As an EdTech (educational technology) enthusiast, 22-year-old, Aime Albert Sangwa says the goal is to be part of the triumph of technology, the local movie industry, and boost start-ups. Sangwa believes that it’s time the world knows Rwanda for its other developments, and not just associate it with gorillas. One of his companies called Futureware, which he founded last year, was launched to boost e-learning, and says that the platform helps teachers and experts create courses and sell them online, worldwide. “I figured out a way people could acquire skills in the comfort of their homes and offices, and there was no better way than this. I started this company after realising that in East Africa, there was no software to help teachers or educators use their skills and make a living out of it,” he says. There is no doubt that EdTech is evolving, studies suggest that the industry was worth $89.49 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow by 19.9 per cent between 2021 and 2028, which is why Sangwa wants to exploit every opportunity in learning and earning through it. Sangwa says that he and his team reach out to university lecturers with expertise in programming, graphic design, photography, data science, among other courses, who are willing to share their knowledge, skills and research, with students worldwide. He creates visual classrooms where teachers use PowerPoint slides with audio, motion graphics and others to illustrate. “We guide the teachers on proper standards of creating the courses, all they do is create the content and we assist them to create videos or any materials necessary to make the information much easier to grasp. Some courses are free or charge while others are paid for using credit cards and PayPal. The instructor earns 75 per cent per from every individual and we take the rest. We have started hosting conventions in different universities and high schools teaching learners how to acquire extra knowledge and make money,” he says. Sangwa points out that he uses a broad marketing strategy—after creating any course, and advertises it on social media, and email marketing. He looks forward to making the platform the centre for creating and receiving skills that people can’t obtain in school, as the courses on the platform are based on experience. Some of the challenges he encounters is earning instructors’ trust because some don’t trust that they will be paid well, especially that the firm is still new. He also says that another problem the company is facing is that one of the payment methods, PayPal, doesn’t operate in Rwanda and adding mobile money to the system is hard since it’s expensive. Growing up, he was enthusiastic about technology, mostly because his family members were into tech, but also, the fact that tech experts get easy means of doing things, and technology is taking over, so he didn’t want to be left behind. Having noticed that most businesses lack customers and operate under losses due to poor marketing techniques, the entrepreneur started Sassuo in 2019– a company that assists businesses shift from old fashioned marketing to a new era of technology. According to Sangwa, the company creates software and websites and helps small businesses acquire, target or attract more clients with the help of social media. “We intermediate between companies and clients, we train business owners to create content, and invest in themselves to capture their customers’ attention. We provide them with knowledge, to communicate their message in the first six seconds of their marketing technique. We also help youth use the internet to earn a living, but not just for entertainment. We have created a social media community where people connect and reach out to business owners whose services they need, and it’s amazing seeing businesses grow,” he says. Being a fan of good movies, he noticed that the local movie industry is still raw—lacks the skills and quality to produce high-end movies like Hollywood, and this impelled him to take a short course in cinematography, which offered him skills to start a movie company in 2019 called Gevihood. To his disappointment, he searched for Rwandan movies on Netflix in vain, but is optimistic that although there is a long way to go, he is willing to contribute to the development of the industry, by creating fresh ideas, and searching for investors to fund his projects. His company produces movies, commercials and classic fashion photography. One of the challenges he is facing is that videographers and cinematographers are not given permission to create scenes of movies around the city, a thing that hinders them from showcasing the beauty of Rwanda. “If we need to shoot international movies, we should be given permission to shoot in all areas, because how are we to produce amazing movies if we are prohibited from accessing most venues? Even flying drones is not allowed, this is a huge problem limiting creatives to produce great movies,” he says. Sangwa adds that insurance companies don’t allow to work with him yet during shooting, people may get hurt or property destroyed, which, he says, isn’t pushing the movie industry to grow. Insurance companies don’t trust that movies will earn money that will be paid to them with time, he adds. He has no doubt that Rwanda’s movie industry can grow if there is more training offered to directors, cinematographers and actors, but also, Rwandans watching local movies. “Rwanda should be known for more good developments, apart from gorillas,” he emphasises. Sangwa is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in IT at University of Kigali.
