One of the biggest criticisms of the entertainment industry in Africa is the recycling of storylines even though there’s a wealth of adaptable material to pick from in African mythology. While a handful of figures have had their stories adapted for different media, it’s safe to say that the rich and complex African stories passed down from generation to generation are slowly being forgotten. This is because the way people consume stories have evolved and African stories are being left behind.
One media company has decided to change that.
Kugali is an entertainment company that focuses on telling stories inspired by African culture – stories that respect the continent’s history, embrace its present, and, imagine its future – using comic books, art, and augmented reality.
Kugali’s founders (Fikayo Adeola, Hamid Ibrahim, and Tolu Olofofoyeku) started this as a way to breathe new life into African stories. By bringing these stories to life using augmented reality, the founders believe these stories can finally compete with stories from the likes of Disney and Dreamworks.
“We are going to tell these stories from the past with the technology of the future. This project is going to catapult African stories to the cutting edge of storytelling and instead of chasing the rest of the world, we look to be leaders in this space. Once you experience augmented reality, you realize that this is the future of storytelling and Kugali will be right there shining a light on African stories.”
The company’s motto: Stories shape our society, let’s shape our stories.
The company recently started a Kickstarter campaign for an augmented reality art book it’s working on. The goal is to raise $12,754 by the 5th of November so the book can be available for purchase by December 2019.
Click here to donate to their Kickstarter campaign.
Click here to visit the Kugali website which contains tons of cool comics you can read.
