Bongo Zozo: A content creator promoting Tanzania to the world

Describing himself as a travel blogger, Bongo Zozo truly does get around, he has been to 86 countries around the world, showing Tanzania the world from his point of view, and is arguably the most famous international Kiswahili blogger.

His maiden video content in Tanzania was during the historic football match between Uganda Cranes and Taifa Stars, where Tanzania qualified in the AFCON match for the first time in more than three decades.

This life would change for good when he went to Egypt for a Tanzania vs Senegal match.

While he was singing Tanzania’s national anthem at the top of his voice, little did he know that Millard Ayo, the famous blogger and journalist, had spotted him and asked one of his presenters to go and interview him.

The interview went viral, and the words he coined that day, ‘fujo zisizoumiza’ meaning harmless fun, would be repeated in the parliament and everyone in Tanzania got mesmerised by the joyful Caucasian man who could speak good Kiswahili.

Tanzanians welcomed him with open arms, his Kiswahili helped him connect with the locals.

Bonding over beer and learning the street lingo helped him cultivate a personality that would stand out and later serve him well as a content creator.

He gives credit to ‘Mama Jesca’, mother to his children, whom he co-parents and who have formed a strong bond for the 26 years they have been together in various capacities.

He was officially recognised as a tourism ambassador by the then minister for Tourism Dr Hamis Kigwangalla, after his video holding the Tanzanian flag and telling spectators about the country and Mt Kilimanjaro went viral.

The appointment elevated him to the national duties of promoting our tourist attractions across the world. He has popularised his flag-bearing videos, and the impact in Europe and the Western world is evident.

Now Bongo Zozo is looking at moving back to Tanzania and setting up a creativity team that would take his video to the next level.

His videos now rack millions of views, and his recent interview running from the airport to the peak of Kilimanjaro has just proven he is the undisputed king of content creation.

Bongo Zozo doesn’t rely on content creation to make money; he has investments that cover his needs, and he is a minimalist; he doesn’t own any expensive car or house, which gives him the freedom to explore his blogging purely as a passion, and that takes out the stress of having all his posts go viral.

Now he wants to be a full-time content creator, at a time when Tanzania attracts only 1.8 million tourists with the ambitious aim to have 5 million tourists visit the country by 2025.

He suggests that doubling the number of tourists in a year would take ingenious initiatives; one could be promoting Airbnb, the popular accommodation-sharing app, to make up for the expected surge of visitors.

He also advises on improving the services. He recently climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, and the sanitation in the toilets was not satisfactory, and litter left by climbers did not help the situation.

Bongo Zozo’s experience travelling the world from Columbus in the United States to the inner cities in Indonesia gives him a valuable perspective on what Tanzania needs to do to improve its tourism sector to attain its 5 million tourists mark.

One observation he had is the betterment of services to retain the tourists who have already visited so that they can return; he says retaining tourists is more important than trying to attract new ones.

It’s beneficial to have feedback from tourists, who can share their experiences and give constructive criticism to help in improving the services.

Everyone has a favourite tourist attraction in Tanzania, and Bongo Zozo, who is an avid mountaineer, prefers Mt Kilimanjaro, which he has climbed three times, as well as Mt Meru.

“Actually, Mt Meru is tougher to climb, and you need to have rangers escort you because there are buffaloes and other dangerous animals, but I also like seeing chimpanzees in the parks,” he added.

Bongo Zozo knows his audience; most people who view his videos are Tanzanians who live in areas where they don’t necessarily have frequent access to television; hence, his streaming of videos as he travels the world opens a new window to those who can’t travel or see what other parts of the world are like, and he has travelled not only to Tanzania’s tourists’ attractions but to different corners of the world and documented his journeys.

Tanzanians in the diaspora share some of his views as well; he live streams local soccer matches, mostly those of arch-rivals Simba vs Yanga and Taifa Stars in Europe, and the US would thank him because his live streams are often the only way they can view the matches.

“I am not advertising Tanzania to the world, but I just show Tanzanians the beauty of their country and why they should be proud of it,” he said.

He will also be embarking on a South American tour, going to Cuba, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and other South American countries, and once again he will be sharing his journey with his Tanzanian followers.

Upon his return, he will concentrate on promoting Tanzania’s domestic tourism, which he says is often overlooked.

His teenage son Mickey, whom he occasionally features on his posts, also has a huge following on social media; his friends are often surprised at how he got so popular, and he always points to his famous dad, Bongo Zozo.

His daughter Jesca is the contrast of that; she is very private and shies away from social media.

He urges all young people to get into content creation and to have patience and persistence.

He did hundreds of videos before he got the one that went viral, but creating video content out of love is crucial, not because you want to make money.

The toxic social media environment spares no one, not even Bongo Zozo.

He reckons that the more famous he becomes, the more haters he accumulates, and he is fine with it.

“I always say, the more success you achieve, the more hate you get, so haters are a sign of success,” he pointed out.