Video fails to kill the radio star: How to build a media empire, Malawian style

The eldest of eight children, the Malawian entrepreneur had a typical upbringing in the southern town of Zomba. One night, sitting out on his parents’ veranda, he spotted a mysterious light flashing atop nearby Mount Mpigi. He asked someone about it, who told him it was a radio transmitter. “I got very fascinated,” Kazako recalls. A lifetime obsession was instantly born, setting the young boy on a path that would see him transmitting to millions of people every day and eventually becoming a major media mogul.

High school and a diploma in journalism later and Kazako found employment at Malawian state radio MBC. There, he produced a variety of shows but after seven years he left to set up his own company, which created adverts, features and documentaries for other radio stations.

Kazako’s ambition would take him further; first he was at the helm of his own station, Zodiak Radio (Malawi’s leading privately-owned station), and later on he successfully expanded into television. The process was arduous and required no small measure of perseverance. Here, Kazako tells CNN how he fought his way to the top, why it’s important to look back, and how ethics are at the core of his business.

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