Maureen Njagah never entered a room quietly. Even in her own office at Kuchekesha Production—a modest space crammed with mismatched furniture, posters of her favorite stand-up acts, and a precarious tower of empty coffee mugs—she announced her arrival by pretending the door handle was a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” she declared, throwing the door open with a flourish. “Hold your applause, because your favorite CEO is here. Yes, it’s me, Maureen Njagah, the face behind the jokes you can’t stop replaying and the unpaid invoices you’re avoiding!”

Maureen flopped into her chair, kicking off her shoes and tucking her feet under her. Her office looked more like a college dorm than the headquarters of one of Kenya’s fastest-growing production companies. A whiteboard on the wall bore a chaotic mix of brainstorming notes and doodles: “Skits about weddings” had a frowning bride drawn next to it; “Politicians: Too easy?” was underlined three times.