HEVA Fund - Ascend Program
HEVA has generated insights, rolled out investments, and innovated financial models specifically for the growth of the creative economy in East Africa since 2013. The organisation has invested in more than 40 creative businesses and directly supported over 8,000 creative practitioners in the fashion, digital content and television, live music, cultural heritage, and gaming value-chains. Their grant will be used to pilot the Ascend program. It will support 15 women-led initiatives in media that are all focused on telling the stories of marginalised communities and highlighting the perspectives of communities and demographics who have been silenced.
The kind of stories that end up as critical news agendas are also influenced by ownership and representation - diverse voices lead to diverse stories. With this in mind, HEVA Fund piloted a project called Ascend Program to set up a cohort of 15 young women, queer, trans and gender non-conforming media practitioners with capacity building, consulting, networking, mentorship, skills building and guidance.
The program offered physical and online classes, and technical skills needed to produce relevant and compelling content and in some cases, participants also received equipment and software. They were also mentored on the business of media to enable them to become more viable candidates for external investment, opening a path for growth sustainability.