For more than a decade, Bonny Bugingo, popularly known as Junior Giti, has entertained Rwandans through his distinctive style of translating foreign films into Kinyarwanda. But beyond the humour, storytelling and familiar voice that made him a household name, the entertainer has been quietly pursuing another ambition: building a business capable of producing some of Rwanda's biggest music stars. What began as an opportunity to promote local songs to his film audience has evolved into Giti Inc., an artist management company whose growing ambitions extend beyond Rwanda's borders. In an interview with The New Times, Junior Giti reflected on his journey from film interpretation to music entrepreneurship, the financial risks involved, lessons from managing Chriss Eazy and his plans to establish an international entertainment company. For Giti, the transition was neither accidental nor simply a search for another source of income. I have always believed in the potential of the Rwandan music industry, he said. Film translation had given me financial stability, experience, and an established audience, but I also wanted to build something bigger and contribute to the growth of our entertainment industry. From family tradition to business Giti's journey into entertainment began under the influence of his older brother, late Thomas Nkusi, popularly known as Yanga, one of the pioneers of film interpretation in Rwanda. Giti began building his audience more than a decade ago, eventually working with different television stations and establishing his own movie platform, igiti.net. Growing up around film translation, especially through my brothers like Yanga, gave me the foundation and inspiration, he said. But I realised I was building my own career when I started developing my own audience, gaining recognition, and turning my passion into a profession. His entry into the music business came through a practice that initially appeared to be little more than a promotional gesture. While translating films, Giti would introduce Rwandan songs to his viewers, giving local musicians exposure to an audience that already trusted his entertainment choices. The response convinced him that the audience he had built could support a business beyond film translation. I noticed that the audience I had built through film translation was not only interested in movies but was also very receptive to other forms of entertainment, he explained. It was the beginning of my journey into music promotion, artist management, and entertainment business. Taking a financial gamble Unlike film translation, where Giti had already established a reliable source of income, music management introduced financial uncertainty. He disclosed that his initial investment in the business was approximately Rwf7 million, money committed without any guarantee of recovering it. My initial investment was approximately 7 million Rwandan francs. I knew music management was a long-term investment, so I didn't expect immediate returns, he said. According to Giti, building an artist's career requires sustained spending on production, promotion, branding and other activities before meaningful revenue can materialise. It took time, patience, and continuous reinvestment before I started seeing meaningful financial results, he said. His decision to venture into music management was also informed by what he considered a gap in Rwanda's entertainment industry. While talented musicians were emerging, he believed many lacked the financial backing and professional structures necessary to transform their popularity into sustainable careers. I saw talented artists who needed more than just exposure; they needed proper management, investment, and business structures, he said. Building Chriss Eazy's career Giti's first major undertaking in artist management was his partnership with singer Chriss Eazy, who had previously worked as a music video director. The partnership helped establish Giti's credentials in music management as Chriss Eazy grew into one of Rwanda's recognisable contemporary musicians. The singer has released popular songs including Inana, Amashu and Fasta, and earned a nomination at the 2023 TRACE Awards. Giti said his decision to invest in Chriss Eazy was influenced not only by the singer's musical potential but also by his understanding of the creative industry. What attracted me to Chriss Eazy was his creativity, discipline, and unique understanding of the entertainment industry, he said. During our first serious conversations, I saw ambition, potential, and a willingness to learn. Giti described communication as an important lesson in artist management. Talent and investment alone are not enough to build a successful artist-manager relationship. Communication, trust, transparency, and mutual respect are equally important, he said. When ambition meets financial reality One of Giti's most difficult business decisions involved a proposed collaboration between Chriss Eazy and Tanzanian musician Zuchu. Although the song had been recorded, plans to shoot its music video stalled over a proposed production budget exceeding Rwf23 million. The collaboration was expected to provide Chriss Eazy with an opportunity to expand his audience in Tanzania and other regional markets. Giti, however, concluded that the potential benefits did not justify the expenditure at the time. Ambition must always go hand in hand with business sense, he said. I felt that spending more than Rwf23 million on the video was not financially justified at that particular moment. He said the project remains pending, rather than cancelled, and could proceed if a financially viable arrangement is reached. It wasn't a lack of belief in the collaboration; it was about protecting the investment and ensuring that the expected value matches the cost. He said his experience has taught him to assess artists' commercial potential beyond the performance of individual songs. Success is not measured by one song or one performance, but by building an artist's brand, creating multiple revenue streams, and developing long-term opportunities. Expanding Giti Inc. After several years of concentrating on Chriss Eazy, Giti has begun expanding his company's artist roster. In October, Giti Inc. signed rising singer Chiboo to a five-year management agreement. The musician, known for songs including Mbali, Kale and Okipe, became the company's second artist. He subsequently released Away, his first song since joining the company, with a music video filmed in Tanzania. Giti said the decision to sign Chiboo followed years of observing his artistic development. Chiboo has always been part of our journey. He started his music career while being around us at the academy, so we had the opportunity to watch him grow and understand his potential, he said. Signing him was therefore a natural step rather than a sudden decision. Despite his expansion plans, Giti is cautious about taking on too many musicians. He believes his company can initially manage four or five artists effectively, depending on its resources and organisational capacity. Quality matters more than quantity, he said. My priority will always be ensuring that every artist receives the attention, investment, and professional support they deserve. An international ambition Giti's long-term ambition is to transform his company from a local artist management operation into an international entertainment business. He envisions an organisation that develops talent, builds commercially sustainable music brands and connects Rwandan musicians to opportunities in foreign markets. Becoming one of Rwanda's biggest music management companies is part of the ambition, but my vision goes beyond that, he said. I don't just want to manage artists; I want to build brands, create sustainable careers, and establish a strong entertainment ecosystem that can stand the test of time. While he remains proud of his contribution to film interpretation, Giti hopes his lasting legacy will be measured by the careers he helps develop. If I had to choose, I would want to be remembered as someone who helped build a generation of internationally successful Rwandan musicians, he said. I believe that creating opportunities, developing talent, and opening international doors for our artists is a legacy that can outlive me.
