Kin Kariisa, the CEO NBS TV to share tips on how to start humbly and grow a successful business in Uganda | Uganda UK Convention in London – 15th Sept 2018.
Kin is the founder of one of the most popular television stations in Uganda called Nile Broadcasting services (NBS) television, now the leading live broadcast visual media house in Uganda.
He is the Managing Director of Kin Group, a holding company with business interest in construction, IT, agriculture and media. He bought a control stake in NBS television after the founder sold the television station to him.
According to Kin Kariisa by the time he bought NBS television in 20…… (state the date), the viewership of television station had reduced and the station was about to close.
After buying the television, they set up a new management team and started broadcasting live events which became very popular with the Ugandan audience.
Kin Kariisa was awarded a scholarship to pursue a PhD in the UK, (state the college or University and the year in which he was offered that course) but decided to quit before completing the course.
Kariisa “At NBS, we do take research very seriously. So we used to do research and ask people; what do you expect of us? What changes do you want? People told us that they were interested in current affairs. They wanted to know what was happening anytime, anywhere without you giving them your opinions.
They also wanted more detailed news, the story behind the news events. They were also interested in football. Therefore, we constantly train our production team thanks to the partnership with KTN, a member of the Standard Group in Kenya. This group has been there for more than 100 years;”
Kariisa has had to deal with numerous challenges that come with running a television outlet. One of them is how to deal with the critical coverage of people who may be friends or business associates.
“Media is very challenging,” he says. “The expectations of the public are enormous. Sometimes, you disappoint your friends. They expect you to behave in a certain way but the business ethics say another thing. It puts you on collision course with people.”
Kariisa says young people must learn not to depend on other people for survival and work hard for a prosperous future.
“Money today is not important; it is money you have saved for the future. They need to invest to get wealth. This little money should be invested so that one can get a daily or monthly income.
I would love to see a youth population that is productive. I am in office every day before 7 am in the morning. I am the one who opens this entire floor. It is something I have done for the last maybe 15 years. You must be disciplined but also have a life-work balance.”
