My name is Emmanuel Nturanyenabo, the Founder and Managing Director of Teebah Film Village, a full-service video production company based in Rwanda.
I started up Teebah Film Village in July 2017 and since that time, I have been struggling mainly with how to increase sales, and how to improve our product.
At some point, I came to learn about the Tony Elumelu Foundation and spent around 5 weeks composing my application form because I was not happy with the results I was getting. I needed to win because by the time I was applying the business was making a loss and almost closing at 7 months.
Luckily, by 22nd March 2018, the list went out and I was selected. I could not believe that I was selected in a thousand among 151,000 Africans.
Here is my journey with TEF in 5 stages:
Stage 1: Application form
By answering all the questions from the application forms, I understood my business better. I understood my market potential, I composed my Elevator Pitch. I got to perfect my problem solving; in general, the main reward for me was to understand my business through the application process.
Stage 2: The Selection
After being selected, I got the chance to talk about my business through the media.
Tony Elumelu Foundation has connected me to new and competent networks of entrepreneurs and decision makers. TEF has displayed my creative capacity and today my customers have a strong confidence in our company, Teebah Film Village, whose mission is to drive impact through local stories.
Stage 3: Training
TEF has a great curriculum that we consider to be an MBA and going through it has strengthened my entrepreneurial journey forever. TEF Training is a life-changing game. By doing surveys, I got the answers to many problems that I had no clue about; I overcame the challenges I was facing such as pricing and social media marketing.
At the end of the training program, I made a business plan with an action plan of 10 years
In my business Plan, I also composed the milestones which are a table that contains activities and budget for 2 years divided into 8 quarters
Stage 4: Seed Capital
By the end of November 2018, I received $5000 in my bank account. This helped me to rent a better office, buy film equipment and invest in promotional tools.
Stage5: Networking
Being part of the TEF network is the best platform for any entrepreneur. We do businesses together from different countries and advise one another through online conferences.
The Future of Teebah Film Village
Teebah Film Village envisions becoming Africa’s leading Multimedia enterprise which portrays local stories to drive impact and change the lives of the community. With a strong partner ecosystem which we created; we also currently employ 13 people.
If we are making progress and impact in Rwanda, it is because I am a Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur. Currently, we are producing a web series called UBWUNGO, a peace and love Drama Series that you can watch on YouTube.
I highly thank Tony Elumelu Foundation for this amazing opportunity, I also encourage every entrepreneur and whoever wants to connect with business minds to log in at www.tefconnect.net
