Roomila Roothoorodoo, an award-winning Mauritius-based creative audio-visual entrepreneur — Lionesses of Africa

Over the years, Roomila has been recognised for her achievements and was awarded among the Top 10 for Most Creative Young Entrepreneur Award, organised by JCI Mauritius. In 2019, She graduated from UNISA – University of South Africa for Business and Entrepreneurship Development for the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Programme. She also participated at an International Photography Exchange between China and Mauritius in 2018/2019, exhibiting the resulting photos at an exhibition in Mauritius on the occasion of World Photography Day 2022 at La City, Trianon, Mauritius. As a cinematographer, Roomila won an award from The Mauritius Film Development Corporation In July 2019 for the production of her first film – Aadha Pattharwa, The Half Rock and 5th Prize for the 7 Days Challenge Competition – DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder. Being an emerging micro company, Focus Events Ltd, under the leadership of Roomila, was awarded Special Jury Award for SME Excellence Award 2019. She believes in youth and women empowerment for a better society of tomorrow. Last year she received her Photo Album (best 76 photos from 3500+ international submissions) from UNESCO Head Quarters, France for “YOUTH LENS on the Silk Roads” Photo Contest 2019/2020. In 2022, she is among the 15 woman entrepreneurs selected for an accelerator program by ABSA Bank Mauritius, and Future Female Invest.

Lioness Weekender had the pleasure of speaking to Roomila Roothoorodoo to learn what it takes to build a successful, growing specialist business in the creative audio-visual industry, and her vision for the future.

When did your start your business?: 

We started with Photography Training in 2010 and 5 years later we started to provide Audio Visual Services.

What does your company do?

Focus Events Ltd is an Audio Visual registered company based in Mauritius. We provide our services to both private and public organisations. Our team perform services to cooperates, weddings, parties and ceremonies. Focus also offers Editing and Montage; according to the taste or theme of the client, Drone (Aerial) Services, Graphic Designing, Personalized Photo shoots, Voice-Off for Advertisements, Video Publicity with Full HD or 4K rendering.

For the past 12 years, Focus has been providing training services in the field of Photography, Videography and Editing. The courses are running as part-time training programmes. More than 75% of our successful trainees are presently working as professional photographers in various sectors locally, but also around the globe as on board cruise ships photographers. The training department of Focus Events Ltd is very proud to be producing bright and skillful photographers who are occupying various positions in the field of audio visual.

What inspired you to start your company?

Photography has always been my passion. After completing my A- Level studies, I joined a Digital Photography, Photo Editing & Creative Videography Course. As a result, I gained more confidence as a Photographer. Since forever, I had the vision of creating an Audio-Visual company, which will provide high-end services, to both individuals and corporates. I took the challenge of accomplishing my goal. Focus Events Ltd has expanded in many other services like; underwater videography, aerial (drone) image, sound recording and advertising. At present, the goal I had has changed into a different aspect. Focus is not only a service provider, but also a job creator to many young Mauritians with the same passion.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

Focus highly uses the internet as a marketing platform. We hold a very active Facebook Page and an Instagram profile too. As content creators, we do produce our own marketing and advertising materials which are most often published digitally. Every 6 months, Focus prepares a Marketing Budget  which we try to make the most out of. Nevertheless, we do believe in prints. We try as much to appear in magazines and newspapers too and have been present in different fairs and events during which we propose many promotions of our services. But there is small engagement during these fairs and events. Clients step towards us with more and more instant requirements, and meeting these demands is no less than a challenge.

Focus Events Ltd is not tied to any political, cultural or ethical belonging. As a result, we provide our services to each and everyone. The diversity of our clientele is absolutely broad. We have even provided our services internationally such as Trescon from UAE; organiser of The World AI Show with a Special Guest – Robot Sophia Conference in Mauritius, or Vidya Voxx, an international Bollywood singer, who performed during her concert and had to shoot to mix a video clip. Getting back to the local platform, we provide our services from Big Fat Wedding, to the simplest One Day Wedding, Birthday parties, Engagements or Family gatherings. We do evolve for cooperates also, be it Team Building, End of Year parties, to Seminars, Award Nights, Graduations or Product Launching.

Being registered with SME Mauritius has played a very positive role in working for different Ministries such as The Ministry of Arts and Culture, Ministry of TIC, Ministry of Education and even The Ministry of Commerce. Focus had the opportunity to work for the Commission of Environment in Rodrigues. We also have a regular client from Reunion Island dealing in Natural Cosmetic; Au Plaisir Du Bien Etre. 

Instead of thinking of price as something we charge, we think of cost as something customers pay. This simple adjustment opens up a whole new strategy about sales and marketing. We propose a full range of options and as a service provider, we aim at customised/tailor-made services. This differs us from direct competitors.

Tell us a little about your team

At the launch of the business, we started with 2 persons and now my team has 4 full time employees including myself and more than 10 freelancers working as part timers or on large scale projects. That sounds great as it gives a good image of Focus Events Ltd. Focus has on board:

1. Roomila Roothoorodoo 
Miss Roomila is qualified in Fundamentals of Digital Photography, Photoshop for Photographers and Creative Videography, she completed her courses back in 2015. Roomila bags 6 years of experience as a Professional Videographer and Admin Officer at FOCUS. Few years back, Roomila had the opportunity to help during the film festival in Mauritius, Festival Île Courts by Porteur D’Image and she was able to attend several presentations during the festival. It exposed the Focus Team about techniques adopted by filmmakers from Europe, Africa and even Asia. Subsequently, she also participated in Girls in Film in Mauritius.

2. Dilesh Sharma 
Mr Dilesh is a trained, qualified and MQA registered coach in Photography and Videography. He started his teaching career in the audio-visual field back in 2010. He completed his diploma in Creative Videography from the Symbiosis University in Pune, India and has a certification in Implementation of Technology in Teaching from the Rhine University from California, USA. He is also a diploma holder in written and spoken Journalism in French from the Institute Media Excellence. He is the Co-Founder, Project Lead & Trainer of Focus Events Ltd. He was the writer of 2 award winning films and director of 1 award winning film produced by Focus Events Ltd. He has attended a workshop on Film Production by Mr Sanjay Joshi, Script Writer from India and Mr Ashutosh Deshmukh, Director, FilmZone, Mumbai (International Faculty Member from India) at Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI) in 2019. 

3. Roomala Roothoorodoo 
Miss Roomala is qualified in Creative Videography, Fundamentals of Digital Photography and Photoshop for Photographers from the Training School of Focus in 2016, Mauritius. She started her journey as a freelance Photographer in 2013 and for the past 4 years, she is working at Focus as a Professional Visual Technician & Photographer for the editing of Videos and Photos. Roomala has the responsibility of selecting the photos for our business page on Facebook. She has also attended a workshop on Film Production by Mr Sanjay Joshi, Script Writer from India and Mr Ashutosh Deshmukh, Director, FilmZone, Mumbai (International Faculty Member from India) at Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI) in 2019. Roomala has participated in short films competition as both a crew member and actor in the short films produced by Focus Events Ltd.

4. Shivraj Bignah 
Mr Shivraj is qualified in Digital Photography and Photo Editing for Photographers from the Training School of Focus in 2020. He grew up in Mahebourg a real paradise in the South East of the island surrounded by amazing beaches, natural landscapes, markets and museums. His love for photography started at a very young age. He started as a freelance in 2017 before joining the Training Centre of Focus and in 2021, he joined the business as a Professional Audio Visual Technician. He has been flying drones for the past 5 years and he is presently the Drone Operator at Focus Events Ltd.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

It is my passion for photography which brought me to an entrepreneur journey, as I do not come from an entrepreneurial background. I have always been inspired by working women entrepreneurs, especially as they wear so many hats. Today, I am very grateful to be inspired and to inspire young girls in our society.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

In the field of Audio-Visual, there are constant changes in the technological inventions of equipment being used. From cameras to computers, passing through lenses, lighting system and software’s. At Focus we adopted, “beat it or just follow it!”

From the 1902 Georges Méliès’ film, “Voyage Dans La Lune” to the latest Peter Jackson’s film “The Hobbit” or even S Rajamouli’s film “Baahubali”, films and videos have always known Visual Effects (VFX). One of the most advanced technologies in terms of VFX is known to be Chroma Key or famously called: Green Screen. It requires a good set up and a lighting system which is on the dot. In the beginning of 2019, Focus had invested in a 170m2 indoor space for a video studio in the heart of Ville Lumière – Curepipe. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we had to reduce in size. We are planning again to set up a bigger studio, with all facilities for the production of high end videos including Chroma Key VFX, a Sound Booth for a digital quality Audio and Voice-Over. The post production of videos with VFX is a pure state of art which requires a lot of digital resources. As a result, the company has already invested in 2 high end iMac Pro’s. These machines are the core of our AV projects. 

As Focus evolves in the area of visuals, we need to make sure that we produce the highest quality final products. Therefore, we use the best high-end equipment only. From photo cameras to video cameras going through to computers, it is our first priority to treat all demands with the best quality option.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

As an entrepreneur you have to be ready for sacrifice, especially when your services are entertainment related. Most of the time, work is during festive seasons, and where others will enjoy the front stage, as a Photographer/ Videographer you are working backstage.

I’ll add more saying that a disciplined mind is important, as one needs not only to have your head on your shoulders but also have a good sense of respecting the audience and client. If you are attentive to your client and provide what is asked for, you can be sure of having a satisfied client which is more than the pay at the end. In this field if we understand exactly what the client wants, 50% of the battle is already won. Lastly, the day-to-day challenge, each project is unique in itself.

What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

I believe entrepreneurship succeeds when one engages in conscious introspection. This requires; to reflect on the past, attend the present, prospect the future, and feel the passion. I would like to end with a quote “Where there is a will, there is way.”

And I look forward to sharing the same will and ways with other dedicated young ladies in Africa.

To find out more about Focus Events Ltd business offerings, or to speak to Roomila about a commission, send an email to: info@focus.mu or visit the company website and social media pages:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE