Volunteer clicks his way to a lucrative business

Armed with a camera and a video cassette recorder that Harrup received as gifts from his father, and without formal training in the field, he started his company — Mashariki Media Africa — to document events such as weddings and conferences.

Fortunately, the Kenya film industry offers a wealth of opportunities for individuals interested in pursuing jobs in the sector.

According to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the Sub-Saharan entertainment sector, Kenya’s film and cinema industry has grown significantly since 2011 when it earned $4.2 million (Sh420 million) and is expected to fetch $7.7 million (Sh770 million) in 2020.

Harrup has seized the opportunity that the growing industry offers. “From 2002 to 2007 I was doing voluntary work such as data entry, report writing and organising workshops for the Constituency Aids Control Committee but I left to pursue my passion. I started my business with a desktop computer, a professional still photo camera and a video cassette recorder deck,” he said.

To begin with, he set up his editing suite in his house at Kapsoya Estate in Eldoret town. His first project was a wedding at an Eldoret hotel in April 2008.

His client was so impressed that he paid the Sh30,000 fee promptly.

Harrup added Sh70,000 to the earnings and bought a colour laser printer, another still photo camera and studio speakers.

He then moved his office to the central business district to make the venture more accessible to his growing number of customers and employees.

At the onset, Harrup had only one employee but he has since hired four more professionals.

“We offer three packages for wedding shoots; platinum, gold and silver — each with its own price.

“For platinum, we charge Sh600 per minute for videos and Sh250 for a photo; for gold we charge Sh350 per minute (video) and Sh200 per photo; while silver goes for Sh100 per photo and Sh200 per minute for every video shot,” said Harrup.

After three years of working from Eldoret town he relocated to an office in a residential setting that provided more space and convenience for both his crew and clients.

He has since provided film and photography services to various clients such as Tullow Oil, USAid, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, TechnoServe and East Africa Dairy Development Programme.

“One of my key challenges arose when a friend did a shoddy job for one of my clients. The result was shaky videos and blurred photos, I was called upon to fix the mess,” he said.

The incident taught him not to rely on other people when dealing with clients.

Besides Mashariki Media Africa, Harrup is also the secretary-general of a foundation that he set up as the social responsibility arm of his brand.

He oversees daily operations of the organisation to achieve its objectives which are training, research, and community outreach using social media.

He is also the founder of Digital Young Journalists, a mentorship programme supported by The Pollination Project, to nurture upcoming journalists.

So far, he has mentored 23 young journalists and several students across both primary and secondary schools in the North Rift region.

- African Laughter