At Nairobi Design Week, HerFolio Takes Center Stage to Promote Women in the Arts

HerFolio, a ground-breaking platform unveiled by Ogilvy Africa during Nairobi Design Week, is poised to bring about a revolutionary change in the African creative business.

This innovative program aims to close the gender gap in creative possibilities by providing a specific venue for female musicians, artists, designers, and other creatives to exhibit their work and network with influential people in the field.

Research shows that 75% of women creatives have fewer career options than men, and an even greater proportion have difficulty landing high-paying jobs—not because they aren’t talented, but because the industry’s current institutions don’t help them.

By providing a professional, easily accessible platform for female creatives to showcase their portfolios using high-quality audio, video, and image files, HerFolio aims to change this.

The Ogilvy Africa Network and other organizations seeking to find and engage diverse talent will find HerFolio to be more than just a display. This platform will increase market reach, promote cross-border partnerships, and guarantee more participation of female creatives in the business by operating throughout 39 Sub-Saharan African nations.

Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy Africa Delna Sethna said, “Africa is home to an abundance of creative female talent, but the opportunities remain scarce.” By providing a platform for female creatives to receive the acknowledgment and professional growth they are entitled to, HerFolio is tackling this gap. Although talent is abundant, opportunity is few, and our goal is to address this.

These ideas were repeated by Adrian Jankowiak, founder and design director of Nairobi Design Week, who emphasized the value of diversity in design. “Our goal at Nairobi Design Week is to elevate a range of voices and establish an environment that allows all creatives to flourish. Our goal of promoting an inclusive design landscape is ideally aligned with this year’s partnership with Ogilvy Africa.

Three exclusive internship opportunities inside The Ogilvy Africa Network for talented female creatives were announced by Delna Sethna as part of the launch. During Nairobi Design Week, candidates will be chosen based on their portfolios submitted to HerFolio. Winners will be revealed after the event.

Speaking about the platform’s long-term goals, Ogilvy Africa SSA CEO Vikas Mehta said, “This partnership with Nairobi Design Week is a testament to our commitment to reshaping Africa’s creative landscape.” In addition to being a platform, HerFolio is a movement that aims to provide female creatives all over the continent access to their endless potential.

Female creatives who want to advance their professions may now sign up on HerFolio to engage with brands, display their portfolios, and get access to joint projects and employment prospects.

In the meanwhile, creative designs from Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and other countries are still being featured during Nairobi Design Week, which takes place from March 9 to March 16. The festival honors the broad overlap between history and current creativity with interactive installations and workshops that fuse the two.

The creative industry in Africa appears to have a more inclusive future than before with the introduction of HerFolio.