Kawowo Sports is East Africa's biggest local sports platform. East African, specifically Ugandan, athletes barely get media exposure to showcase their talent. Mainstream media puts a focus on foreign athletes who are already household names. Inadequate media buzz hampers sports development as corporate companies are not enticed to invest in local sports.
Kawowo Sports set out to address this dearth in local sports content by focusing on local athletes. They use their website and social media platforms as a vehicle to raise the profile of local sports and with these, they celebrate and promote indigenous athletes, offering them exposure and helping them to attract financial support.
It is a division of Owino Solutions Ltd (OSL), a web and media company founded in 2008 as an IT firm, therefore Kawowo Sports is funded by OSL.
One of the successes the startup points to is the fact that it has been operating for over 5 years and in that period, they've rejuvenated interest in local sports through their comprehensive coverage. They are continuing to break new grounds that have seen them cover Ugandan teams at AFCON 2017 in Gabon and followed local athletes participating in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and throughout East Africa.
The team that leads Kawowo Sports is comprised of Franklin Kaweru, assisted by Edgar Kazibwe plus other hard working writers and photojournalists. These include: David Isabirye, Ismael Kiyonga, Marion Malinga, John "Emanzi" Ndyamuhaki, Sharifah Namagoba, Denis Musali, Aisha Nakato, Aminah Babirye and John Batanudde. This core team is supported by another that handles analysis, graphics and logistics. These are Eric Ssewankambo, Ruth Owino and Francis Kiggundu
Asked about the challenges they're currently facing, Joseph Owino, the founder of OSL, highlighted the really expensive Internet in Uganda! He further stressed that data costs make it hard for them to have all their staff connected and ready to send updates from several sports venues. They also have a funding shortage that makes it hard for them to go all out and hire a strong team that can meet the demands of their content consumers.
One of their targets currently is to hit one million monthly unique visitors within the next eighteen months.
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