Behind the glitz: The untold struggles of Kenya’s event planners

For most Kenyans attending events, the one thing they care about is seeing value for the money they spent. If it is a music concert, for instance, most Kenyans set a high standard way before the event takes place.

They will most likely expect the music artists to give their best performance yet, a top-notch sound system, a venue that is conducive for all weather conditions and fair prices from the food and drink vendors at the venue.

‎However, it is rare for any of these event goers to notice the event planner usually lurking in the background.

Running up and down, trying to make sure the event does not fall apart, catching a breath for an event planner is usually a luxury.

‎Dinah Kemunto fell in love with event planning a few years ago at a music festival.

Being best friends with the event planner of the music festival, Kemunto had been offered VIP access. Kemunto was over the moon, especially because interacting with the artist set to perform had always been on her bucket list.

‎Unfortunately, the assistant to Kemunto’s best friend had cancelled last minute without consideration.

Not willing to see her best friend left hanging dry, Kemunto volunteered to help in whatever capacity she was needed. In the midst of this chaos, Kemunto realised that the adrenaline she felt was what had been missing in her life.

“It was a crazy career shift from the corporate world to event planning. My parents at the time felt like I had officially lost it. However, after feeling drained for years in the monotonous corporate world, I had a gut feeling that event planning was the right move for me," Kemunto says.

‎Though there is the thrill and satisfaction that comes with successfully planning an event, sometimes, all is not sunshine and rainbows.

When Galvin Ngugi started event planning, nothing could have prepared him for the first six months. Tarmacking for two years after graduating, Ngugi decided to think outside the box. 

‎True to his extroverted nature, he realised that while he was in campus, countless people approached him when they wanted to pool a crowd for their parties.

Believing that the best parties are the ones that Ngugi attends, people had a tendency to follow his lead. Realising that he had a knack for events, Ngugi decided to pursue event planning.

‎After constant rejections, the vigour that Ngugi had to be successful in event planning initially dampened. Whenever he approached big corporations with his creative proposals for events, his ideas were quickly shut down.

Countless times, these big corporations would degrade Ngugi by saying that his ideas were too ambitious for a person starting in event planning. 

‎Despite Ngugi’s attempts to make them believe in his event proposals, the corporations felt like Ngugi was a present-day Icarus, flying too close to the sun. The corporations were not ready to suffer the consequences of Ngugi’s plans crumbling.

“Just because I was not referred to them by some big shot in the event planning, they did not see my value. It took everything in me to affirm myself that I was not the problem; they just did not know they were in the presence of a visionary," he says.

‎For Sophie Nduku, the call came from inside the house. Before Nduku decided to start event planning, she expected to face a few challenges. However, the silver lining for her was that she was assured of her friends’ support- or so she assumed.

‎Being a sketch artist, she instantly knew that she would have wanted to focus on planning events that involved art. After scouring the internet, Nduku landed on the idea of planning sip and paint events.

‎Surrounded by artsy friends, Nduku put the apprehension of having a low turnout in her rearview. After she had finally ironed out the rest of the details, Nduku started promoting the event.

Forming a WhatsApp specifically for the event and consistently posting about it on her social media platforms, Nduku thought that all that was left was for her tickets being sold out within a week. 

‎However, even after three weeks, only a quarter of her tickets had been bought. Trying to stay positive, Nduku assumed that maybe her friend group was too afraid to tell her directly that the event sounded boring.

“The dagger to my heart was when someone whom I wasn’t even close with let the cat out of the bag. Can you imagine my two best friends went out of the way to discredit my event, claiming that I was only interested in a quick cash grab? That was a rude awakening that almost plummeted my ambition for event planning," she says.

‎Sharing with The Star, Matthew Gakii explains that his passion for film birthed his event planning pursuit. It dawned on Gakii that there was a gap in optimal viewer experience in the film industry.

As a film enthusiast, being forced to go to a cinema for a satisfactory viewer experience felt limiting. Having this knowledge, Gakii decided to start planning outdoor movie-watching events.

‎Finding a venue for hosting these events proved to be the biggest headache for Gakii. Since an outdoor experience was at the core of these events, the venue had to be versatile to the highly unpredictable Nairobi weather.

The venues that had been appropriately tailored for this event asked for an arm and leg for booking. Gakii’s pleas that he was just a small-scale event planner fell on deaf ears.

“I cannot tell you the number of times I was shut down when I tried to negotiate the price. Most of these venues were unwilling to budge on their prices. What ruffled my feathers was the blatant belittlement directed towards me. I was not asking to be treated like a beggar; all I wanted was a little grace and time for me to match their prices within a short period of realising profits," Gakii says.

‎According to Faith Wairimu, a seasoned event planner, the challenges that constantly spring up in event planning are enough to demoralise anyone, even those with a strong fort. 

‎In fact, as a seasoned event planner, the challenges Wairimu continues to face seem to get bigger. However, after picking herself up when she tumbled many times, Wairimu feels like she has finally found her footing.

“Before you decide to start event planning, make sure that it is not an impulsive pursuit. This career can test you in unfathomable ways, and without the passion for it, you are sure to fall flat. That said, when you decide to truly pursue event planning, make sure you never lose your grit," she says.

"Whenever a newer challenge springs up, don’t immediately see the challenge as an unattainable mountain and throw in the towel. Think out of the box for solutions. Remember, no pressure, no diamonds.”