Ndanu Kilonzo Kimani
Ndanu Kilonzo Kimani is a Kenyan creative entrepreneur and chief executive of Okuhle Spielworks Limited, a Nairobi content studio dedicated to telling African stories for global screens. A graduate of Maseno University’s creative and performing arts programme and holder of an MBA from Strathmore Business School, she began her career as a stage actor before shifting behind the camera to produce drama.
Since taking the helm in 2016 she has delivered more than 700 hours of film and television, including the serials Lies That Bind, Ladies First, and the 2024 police thriller Shujaa Unit. Her shows air on M-Net, SABC, Showmax, Fox Africa and major streaming platforms, reaching 32 countries. In 2025 she sealed a first-look deal with Amazon Prime Video, one of the largest Kenyan content acquisitions.
Kimani couples creativity with business rigour. She introduced profit-participation for writers and crew, built a remote post-production hub in Kisumu that cuts costs by 25 percent, and launched the StoryLab accelerator, which has mentored 120 filmmakers and attracted KES 180 million in development grants.
A speaker at Cannes MIPTV and Durban FilmMart, she sits on the Kenya Film Commission’s content-export task force, proving the creative economy can be a sustainable career path.