Some of the photos they have taken. Courtesy.
Elcon
Media is a Multimedia Company located in Kacyiru neighborhood. The firm
deals in commercial videography, photography for events such as
weddings, birthdays among others. The firm also provides advertising
services for different companies.
The firm was founded in 2015, driven by the passion of young entrepreneurs to pursue photography and videography.
The company is co-founded by Thienny Kayiranga who had undertaken a course in Film Making and TV Production at Kigali Films and Television School, Peter Nyombi who trained in Film Making and Graphic Design at Makerere University, and Celestin Gahaya who had studied Sound Design in Kenya.
The unifying factor among the youth was their zeal to achieve a common goal of being their own bosses and having meaningful income from their talent and love for videography and photography.
At the onset, despite their goals and ambitions, they had no capital and had little hope of securing a
loan at a bank.
At that time, despite not being able to even secure a loan from any bank; they registered their company and started operating from scratch.
They started off using an old laptop owned by one of them to edit images and videos. They did not seem to mind the gadget’s slow processing speeds or let it get in their way.
They then started renting cameras to cover events and saved some of the proceeds until they were able to buy their own cameras and other equipment they needed.
The young entrepreneurs say that found it complex to penetrate the market considering that they were often up against well-renowned businesses. To get past this, they had to adjust their rates downwards in order to build a reputation, experience and confidence among clients.
In 2016, they had started having a growing number of customers and used their social media platforms as a marketing tool.
According to Kayiranga, the company would initially have about three customers a month at the start but that did not deter them.
In the spare time when they had few clients, they worked to hone their skills through ways such as tutorials on YouTube.
Their company has since had an opportunity to compete favourably among renowned firms and provided services to major clients and corporations.
The entrepreneurs say that they have strived to make their prices competitive to maintain relevance in their markets.
For instance, for birthday parties that last for about three to four hours, the costs are about Rwf 150,000.
“While charging customers, we look at how long the event will take; in most cases we consider it as a full day because if we are to cover a wedding, we don’t take on other deals or jobs on that day and the next day. The next day is for editing,”
“We look at the labour involved, for instance; the number of people who will cover the event. If there is much work to be done, we at times have to outsource part-time workers. A wedding costs between Rwf 700,000 and Rwf 1,000,000,” Kayiranga, one of the co-founders said.
He added that the company also rents out cameras to photographers who need them at a cost of between Rwf 30,000 to Rwf 50,000, per day. The company signs an agreement with its clients, in case the equipment are broken or lost.
The young entrepreneurs said that they only accept payments after delivering to the customers. They do not take payments before delivering the final product to a client.
This is out of a belief that it is better to do perfect work in order to attract more customers and building a name.
At the moment, they have about 15 to 20 customers a month. Their highest revenue generating activity is weddings coverage.
The delivery process they say includes presenting samples of the images to clients following the editing before submitting the final product.
“We give customers a draft and ask them if there is anything that needs to be changed so that we can edit accordingly. It takes us three days to deliver, after an event,” Kayiranga noted.
At times in the event of multiple clients, for instance, three clients at a go, they have to work long hours.
Their advice to those who want to venture into the photography sector is to first hone their skills as opposed to pursuing money.
“Discover what you are good at; it could be street photography, fashion, landscape, or portraits. Specialise in that. What matters is the angle you take the picture and how to display its message,” Kayiranga said.
The company looks forward to being a thriving multimedia company in East Africa in the next 10years, and all over Africa in 20 to 30 years to come.
The company has four permanent workers and hires part-time workers when there is a high demand for their work and also offers internship opportunities to students.
editorial@newtimesrwanda.com
The firm was founded in 2015, driven by the passion of young entrepreneurs to pursue photography and videography.
The company is co-founded by Thienny Kayiranga who had undertaken a course in Film Making and TV Production at Kigali Films and Television School, Peter Nyombi who trained in Film Making and Graphic Design at Makerere University, and Celestin Gahaya who had studied Sound Design in Kenya.
The unifying factor among the youth was their zeal to achieve a common goal of being their own bosses and having meaningful income from their talent and love for videography and photography.
At the onset, despite their goals and ambitions, they had no capital and had little hope of securing a
loan at a bank.
At that time, despite not being able to even secure a loan from any bank; they registered their company and started operating from scratch.
They started off using an old laptop owned by one of them to edit images and videos. They did not seem to mind the gadget’s slow processing speeds or let it get in their way.
They then started renting cameras to cover events and saved some of the proceeds until they were able to buy their own cameras and other equipment they needed.
The young entrepreneurs say that found it complex to penetrate the market considering that they were often up against well-renowned businesses. To get past this, they had to adjust their rates downwards in order to build a reputation, experience and confidence among clients.
In 2016, they had started having a growing number of customers and used their social media platforms as a marketing tool.
According to Kayiranga, the company would initially have about three customers a month at the start but that did not deter them.
In the spare time when they had few clients, they worked to hone their skills through ways such as tutorials on YouTube.
Their company has since had an opportunity to compete favourably among renowned firms and provided services to major clients and corporations.
The entrepreneurs say that they have strived to make their prices competitive to maintain relevance in their markets.
For instance, for birthday parties that last for about three to four hours, the costs are about Rwf 150,000.
“While charging customers, we look at how long the event will take; in most cases we consider it as a full day because if we are to cover a wedding, we don’t take on other deals or jobs on that day and the next day. The next day is for editing,”
“We look at the labour involved, for instance; the number of people who will cover the event. If there is much work to be done, we at times have to outsource part-time workers. A wedding costs between Rwf 700,000 and Rwf 1,000,000,” Kayiranga, one of the co-founders said.
He added that the company also rents out cameras to photographers who need them at a cost of between Rwf 30,000 to Rwf 50,000, per day. The company signs an agreement with its clients, in case the equipment are broken or lost.
The young entrepreneurs said that they only accept payments after delivering to the customers. They do not take payments before delivering the final product to a client.
This is out of a belief that it is better to do perfect work in order to attract more customers and building a name.
At the moment, they have about 15 to 20 customers a month. Their highest revenue generating activity is weddings coverage.
The delivery process they say includes presenting samples of the images to clients following the editing before submitting the final product.
“We give customers a draft and ask them if there is anything that needs to be changed so that we can edit accordingly. It takes us three days to deliver, after an event,” Kayiranga noted.
At times in the event of multiple clients, for instance, three clients at a go, they have to work long hours.
Their advice to those who want to venture into the photography sector is to first hone their skills as opposed to pursuing money.
“Discover what you are good at; it could be street photography, fashion, landscape, or portraits. Specialise in that. What matters is the angle you take the picture and how to display its message,” Kayiranga said.
The company looks forward to being a thriving multimedia company in East Africa in the next 10years, and all over Africa in 20 to 30 years to come.
The company has four permanent workers and hires part-time workers when there is a high demand for their work and also offers internship opportunities to students.
editorial@newtimesrwanda.com
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