Mboni: A talk show isn’t an easy thing

She is a socialite and a fashionista who has been one of the most recognised faces on the red carpet and party scenes for the last decade or so.

But despite the fun that such a lifestyle provides,  Mboni Masimba has given up much of that to become a role model with her talk show which she has christened ‘The Mboni Show.’

Last weekend, she showed a different side of her when she hosted 200 orphans for an Iftar-cum dinner at Karimjee Hall.

“ I used to be a party girl, but I had to leave all that behind me because of the new direction that I have chosen, I mean I had to be a role model to some young people,” says Mboni.

In an era where talk shows hardly attract viewership and corporate sponsorships are equally hard to come by, she believes it was all about her passion.

“It is something that had always wanted to do, I mean it was flowing in my veins,” says the 34-year-old.

But the question that everyone asks is, where she got the expertise to run a talk show especially with no prior experience on either TV or radio.

“I had never worked on TV or radio but something inside me told me I could do it and that was when I approached George Tyson with my ideas” she says.

One year down the road even as other shows collapse hers has survived and has won over viewers including places like Arusha and Dodoma.

“People say the market is saturated but in every business it all depends on someone’s determination and I think the fact that the show has managed to go out of Dar es Salaam is a manifestation of its growth,” she says.

She, however, admits that running a talk show is not an easy task,  and like any other show business needs perseverance especially when it comes to production.

“What you see on the show as the final product takes a lot of effort to put together and over the last one year,  I have cried a lot, sometimes I even felt like calling it quits,” she says.

With no financial support from anywhere she had to use money from her shop to set up the structures and with time she had to close the boutique due to her new role.

“I had to close my shop and even sell my car, but those are some of the sacrifices you sometimes have to make in this world,” she says smiling.

According to her,  when times got tough she had to turn to her family and her ‘better half’ for support to keep the show running. “I can’t say that I have finally crossed the  bridge but at least given the way things are going,  I can see some light at the end of the tunnel,” says Mboni.

She hopes with all factors remaining constant,  the show will soon debut on DStv,  something she thinks will help market the country in one way or another.

Mboni who admits that she draws her inspiration from the Oprah show says during the one year,  her greatest show has been on drugs, something she says is eating up the youth.

She, however, says that one of her challenges is the fact that most famous people do not want to appear on the show.

“There are many things that young people would like to know about their leaders and it is only through such platforms that they can get to interact with them,” she says.