Communiqué 91: Kenya’s Akili TV is growing up with its audience
Akili TV, a $9 million experiment on children’s television, is growing into Kenya’s largest family-focused TV network.
Presented by Moniepoint
Why this matters
Audience-led evolution: Akili’s transition from Akili Kids to Akili TV shows the power of listening to one’s audience and evolving with them, a critical lesson for any African media brand seeking longevity.
Solving for representation: Akili’s origin story underscores a long-standing gap, the absence of African children seeing themselves on screen and how addressing that gap creates both cultural and commercial value.
Building for the future: Akili’s growth proves that Africa can create world-class media brands that nurture identity, strengthen family bonds, and shape the next generation’s relationship with storytelling.
1. The rebrand
In November 2024, Akili Kids, Kenya’s largest children’s television station, officially rebranded as Akili TV. The rebrand marked the station’s evolution from a children’s channel into a full-fledged family entertainment brand designed to accompany its primary viewers as they grow older.
The decision came directly from the audience. Parents who once tuned in only for their toddlers were now asking for shows they could enjoy together. Teenagers wanted relatable African stories, while caregivers longed for programming that encouraged bonding, not just learning. Akili’s rebrand was an answer to those requests, a realisation that childhood doesn’t exist in isolation, and that the best children’s content is often the kind the whole family can share.
In many ways, Akili’s evolution offers a blueprint for building media products for children and how those products can mature alongside their audiences. It’s a crucial lesson for Africa, where more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25, and where the next generation’s media diet is still forming.
In just five years, the channel has grown into Kenya’s largest provider of children’s television, reaching more than 18 million viewers, a trajectory reminiscent of Nickelodeon’s rise in the US, but rooted firmly in African experiences, languages, and values.
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2. There in the beginning
Akili TV’s story began with two media executives, Jeff Schon and Jesse Soleil, who had spent decades shaping content for young audiences, from television and animation to digital learning. The pair first met at Scholastic, the world’s largest children’s publisher, where they helped pioneer some of the company’s earliest educational technology products.
In the mid-2000s, Soleil began spending time in Kenya, where his wife is from. There, he saw an opportunity. As television ownership was growing in the country, millions of Kenyan children were consuming global networks like Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Yet, few of those shows reflected African stories or everyday experiences. Recognising the gap, Soleil invited his longtime collaborator, Schon, to join him in exploring what a truly Kenyan children’s media product might look like.
Before settling on television, Schon and Soleil considered different formats through which to reach children — including storybooks and mobile phones, which were growing exponentially across the continent — but ultimately decided that TV offered the broadest and most immediate reach across Kenya. “TV is still the main platform for families to consume content. Especially when you think about the rural areas, which is where the larger population of Kenya resides,” Jeff Schon, Akili’s CEO, told Communiqué.
The initial idea was to create a small programming block for children on one of Kenya’s major broadcasters. But the TV networks would demand advertising revenue and payment for broadcast airtime upfront, even before any content started airing, making the model unsustainable. Around the same time, Kenya was preparing to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting, a process that opened new television licenses for the first time in years. The Communications Authority of Kenya was intrigued by the idea of a dedicated children’s channel. Even though the licensing process had officially closed, the Authority made an exception, allowing Schon and Soleil to apply.
Akili received its license in 2012, but it would take eight more years for the channel to launch. The Communications Authority of Kenya’s enthusiastic support did not come with capital, and traditional investors were reluctant to back the idea. Most thought it was too risky or too niche. In 2019, Akili finally secured $2.4 million in funding from a consortium that included Geraldine Laybourne, former president of Nickelodeon and Disney’s ABC Cable Networks.
3. A lockdown launch
When Akili Kids launched in March 2020 — just three weeks after Kenya went into lockdown — its timing couldn’t have been more fortuitous. With schools closed and millions of children stuck at home, parents urgently sought ways to keep them engaged. Akili filled that gap perfectly, offering educational entertainment content rooted in local culture and language. Within six months, it reached 4 million Kenyan children, becoming the second most-watched TV station by children in the country, surpassed only by Citizen TV, the country’s largest broadcaster.
Akili carefully segments its programming by age and time of day to meet the developmental and educational needs of children. The preschool block runs early mornings with three hours of literacy, numeracy, and science content, which parents say effectively prepares children for school. Midday programming targets ages 4 to 8, featuring shows that nurture communication, empathy, and confidence, skills that complement formal education.
Among its most popular shows is Akili and Me, an animated series that teaches children numeracy, literacy, and emotional intelligence through relatable African characters and stories. Ubongo Kids, another favourite licensed from Tanzania, blends problem-solving with storytelling. Other shows include Wild Kratts, Super Sema, and Team Umizoomi. Together, these programs have become central to Akili’s identity.
By late afternoon, as older children return from school, the channel caters to preteens and teenagers with relatable shows that explore issues such as bullying, self-esteem, and identity; some of the most pressing issues affecting children of that age group.
This sensitivity to context was most visible during the 2024 Kenyan protests, when young viewers were exposed to scenes of unrest and uncertainty. Rather than ignore the moment, Akili introduced civic-themed segments that explained the protests in simple, age-appropriate ways. “We knew kids were watching and wondering,” Anne Sato, Akili’s head of programming, said to Communiqué. “As much as we don’t do news on our channel, we realized there was need to create awareness of what protests are and how can we make them peaceful. Because children learn through imitating and when they watch news and see what is happening, they think that is how it should be. So our role at Akili was to educate them on what is happening, but also how can it happen in a peaceful and more respectful way.”
Shows on the network are available in English, Kiswahili, and Kenyan Sign Language, ensuring that deaf children are not excluded. A recent GeoPoll survey found that Digital Storytime, a sign language program, was the most-watched show on the channel.
4. The business strategy behind the fun
Over its lifetime, Akili has raised $9 million, with a significant portion — roughly $1.5 million — going into content licensing. At launch, only 15% of its programming was African-made, but that figure has since grown to 50%, thanks to partnerships with regional studios such as Tanzania’s Ubongo Kids, Nigeria’s EVCL studios, and Uganda’s Peripheral Vision International.
The station remains free-to-air, meaning its primary source of revenue is advertising. But Akili is deliberate about the type of products it advertises, maintaining strict standards to ensure that ads align with its educational and family values. “We wouldn’t take advertisement from high sugars or, betting companies.
Beyond advertising, the company is now fundraising for expansion, including plans to launch more digital products that could introduce subscription-based revenue streams.
While children remain its core audience, Akili’s growing focus on family-friendly programming during prime time reflects a deliberate strategy, one that has long been employed by major broadcasters around the world, and most recently by Nigeria’s national broadcaster as it attempts to reinvent itself. The logic is simple: family-oriented content builds trust, loyalty, and sustained viewership across generations.
In Communiqué 37, we noted that “one of the most significant advantages of producing content for kids is guaranteed loyalty. Establish a brand relationship with a kid at a young age, and you can be confident you have their attention for several years.” But that benefit extends beyond the child. By earning the trust and engagement of children, a media brand also gains influence over the entire household. Children are key decision-shapers within families, and Akili TV’s evolution into a family network positions it to deepen that relationship, transforming childhood viewership into family-wide loyalty.
For Akili TV, this next chapter isn’t just about expanding its audience. It’s about proving that Africa can build media brands that grow with their viewers, shape values, and tell stories that reflect the continent’s own realities.
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Proud to be a part of a team that's making such great strides in the media industry in Kenya and hoping to get the opportunity to do so much more.