TAKE 5: With Kangai Mwiti

Kangai Mwiti is an Award-winning makeup artist and digital strategist. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • My entire existence is online. My undergraduate was in business. It did not have anything to do with what I am studying now, communications theory, how Africa consumes and does not produce
  • I am an Amplify Fellow at Akoma (Amplify is a fellowship program for media and content creators in Africa, founded by Zain Verjee and Chidi Afulezi). I will be done in three months.
  • We are learning to create content – in fact, it is like doing content push-ups. We are forced to create content fast, and in areas we are weak in.

Kangai Mwiti is an Award-winning makeup artist and digital strategist whose professional background spans the beauty, retail, IT, and digital industries. As the face behind Bellesa Africa- Kenya’s first YouTube channel dedicated solely to makeup and beauty tips, tricks and tutorials for women of colour, Kangai’s impact is felt across 100-plus countries around the world. Her channel is currently among the top 10 channels in the country with over 98,000 subscribers and 6,300,000 views. 

1.You are called upon to speak at many engagements on your areas of expertise. Do you ever get stage fright?

Not really. I went to high school in the US, and over there, you are expected to make many presentations. They throw you in head first. I was Vice President of my Senior Class, and to get that position, I had to campaign, so no, I don’t really get stage fright. I get funny! Somehow, I become very comical on stage – I don’t think I am like that in person!

2. Due to that VP position, there was politics in your past – is there a political career in your future?

Nope. Never. I can’t stand politics. I am the opposite of those people who are very passionate about politics. It doesn’t mean I don’t vote. It just means I would not want to get involved at that level.

3. What are you studying for your master’s degree?

Communications, with a focus on digital, so right now, my entire existence is online. My undergraduate was in business. It did not have anything to do with what I am studying now, communications theory, how Africa consumes and does not produce, how to make Africa a production powerhouse…it basically supports what I am already doing.

4.Your background, as you said, is in business. How did that became makeup tutorials?

They had nothing to do with each other! YouTube was a way to express my creativity. At the time, it was the only platform I had access to. Every platform a makeup artist had access to, say, five years ago, already had ‘their own’, the people they already knew and used.

Breaking into TV, for example, would have meant serious hustling, and at the time, I didn’t have the drive to get into that, so I decided to show people what I can do, online.

5. What’s the plan for you, and your brand, in two years time?

My graduation should be next year. I have big dreams and plans, and I am trying to implement them. One of them is owning a company that focuses on amplifying a brand’s message, especially through the use of video. In the past few months, there has been a shift in how brands advertise, from advertising, to telling stories.

Most of the people who produce those stories are not from Kenya – if it is a collaboration, the Kenyans are the ones doing location scouting et al, not directing or owning the stories. I want to have a Kenyan company that owns and tells those stories on a Pan-African scale.

I am building a skill base for that particular purpose – for example, I am an Amplify Fellow at Akoma (Amplify is a fellowship program for media and content creators in Africa, founded by Zain Verjee and Chidi Afulezi). I will be done in three months.

We are learning to create content – in fact, it is like doing content push-ups. We are forced to create content fast, and in areas we are weak in – I am strong in videography and photography, but writing, not so much!