Jesse Soleil’s Inspiring Journey: From Quitting His Job to Launching Kenya’s First Free-to-Air Children’s TV Channel, Akili Kids

How a bold leap of faith and relentless determination turned an educational vision for Kenyan children into a nationwide success story

In a bold move that many would consider risky, Jesse Soleil left a high-paying job to co-found Akili Network, the parent company of Akili Kids TV — Kenya’s first free-to-air children’s television channel.

Speaking on the Financially Incorrect podcast, Soleil explained that the idea for Akili Kids stemmed from a pressing need: “Our purpose started in being Kenya’s first educational entertainment resource for children across the country.” He and his partner, Jeff Schon, began exploring the concept back in 2012, driven by the belief that nearly half of Kenya’s population under 18 deserved an education system aligned with their evolving needs.

Launching Akili Kids

The journey to launch Akili Kids was far from easy. Between 2015 and 2019, Soleil and Schon undertook a challenging fundraising process. Initially, they aimed to raise $5 million, enough to provide 24/7 programming for a full year. However, they ultimately raised about $2 million, requiring them to make strategic compromises.

One key lesson they learned was the importance of approaching the right investors. “You don’t go to a tech investor in the San Francisco Bay Area when you’re looking for funds to launch a television channel in Africa,” Soleil advised. Traditional tech investors often overlooked the opportunity, but impact investors — those who valued both community impact and potential returns — became their breakthrough supporters.

Akili Kids TV officially launched on March 31, 2020, just three weeks after Kenya closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their engineer from Bulgaria had left the country the night the borders shut. Initially, the channel offered only six hours of programming on repeat, but the pandemic turned out to be a blessing. With children and families stuck at home, Akili Kids quickly gained traction, reaching 5.4 million child viewers and 4.3 million adult viewers weekly within just five months.

The Uphill Battle of Building a Business

The channel’s success in a disrupted media landscape can be attributed to a lean, focused business model. One of their biggest challenges is producing high-quality content. Soleil noted that creating an original episode at the standard of Western TV networks can cost $400,000 to $500,000 per episode, while acquiring the rights to an already produced episode costs about $1,200. Despite these costs, the team has maintained a relentless cycle of “doing great work and fundraising every single day,” ensuring the channel continues to grow and make a meaningful impact.