D-Day Is Here: Safaricom Cannes Young Lions Kenya Face the Judges

Saturday, February 7: The Creative Sprint

The competition kicked off early on Saturday at the EABL Microbrewery in Ruaraka, where participants gathered for a day of brainstorming, refining, and execution.

Laptops, notebooks, and intense discussions filled the space as teams in Digital, Design, and Film categories raced against the clock to deliver competition-ready ideas.

Participants at the Cannes Young Lion Competition//Brian Simiyu

Between 8:50am and 9:30am, brief owners outlined the challenges. Safaricom’s Brand and Marketing Director, Zizwe Awuor, briefed the Digital category; Flavia Othim led the Design briefing; and Keza Mpyisi from Tusker addressed the Film teams.

Safaricom’s Brand and Marketing Director, Zizwe Awuor//Brian Simiyu

By 10:00am, teams moved into full production mode under strict time constraints. A short break followed between 1:00pm and 2:00pm, before the deep-work session continued until 6:00pm. After leaving the venue, participants were allowed to continue working remotely, preparing their final submissions ahead of Sunday’s deadline.

Sunday, February 8: Judgement Day

Sunday is the ultimate test. All submissions must be uploaded by 10:00am, after which no changes are allowed. From 11:00am to 3:30pm, teams will present their work to category-specific judges, who will evaluate ideas based on originality, brand relevance, clarity, practicality, and impact.

Judging is led by the category presidents:

Max Ngari – Digital
Maurice “Riz” Wangalachi – Design
Tosh Gitonga – Film

Each president is supported by a panel of industry experts who interrogate every submission to ensure that ideas not only impress visually but also solve the brief and demonstrate strategic thinking.

Maurice “Riz” Wangalachi: Guiding the Design Category

At the heart of the Design category is Maurice “Riz” Wangalachi, veteran creative director at Ogilvy Africa and DigiTribe, serving as president for the second consecutive year. Reflecting on his expectations, Wangalachi says:

"Creativity is not about flair for its own sake. We are looking for bold, fresh, and practical ideas — work that engages the brand, resonates with audiences, and ultimately drives business impact. Winning ideas must be beautiful, meaningful, and effective."

Design Jury President, Maurice “Rizz” Wangalachi//Brian Simiyu

He notes that many of the briefs are real-world challenges rather than abstract exercises.

His goal for this year is “better of the same” — building on Kenya’s already strong creative output and pushing it to meet international standards.

What the Judges Are Looking For

Judges are not just assessing aesthetics. They are evaluating whether ideas:

Accurately interpret the brief
Demonstrate boldness and originality
Are practical and executable
Communicate clearly
Deliver real-world impact

According to the jury, strong ideas that fail to meet the brief’s objectives are automatically disqualified. The message is clear: creativity must solve the problem and travel beyond local recognition.

What’s at Stake Today

The weekend will conclude between 4:00pm and 5:30pm with the awards ceremony, where the winning teams will be announced.

These teams will earn the honour of representing Kenya at Cannes Lions, joining the world’s most promising young creatives on a global stage.

For the participants, D-Day is the ultimate test: their ideas, submitted and final, will be judged for clarity, relevance, originality, and execution.