Steve Harvey starts business
Botswana Ignite, a three- year partnership project between the government of Botswana and the Steve Harvey Global company is in motion, and has hit the ground at an astonishing speed. It is estimated that 1000 Batswana would have benefited through the development and training project.
At the crux of the project, dating back to 2019 when Steve Harvey visited Botswana, it is a visionary initiative to invigorate Botswana’s creative economy and dedicated to nurturing local talent and fostering growth within the television and video production industry.
On Friday evening, the media were given a sneak peak of what this initiative seeks to do. Duncan Irvine, one of the founders of Forge Media and Entertainment made it clear that the initiative will bring an endless possibility when it comes to Return on Investment. Without divulging the cost of the project, those at the helm of Botswana Ignite promise a new shift within the respective industry, both at the local and most importantly international level. This is underpinned by a belief in ‘ implementation’ as opposed to ‘ lip service’, highlights a press release.
One of the exciting developments, revealed during the media briefing, is that Botswana is also getting its very own version of Family Feud. The family feud franchise is based on Mark Goodson’s game show, which is hosted by Steve Harvey. South Africa has also recently enjoyed its own localised version of this game show. In the show, two families go head- to- head to see who answers the most answers. An open call has already been made for those who wish to participate on the show which is anticipated to air towards the end of the year. The winning team walks away with P50 000.
According to the press release, the overarching strategy is to provide a platform for training and development, in tandem with Igniting the film and television industry of Botswana. “The anticipated outcome will be dynamic growth in the quality and quantity of world- class productions, as well as an increase in the telling of proudly local stories. This will also grow the ancillary businesses aligned with production, and exponentially increase in- bound productions, thereby increasing foreign revenues and exposing the world to Botswana’s stories,” reads the press release. According to the release, the all- encompassing 3- year project contains fully integrated programmes with multiple streams that all feed into creating a bigger, better and commercially successful television and film economy in Botswana. “The focus is not simply improving technical, production and creative skills, but also building business skills and networks, and aggressively pursuing international production work,” it explains. Detailing what this initiative is all about, the press release explains that the Entertainment and Drama Production Model delivers fully sponsored training courses which are a combination of Masterclasses, as well as on- location
training and mentoring, and this will be delivered congruently with the production of international shows working with highly experienced crews. Some of the developments to look forward to include the fact that the Entertainment and Drama Training Curriculum stands on four pillars. The first is ‘ The Business of Film’, designed to enhance the future and create success in either film entrepreneurship or as employees in a successful film business. Pillar two is all about Entertainment Formats, Reality TV and Drama Series, ensuring that students are exposed to the world of TV. The third pillar involves the Fundamentals of Production, where students will gain in- depth technical skills in the production of high- quality content. The fourth and final pillar is getting Practical Experience – because you simply cannot train interactive involvement,
you also need to be on set, students will receive hands- on practical skills and know- how in applying all the knowledge learnt. The final parallel project would be the fully sponsored Wildlife Film School. This school will be based in Kasane, and will
admit 20 students per course, with four courses of different levels running in 2024. “The students on this course will be instructed by international lecturers and trainers who are actively working in the field and have many years of experience. Both in the classroom and out in the field, the trainers are exceptional. Students will also get to shoot on a range of the best camera gear - so that when they complete the course, not only will they be able to create and develop their own wildlife productions, but they will have the correct experience to work alongside international producers such as the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, National Geographic,” it explains. The students will leave with a mini documentary which they have created – from conception, through research, scripting and filming, all the way to final post- production.