Kenya’s YAKWETU™ Named amongst Finalists for 2023 WIPO Global Awards!

MEDIA RELEASE:

NAIROBI, 04th July 2023: Kenyan Entertainment Technology Start-up  YAKWETU™ Online Limited, has been named as 1 of the 25 Finalists for this year's WIPO Global Awards, by World Intellectual Property Organisation, which celebrates excellence in the use of intellectual property (IP) for positive impact at home and abroad.

Now in its second year, the WIPO Global Awards recognises small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from around the globe, that are successfully commercialising their IP-backed innovation and creativity in an exceptional manner, that also improves society.

In a near-tripling of participation from 2022, WIPO received 548 submissions from 58 countries across all regions of the world, and a wide variety of sectors --- including the creative industries, food, green energy technologies, health, and more.

The 25 finalists are drawn from 16 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Latin America. China, from where half of all applicants hailed, accounts for six of the finalists --- the strongest showing from a single country.

"We are thrilled to be recognised for our work in Content Protection (Anti-Piracy) and Monetisation, via our first proprietary Retail service --- MyMovies.Africa™, which securely encrypts Animations, Documentaries, Features & Shorts from Africa, before making them available to Rent or Own to our Customers worldwide", says Co-Founder, Content Director & Chief Executive Officer --- Ms. Trushna Buddhdev-Patel. "As an Entertainment Technology Company, YAKWETU™ is also deploying more innovative Anti-Piracy Interventions, to legitimise the Retail of entertainment & educational Content in Africa."

This announcement follows an October 2021 recognition, when YAKWETU™ was 1 of 5 (from over 200 applications) admitted to the 2nd Cohort in Kenya of the Next INnovation with JApan (NINJA) Accelerator; which concluded with the Launch of their Fundraising in January 2022.

The WIPO Global Award 2023 winners will be announced publicly at a live-webcasted awards ceremony on 11th July in Geneva --- Switzerland, held during the WIPO Assemblies, where winners will showcase their achievements.

WIPO Global Award winners will receive a customized 1:1 mentoring package to bolster their IP strategies, including funding facilitation, partnership opportunities and publicity support.

Notes to Editors

1). More about WIPO Global Award 2023, List of Finalists and their Profiles:

WIPO Global Awards 2023 Finalists: Celebrating Global Excellence in IP-Backed Business

2). More about YAKWETU™ Online Limited:

Meaning both "Of Us" and "For Us" in Kiswahili (the most popular African language), YAKWETU™ is an Entertainment Technology company that's innovatively disrupting the 95--99% Piracy-dominated distribution channel of digital content in Kenya, with plans for the rest of Africa and other developing Countries.

Its proprietary online Home Entertainment & Edutainment system has taken proactive measures to Protect and Monetise the Intellectual Property (IP) of its Content Partners.

Released on 26th September 2019, their Poof-of-Concept is MyMovies.Africa™, as a Mobile-first Digital Cinema Extension, offering securely Encrypted original Movies from Africa (i.e. New Releases, Classics, Features, Shorts, Animations, Documentaries, etc) on Smart Devices, across Africa and to her Diaspora, in 195 Countries.

MyMovies.Africa™ features Premium Video On Demand --- PVOD (#RentFor2Days) for New Releases, Transactional Video On Demand --- TVOD (#RentFor7Days), Electronic Sell Through --- EST (#OwnForLife) purchase and Watch Parties via ZOOM, all Accessed here: https://app.mymovies.africa

YAKWETU™ is adapting this proprietary technology to securely Retail other Digital Content from Africa, while also modernising existing Value Chains.

More information here: https://www.yakwetu.africa

Back Row (Left to Right): Peter Kimani --- Fullstack Developer, Mike Strano --- Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer, Gideon Warui --- Data Engineer, Jackson Kitsao --- Lead Fullstack Engineer, and Brian Singor'a --- Growth Advisor.

Front Row (Left to Right): Esther Ogutu --- Data Scientist, Brian Waweru --- Development Lead, Denis Muriithi --- Intern, Brandon Temba --- Content Assistant, Trushna Buddhdev-Patel --- Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, and James Mwenda --- Finance & Administration Manager.