Changing The Narrative About Africa - One Vibe Media

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Simon Okelo, CEO of One Vibe Media, LLC, located in Mercer Island, WA, USA.

What's your organization, and who are your members?

African Father In America Podcast (AFIA Podcast) is produced by One Vibe Media and hosted by Simon Javan Okelo. AFIA Podcast has become a staple for many people in King County and across the African Diaspora globally. The podcast is a sacred space that has attracted over 5,000 members in the African Father in America Club on Clubhouse, has been downloaded more than 120,000 times, and has recorded over 280 episodes that feature African spiritual leaders, poets, entrepreneurs, authors, non-profit leaders, activists, and other guests that have been hosted since February 2020 when AFIA Podcast was first broadcasted.

The host, Simon Javan Okelo, promotes local organizations in King County and beyond by interviewing leaders as guests to promote their businesses, events, and initiatives on the show while still centering the power of African wisdom. Since January 2021, Simon has been hosting the Daily African Proverbs (DAP) every Monday to Friday at 6:00 am PST as the main show of the African Father in America Podcast. The show is recorded live and distributed raw across all podcasting apps, including Apple Podcasts, where AFIA Podcast is a five-star rated podcast.

Tell us about yourself

I'm the CEO of One Vibe Media (OVM), which produces AFIA Podcast while also serving as a full-service media consultancy and a relative organization of One Vibe Africa (OVA), a non-profit dedicated to promoting empathy, joy, and a sense of community for the African diaspora and their allies. Over the last 12 months, OVM's main focus of work has been offering digital media content and event production to help leaders, their organizations, and communities thrive. For example, through digital marketing and event production, OVM builds the capacity of Ignited Phoenix Project, Mission Africa, and the African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest.

OVM also unveiled the eighth annual Madaraka Festival on Saturday, August 13, and Sunday, August 14. Friends of Waterfront Seattle's Director of Programs, Yoon Kang-O'Higgins, said, "We are thrilled to facilitate a space for OVM to celebrate and showcase the great talents — both in the performance and culinary arts— generated by the Pan-African diaspora. Pier 62 is a special place where communities can come together in joy and self-empowerment, and we are humbled to be able to offer the space in this way." Madaraka Festival was featured by CNN for the African Avante Garde, a new series that features innovators and creators working across art, design, music, film, and fashion. Over 30 black-owned small business vendors and organizations participated in the Madaraka Festival.

What's your biggest accomplishment as an organization?

Over the last 12 months, OVM's main focus of work has been offering digital media content and event production to help leaders, their organizations, and communities thrive. OVM also unveiled the eighth annual Madaraka Festival on Saturday, August 13, and Sunday, August 14. Friends of Waterfront Seattle's Director of Programs, Yoon Kang-O'Higgins, said, "We are thrilled to facilitate a space for OVM to celebrate and showcase the great talents — both in the performance and culinary arts— generated by the Pan-African diaspora. Pier 62 is a special place where communities can come together in joy and self-empowerment, and we are humbled to be able to offer the space in this way." Madaraka Festival was featured by CNN for the African Avante Garde, a new series that features innovators and creators working across art, design, music, film, and fashion. Over 30 black-owned small business vendors and organizations participated in the Madaraka Festival. The festival earns revenue from sponsorships, grants, and vending space rentals.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being an organization?

While for many organizations, modifying and adapting programs in the past 12 months meant changing in-person programs into virtual and hybrid programs, the very nature of OVM programs is providing support for these organizations as they go through constant changes. OVM continued to provide content via One Vibe TV on YouTube, producing the African Father In America Podcast and acting as a resource for organizations and leaders most impacted by the pandemic, racism, and economic downturn. However, without adequate staffing and income to develop new programs that could enhance the support OVM gives to established and emerging organizations, the sole staff person, Simon Okelo, has focused most of his energies on OVM's organizational recovery and planning for 2023 programming. At this time and historically, most of Okelo's work for OVM has been unpaid due to a lack of capacity in fundraising, which is directly connected to the COVID-19 pandemic-related financial hardships.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow an organization today?

  1. Know why you started.
  2. Don't look for shortcuts.
  3. Never give up.

Where can people find you and your group?

Website: https://simonjavanokelo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OkeloJavan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okelojavan/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OkeloJavan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-okelo-15383417/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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