Homeboyz: The making of a legend

By Macharia Kamau

Homeboyz Entertainment has grown from a simple deejaying unit created in the mid nineties when it was worth just tens of thousands of shillings, to an entertainment and lifestyle empire.

The total shilling value of the company’s business arms is not clear, but is estimated in the hundreds of thousands, having grown in size and capitalisation over the last 15 years.

Homeboyz recently bought a bottled water company at a cost of Sh100 million, and pumped another Sh70 million in the re-branding and marketing of the firm’s H2O Water, through H2O Beverages.

The newly formed subsidiary will run the new line, and market the bottled water, re-branded from Haha to H2O Water.

Future plans

H2O Beverages brings to 12 the number of companies housed by Homeboyz Entertainment.

The company also operates East Africa’s largest TV animation studio, Homeboyz Animation, and Homeboyz Radio. It also plans to open another radio station in addition to a Music Technology Academy, Homeboyz Aktivate (an experiential marketing company) plus a host of other subsidiaries.

A Homeboyz deejay spins disks at a recent function. The company is better known for entertainment services.

"We started out as a hobby in 1995, and used to play in weddings, birthday and house parties and other such neighbourhood events.

At times we never charged for the services, but we have now grown to being a comprehensive entertainment solutions provider," said Mike Rabar co-founder and co-owner of Homeboyz Entertainment.

Homeboyz Animation has partnered with Warner Bros, the Time Warner subsidiary, and one of the world’s largest producers of film and TV entertainment, in the creation of a video game called Pamoja Mtaani, expected to be released into the market mid this year.

The company is also working on animating African (mostly Kenyan) folk tales and will at later stages work with Disneyland, which has already bought the idea of telling and showing the world the African tales.

Homeboyz is owned and run by three brothers Mike, John and Alph Rabar.

It has been able to rise above problems that many family run businesses run into, where owners are unable to separate the professional and filial issues, and sibling rivalry ends up spilling over into the boardroom. "Professionalism is key. We are in this together not only because we are family, but also because each one of us is a competent professional in their line," said Mike.

100 employees

It started out with only three members of staff but has grown and currently has over 100 employees. At the initial phases, Homeboyz like most start-ups had difficulties in accessing credit from financial institutions.

"Being in the informal and entertainment sectors made matters worse. Financiers could not see deejaying as a serious venture or a stable one to finance," said Mike. "Getting our corporate identity out has also been difficult because of the perception people have about the line of business.

There is need for people to shift their mind frames about a lot of things."

Though it currently has 12 subsidiaries, the company still has plans to expand.

"We will grow as large as we possibly can and so we will keep looking for new areas of growth in line with what we have been doing, that is within the realm of entertainment and lifestyle.

H2O Water is one such area, a diversification but with these two realms," he said. Immediate plans include opening an urban gospel music radio station in the next couple of months, and a TV station towards end of this year.