Kenya’s number one entertainment and celeb gossip site has launched in Mombasa and is finalising on its plans to set down shop in Kisumu as well, in a move to fill the emptiness that’s entertainment news in the counties.
According to Sam Majani, founder and CEO Ghafla ,” We’ve opened a bureau in Mombasa. I hired content and sales guys last week and now we’re orienting them in our system. We’re doing market survey now for expansion into Kisumu, but nothing final.”
Ghafla Kenya has been at the forefront of Kenya’s entertainment news and has become a tool for exposing young and upcoming artists who might never see the light of day without Ghafla’s exposure. It also celebrates fashion by asking its fans to send in photos to be published to its over 12 million readers monthly.
Presently the only independent and highly trafficked site local site, Ghafla is an inspiration to Kenyan new media entrepreneurs due to its growth, being able to compete with sites owned by dollar-fueled who’s who’s in Kenya even though Majani had to pull down some of the articles which were branded obscene. Launching in Mombasa will give the web news startup a new following as the county is less covered, and ignored by almost every top player in town.
Ghafla sometime back launched a deal service but pulled it down and began working with competitors instead. We just hope it won’t fall to the same trap on the counties again.
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An earlier version of this story has been edited to reflect the changes.
