Dorothy Ghettuba is a Kenyan Film and TV entrepreneur. Recently tapped as Head of African Originals at Netflix, Ghettuba has already seen success with Netflix’s Queen Sono, continuing the company’s commitment to telling stories from the continent. (Netflix had previously acquired the South African original, Vaya.)
Born and raised in Kenya, Ghettuba studied communications and political science at Andrews University in Michigan, USA. Ghettuba claims that her original passion was acting, but when she was not selected for roles, she turned to the production side of filmmaking.
Ghettuba was the CEO of Spielworks Media Ltd – which she co-founded – an East African regional leader in content creation, production, distribution, and broadcast. Ghettuba is also the co-founder of NGOMA TV East Africa’s first-ever, online, and mobile platform dedicated to streaming and as well as on-demand entertainment content. She is also the co-founder of Keja TV, an online subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform targeted at Africans in the Diaspora and on the continent. Ghettuba, through her companies, is dedicated to developing creative talent, creating quality content, and telling authentic African stories that resonate and engage audiences. Ghettuba’s honors include the Top 40 Under 40 Women in Kenya in 2011 and 2014, and a prominent selection as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Women in Film in Africa, as well as Top 50 Business People in Kenya. Ghettuba is also an alumnus of The Bucerius School on Global Governance and is dedicated to telling the African story.
In 2016, she was named among C. Hub magazine’s 100 most influential creative personalities. She is also a 2016 Archbishop Tutu Fellow with the African Leadership Institute. She is also the Chair of the Kenya Film Commission, appointed by President Kenyatta in May 2019.
Some of the films that she has produced are Lies that Bind, Saints, and Higher Learning.
In December 2019, Netflix brought on Kenyan entertainment veteran and film producer Dorothy Ghettuba, as the head of African Original Programming.
Ghettuba says, “Netflix is that vehicle and if you look at the stories we are telling, our culture is there. We believe rich stories can come from anywhere and can be loved everywhere across the world. We want our African stories to be watched across the globe. African stories are as diverse as its people and this continent offers a cornucopia of stories that totally defies any notion of singularity.”
