Category: Innovation

For any parent with school or creche-going children, coordinating their daily itinerary along with their own can be a nightmare, so when Kids Shuttle Services was founded in 2016, it came much to the relief of many Windhoek parents. Before Kids Shuttle Services, Sethunya Sedimo, a single mother of two found herself exhausted before she even stepped into the office, and late at that. And the afternoons offered little reprieve.

“I would use my lunchtime running out of the office and then enduring the long lunchtime traffic to pick up my son, drop him off for his afternoon classes and then head back to the office. When I would get there, it would be past two o’clock,” she says. For Sethunya discovering Kids Shuttle Services was like discovering unicorns exist. Kids Shuttle Services, which was founded in March 2016 is a transport service tailored to children. There was a need for a service that catered specifically to children because unlike other taxi services that offer transport services, it was trust and dependability that would make Kids Shuttle Services unique.

“Parents are worried for the safety of their children, especially recently. We are glad that we were the first because now, Kids Shuttle Services is not just a business, but it has the parents’ trust. They shared their success stories and that helped us grow. Because of things that have happened, in 2018 parents are not leaving their kids with just anyone. We take it as a social responsibility to the community as parents can do their work without worrying about their kids’ safety,” Kids Shuttle Service admin officer Liezel Meyer tells TF.

Safety is our number one priority. Besides uncompromising seatbelt and road safety rules, background checks are done before hiring drivers and to ensure they don’t have a criminal record. Daily schedules and routes are also meticulously mapped out to get the most out of each trip. Before funds and resources were commit to Kids Shuttle Services, the idea was tested out for a week, transporting kids to and from school. Before the week was up, desperate parents like Sethunya, needing transport services for their kids were calling in daily to book a spot.

Kids Shuttle Services started with two vehicles, a 6-seater Toyota Sienta and a Sedan and closed off 2016 transporting 18 kids and hired two drivers. In two years, that number has more than tripled. Currently, Kids Shuttle Services transports 65 kids and hires five, including four drivers and an admin officer. “We are grateful to Standard Bank because they saw potential in what we do and with a loan from them we bought two more vehicles and office space. We moved onto seven seaters and a Quantam as they are bigger vehicles and we are able to optimise them to carry more kids,” Meyer says.

It has been two years since Sethunya has forfeited her lunch break to drop her kids at home or at their next after school appointment. In fact, lunch naps are now a thing she enjoys. Kids Shuttle Services transports kids from schools in Pioonerspark, Otjomuise, Khomasdal, Cimbabacia, Rocky Crest, Ludwigsdorf, Eros, Kleinne Kuppe, Elisenheim and the list continues to grow. As the final semesters for 2018 get underway, there are already plans to add more vehicles and drivers in 2019.

The Namibian film industry has been steadily growing in quality and numbers over the last few years. Katutura, which garnered some international attention and popular series The Third Will attest to this. Carving out your own creative space within the local film industry has become necessarily inevitable. One such space has seen Inna Goroh rise to be one of Namibia’s leading directors. Besides working on some short films, some of the most popular music videos for artists like Sally, Jericho, Dice and Famaz Attack, Goroh has directed video adverts for Standard Bank Namibia, Bank Windhoek, Air Namibia, MTC and TN Mobile under his production house Inchiology Studios, which he founded in 2008.

“I directed Standard Bank Namibia’s largest Ad to date – Q2 Loans, which I did when I was 26. It’s probably still the project I am most proud of. The advert aged decently. Once of the more recent larger scale projects we’ve worked on was Polana in the House, a show that air last year,” he tells TF.

Polana in the House was a 2017 cooking show hosted by chef Jona Levi and Hermien Elago that set out to showcase creating succulent meals using Pasta Polana products and whatever ingredients they could find in the kitchens of whoever’s home they happened to be shooting in that episode. The result was a great show, some Pasta Polana promotion and instigating ravening appetites for viewers. A successful business in Inchiology Studios is the by-product of a passion for excellence in film that Goroh has fostered since he was a teenager. Son of local pastor of Jesus Center, Haruna Goroh, he got a head start fidgeting with church cameras and equipment to help perfect his art.

He completed his studies in Computer Generated Imagery for Commercials and Film at Savannah College of Art and Design in the U.S.A. His earliest work was a Visual effects (VFX) artist before he moved on to directing. But the beginning was not all rosy. “I started on a less than suitable laptop, putting in long hours. Over time you make the necessary purchases. You gauge the company’s financial standing and take the leap to employ under the supposition that the growth in number will increase amount of work we are able to take on as well as increase quality. Same with equipment – The equipment should be able to pay itself off from the additional work it is able to generate.”

But if you asked him, he’d much rather be up at 5am shooting a short film or storyboarding an advert than sitting in an office trying to balance the books.

“Switching sides of the brain isn’t always easy to do. So, I try to leave the numbers side to the qualified. When a creative is in the heat of creating, it can be difficult to be objective when it comes to the number so it helps to have someone objective at all times. This doesn’t mean I disregard the numbers, I just prefer to have someone who is completely focused on that aspect.”

Inchiology Studios employs seven in various roles and each project is tackled according to its own unique needs. There isn’t exactly a how-to-do manuscript and Goroh had to learn with each project. Generally, they start with a brief (what the client wants) before Inchiology can determining whether it is a project they are able or want to execute. Next, they provide a costing which might be accompanied by a Director’s treatment (depending on the project). The client approves or disapproves. If they approve, production commences, involving the client at every phase; this helps to ensure they are satisfied with the direction the project is taking as well as to keep them updated on progress made. Once the project is completed to the satisfaction of the client, a final file/ video/executable is provided on the medium of their choice.

A devout Christian, evident by his adherence to his father’s teachings, Goroh sees each project as his contribution to Christian excellence. In fact, he starts each day with a prayer before dawn, followed by a trip to the gym. A fairly recent hobby, fitness has become a means to maintaining discipline and growth. Fitness allows Goroh to see the results of applied determination and consistency. He is able to experience muscles do what they could not a week prior. He has applied this philosophy to his art and uses it as a measure for growth. “Are you always learning something new? Are you consistently building on skill and disciplines acquired? Are you surrounded by people better than you? If yes, then it’s highly likely you are growing. I measure my growth by the goals I have set for myself. I have listed the key areas I would like to grow in, having long term and short-term targets. I check in with these regularly to see how far I have come and how far I still have to go,” he says.

Inspired by Blur Studio and 2016’s Deapool director, Tim Miller and Andrew Kramer (founder of Video Co-Pilot), Goroh’s ability to produce music, play drums and photographic skills atop his talent as a director are perhaps an indication of his eclectic upbringing. “I was born in Nigeria, raised in Namibia, attended tertiary in America, married to a South African, Irish Goroh. My wife is a clinical researcher/ film producer/model and mother to my son. My family is my bedrock.”