Ssebatta found a niche in events

When Ibrahim Renal Ssebatta cut his teeth into the events world on July 8 2012, his mission was to establish a high school outreach project that gave students a platform to showcase talents in music,fashion, public speaking, and the like.

In 2013, he successfully partnered with schools. Project Kadanke was officially launched. In 2016, he ventured into events. A year later, he had plans to tap into university events as a continuity plan to reconnect with students from High School.

His innovative business eye saw him re-invent the university events business by putting vibrancy to graduation ceremonies,commencements and open days among others.

All the while, he nurtured a dream of acquiring events equipment - stage, lighting, screens and sound. He saved towards achieving it and is now on the road to more business self-actualisation.

His motivation was born out of observation on noticing a gap for original and creative advertising and communications.

“We seized the opportunity and have since created an advertising agency- Kadanke Brand House, a road that has led us to working on campaigns with reputable brands such as Exim Bank, Centenary Bank, Oryx Energies, Qatar Airways and Uganda Development Bank among others,” Ssebatta reveals.

His dream is to create a 360-degree creative system that touches the young and old through the five senses at all possible levels. His mistakes have been his biggest lessons as he has been able to mitigate situation to emerge stronger.

When he channeled out to universities, it was deliberate. He started by bidding and winning to organise events for Cavendish University.

The events did not generate profits.“They instead left me highly indebted. It was so challenging, so I resorted to organising promotions. Schools could on average pay me Shs10 million to organise a promotion, so I started seeing demand. If I had 10 schools that would mean Shs100m.”

He imagined having competitive decorations, screens, lights that modern wedding organisers have. Instead of competing with the big boys, he got equipment and concentrated on schools and universities.

He has earned the trust of two more universities. There are schools that will give him Shs40m to publish their magazines. He is keen on cutting his teeth in organising more public events.

“Corporate companies are moving away from traditional agencies because they are expensive. They want a retainer up to Shs35m but are not flexible. They only work Monday to Friday and are out of office by 4p.m I am available on those days and Sundays as well,” Ssebatta further explains.

He now owns the stage, lights and screens.

“I only hire like 30 per cent. That means even if the worse comes to the worst, I am able to ensure quality,” he reveals.

As he does business, he is keen on mentoring. His fondest milestone has been inspiring a generation of young people in the creative industry; those his team has interacted with face-to-face, trained,empowered or placed in permanent employment.

To him, their lives will not be the same and he couldn’t be more proud. His advice is, “It doesn’t count to follow anyone who is not going anywhere.”