Comedy still the ‘unsung hero’ of youth employment

Dar es Salaam. Humour is Tanzania’s budding employer as the number of youth taking it up as a job is rising steadily.

Humour - which is one of our most important forms of emotional expression - is now attracting school boys and girls, just as it is attracting graduates.

The well-known comedians in Dar es Salaam currently use large building halls like the PSSSF Tower and Mlimani City to accommodate a growing number of people who want to be entertained after a busy work-day.

Indeed, there is money in comedy.

For instance, Musa* - one of the leaders of the ‘Cheka Tu’ group - says for every four-hour-show, they entertain at least 1,000 people who have to pay either Sh15,000 for regular seats or Sh30,000 and Sh40,000 for VIP and VVIP tickets respectively.

To put this into the right perspective: each four-hour show brings in not less than Sh15 million through ticketing alone.

The group also makes some cash through sponsorships from individuals and organisations which have already seen the opportunity that the business offers.

“In fact, we came to realise that live stand-up comedy is an opportunity after giving it a try. However, we still can’t keep up with experienced groups like those in Kenya,” he told The Citizen. While the sector gained momentum in other countries including neighbouring Kenya more than a decade ago, Tanzanians could not easily fathom that the sector would soon become a job creator.

The likes of Kenya’s ‘Churchill’ are having an impact on aspiring Tanzanian youth who are now coming out in large numbers to grab the opportunities that are found in the sector.

One such youth is Oscar Msafiri Kiseo, popularly known as ‘MC Mnyalu,’ the founder of ‘Comedy Village’ in Mwanza.

He told The Citizen that his desire to turn comedy into business was conceived during his days as a student at St Augustine University of Tanzania (Saut).

“I started tracking comedians through the Churchill Show in Kenya. At first, I was doing it just out of leisure but later the feedback from my colleagues became so inspiring that I had to full throttle,” the 29-year old says.

MC Mnyalu - who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education - says after testing the fruits of what comedy has to offer, he simply put his degree certificate on a bookshelf and decided to raise the stand-up comedy platform in the country.

“I shared my idea with people who had seen my performing - and, together, we started by raising least Sh2.2 million which we used as seed capital to our first Live Stand-Up comedy show. This is what had eventually fuelled my entrance to where I am today,” he says.

With more than 15 young people under him - six of them already accomplished comedians - Mr Kiseo says he has no regrets in the cash-making stakes. He says live stand-up comedy will be an expanded industry in the next decade, as many young people are now seeing prospects in the sector.

“Although Mwanza City residents are still lagging behind in terms of responding to live stand-up comedy shows, I am confident there is a huge likelihood that we will soon be where we want to be,” says the Iringa-born comedian.

Mr Kiseo also says that, although they are not working at a loss, the government should come forward and recognise the presence of the new commercial sector in the country.

He believes that, in doing so, more young people will emerge and improve their livelihoods through self-employment.

“Actually most investors/sponsors have not seen the opportunity yet, something that forces us to take a lot of time to express ourselves to them even though we gather too many people at a time,” he explains.

He also notes that some financial institutions are still afraid to invest/lend them because they also do not understand the industry well.

Need for recognition

In this regard, experts recommend that the government officially recognise the industry and promote it as it has severally done to music/film industries.

Dr Johnson Maboya, an arts expert based in Dar es Salaam, says Tanzania was lagging behind other countries as far as live stand-up comedy is concerned.

He says Tanzanians are accustomed to watching recorded comedy shows being broadcast on some television stations - and not the advent of young people in today’s live stand-up shows.

“The current one is more economical. I would say it is modern... Which is an opportunity for every nation to use the talents of young people to grow the economy and expand the scope of employment. It only needs to be fully recognised and promoted,” he says.

Comedy is an industry that caters to both educated and uneducated young people - and can completely change their lives for the better.

The expert notes that every stakeholder - including financial institutions - must realize that, while comedy is fun, it is also an opportunity.

“Today, the comedy industry in the US is highly valued for its contribution to the country’s economic growth.

The UK - and even our neighbours Kenya - are making a lot of money from this industry.

“This is all because everyone understood those opportunities and now contributes to them,” explains Dr Maboya.

Evans Bukuku of Punchline, an institution that is dedicated to nurturing comedy talent, says the industry will grow further if the comedians and other stakeholders recognise and respect the blooming industry.

“This is an opportunity for many young people. But, they need to do it professionally so as to bolster the industry - which, for some countries, is already a big deal,” he says.

He believes that comedy has the potential to become a key pillar of the entertainment industry in Tanzania - thus exponentially becoming a significant contributor to the overall national economy.