BUDGET CUTS, LAYOFFS & NEAR-COLLAPSE: FILMMAKER GRACE KAHAKI ON HARSH REALITIES OF RUNNING A PRODUCTION COMPANY

Award-winning TV producer and co-founder of Insignia Productions, Grace Kahaki, recently sat down with Cheptoek Boyo on the Buzz Central Podcast to discuss the realities of running a production company in today’s volatile media landscape.

Kahaki, who co-founded Insignia Productions alongside Philippe Bresson, revealed the highs and lows of entrepreneurship in film and television from major successes to near-collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be flexible and never get comfortable,” Kahaki shared. 

“Before COVID-19, we had four shows airing on NTV and KTN. That was a peak moment for us until the pandemic hit. Stations slashed budgets, offering only 50 percent of what we’d agreed on. With local TV pay rates already low, it was terrifying.”

Faced with sudden financial strain, Kahaki and Bresson had to make tough decisions, including letting go of team members and changing their business model. “We had to restrategise and let some people go and we also diversified and talked with other producers and go ideas. We challenged ourselves to shoot things like radio advertisements, animations and commercials and we have been able to sustain the business,” she explained.