Joel Stephen Rao
Media & Marketing
About
Co-founder & Equity Partner Dentsu East Africa LTD: Joel draws from a deep digital marketing experience and business
solutions development to fuel all-encompassing marketing, entertainment and communication
initiatives in Africa, LATAM, Western Europe & Southeast Asia.
With 14 years of experience, he has garnered a number of awards, most recently being E-
Commerce Agency of the Year, Top 25 Men in Digital , Marketing Society of Kenya Digital Agency of
the Year, Loeries, Luum Global Award recipient and The Cannes Lions 2022. Some of the notable work
done are Safaricom @20, Helped Netflix free the storo in Kenya, Challenging the internet to Songa na
Pampers, Convinced over 200,000 merchants shops to accept bonga points through Bonga for Good
and through entertainment and storytelling, Worked with Tusker to get the country to champion
cheers for athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympic games and more recently, worked closely with
Mondelez to create Africa’s first AI library, housing a lot for the African oral folktales that may have
been lost over time.
Joel has also immersed himself in the business of entertainment through his ventures in African
creative agency (ACA). ACA is Africa’s 1 st 360 – Talent agency with operations across music, film, TV,
publishing, music advisory and label services. ACA curates the continent’s best talent and content
with unparralleled understanding of global entertainment and strong local presence and
relationships across Africa. Some of the strongest talent assembled across Africa through ACA include
Grammy award winner, Tyla, Ama Qamata, Nasty C, Sauti Sol, Bien Amie Barasa, Award winning
producer Eugene Mbugua, Sarah Hassan, Brendah Wairimu but to name a few. Joel was also
instrumental in ACA launching its record label, Exodus records, the label of choice for Africa’s next
international stars.
Through ACA film and TV, Joel has also produced some of Africa’s film content such as Fight Like A
Girl and Sold Nasty C’s 1st documenraty to Netflix, Zulu Man in Japan.
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With over a decade of experience in Kenya’s immigration and visa processes, Susan is a trusted expert in navigating regulatory systems with precision and care. Her expertise spans company registration, corporate restructuring, and the addition or removal of directors, making her a valuable resource for both startups and established enterprises.
Susan works alongside a seasoned team of professionals specializing in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), financial consultancy, tax advisory, and legal support services, ensuring clients receive comprehensive and compliant solutions across sectors.
Her career includes extensive work in manufacturing, processing, construction, and production industries, where she has demonstrated excellence in operations management, public relations, negotiation, team leadership, and strategic decision-making. She also brings strong office administration skills and a collaborative mindset to every project.
Academically, Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in International Relations at the University of East London (UEL). She is also advancing her global communication skills through Mandarin Chinese studies (Level 3).
A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Howard University, Troy is a full service Lifestyle Marketing specialist within the urban and “Multicultural Millennial” marketplaces. He ran several divisions for Sony Music for 10 years. He was responsible for marketing and promoting artist such as Michael Jackson, Sade, Shabba Ranks, Luther Vandross, Snoop Dogg and others.
Troy has been a marketing specialist for over 30 years. Mr. White started Wytehouse Marketing in 1994. The company was located in Harlem USA. Wytehouse offered a national street/guerrilla marketing team as well as a full range of media services such as PR, Urban Think Tank, product placement, image consulting, event planning, advertising etc. Wytehouse’s client base includes such notables as Adidas, Atlantic Records, BET, Coke, Carver Bank, Diddy, EA Sports, Grand-Marnier, Grammys, Heineken Jay-Z, Lacoste, McDonalds, Michael Bloomberg, NBA, NFL, Nike, President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Pontiac, Pepsi, Senator Hillary Clinton, Sony, Seagram’s, Target, US NAVY.
Troy moved to Nairobi in 2015. He became Sr. Creative/Event Director for Africa’s largest Experiential agency EXP. His clients include Coke, Safaricom, Unilever, East African Brewery Limited and many others.
