout projects is SKY Girls KE, part of a pan-African girls’ empowerment movement designed for teen girls aged 12-19. Through innovative content, including teen TV dramas, TikTok shows, magazines, large-scale events, and interactive games, the initiative connects with young audiences in ways that feel natural and engaging. By incorporating play, storytelling, and real-life scenarios, SKY Girls equips teens with decision-making and refusal skills, helping them stay true to their values during their formative years.

Joy Alunga is a multidisciplinary artist and a dynamic force in Africa’s creative industry, seamlessly blending animation, design, and storytelling to elevate African narratives on a global stage.

With over seven years of experience, she has contributed to major productions, including Brand Kenya, DoubleTree by Hilton, D&R Studios, The Real Housewives of Nairobi, and Ctrl Z Show as a Visual Development Artist. Notably, she was part of the Iwájú team—an animated series by Kugali in partnership with Disney.

Beyond her creative work, Joy is deeply involved in mentorship and industry advocacy. As a lecturer at the Nairobi Institute of Technology, she nurtures the next generation of African animators. She is also an active advocate in the industry through the Association of Animation Artists Kenya, where she served as a jury member for the Kalasha Film Festival (2020) and was part of the 95th Oscar Committee Kenya (2022). In recognition of her expertise, she was recently appointed as Kugali Media (UK) Ambassador for East Africa.

Expanding her influence in 2024, Joy ventured into TV and film hosting, debuting as a panel moderator at Nairobi Comic Con 2024, where she led a discussion on the future of African animation. She is also a host at D&R Studios, further cementing her role as a leading voice in the industry.

With a relentless dedication to pushing creative boundaries, amplifying African stories, and empowering the next generation of artists, Joy Alunga is a trailblazer shaping the future of animation and visual storytelling in Africa.

Joy Mwangi #ZuriAwards 2023 Arts and Culture Nominee is among the few female entrepreneurs that have dared to venture in the animation industry, a male dominated tank and has founded her own animation studio that is now aged 12 months.

She founded Ada Animation in September 2020,a pan-African Animation studio headquartered in Kenya that seeks to build a thriving industry in Africa that will in turn create employment for the youth and catalyze wealth creation opportunities. The studio is also present in two other countries: UK and South Africa. Her studio is the first in Kenya and one of the few in Africa that has successfully execute an all animation capacity building programme. Ada Animation Bootcamp is a three-month hybrid programme that provides ambitious African animators with the necessary skills, tools, mentorship and a platform to create their own stories and earn from them.

Beverly Jalango #Zuri2023 Arts &Culture Nominee, Empowers the next generation through creativity and sustainability! Foreign Collective is inspiring youth with their innovative recycled arts program, while promoting eco-conscious living.

Waruguru Kiai #ZuriAwards 2023 Arts and Culture Honoree is a Women and Youth Worker passionate about Leadership and Good Governance. She is a holder of a bachelor’s degree in Law, a Public Relations and Diplomacy Diploma from Mount Kenya University. She serves as a Legal Advisor and sits as a Director in the Youth Agenda Advisory Board. She is also a Ms. President Leadership Show Finalist, Obama Leaders Fellow, Africa Women Writers Fellow as well as a Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Alumni founded by President Barack Obama. She is the Founder Village Girl Thoughts and Dreams, an online writer’s platform with over 298,000 followers, where she uses humor and satire to address societal issues ie Gender based violence, Post-Partum Depression, body positivity, mental health awareness, self-awareness and development affecting women and girls in Kenya, and across the Continent in simple English.

Ellie became an Orphan at early age and took role of my both parents to manage and rise my eight siblings. Through the struggle and hardship and expose by life as a young girl she got pregnant at 14 yrs. And after a lot she was able to overcome challenges and turned it into opportunity to assist young girls and women on empowering Women, widows, Orphans, single mothers, and less privileged in the community.

Winnie Muriithi Arts & Culture Nominee #ZuriAwards 2021 is the Founder of Wynton House of Music so the need to empower the youth with skills that can help them sustain a living within the future. By providing music education to people of all ages.