Jaabir Mohamad Ali and Ansina Roothoroodoo: “FOCUS”: The fruit of videography and photography

The buzz starts in 2009 when the local market is invaded by sophisticated cameras. So is the demand for proper training. To respond to this need, a small group of young and dedicated professionals join together to give birth to a training centre in digital photography courses, Focus Digital Photography, in Curepipe. Jaabir Mohamad Ali, 24 years old and Ansina Roothoroodoo, 21 years old, two young professionals tell us more.

Their main activity consists of offering photography and videography services. In fact, they provide their services to individuals and companies. “We provide coverage for basic events like weddings, parties or ceremonies. We also provide large scale coverage where the client needs 3 to 5 photographers at one time during an event,” says Jaabir.

Moreover, they also provide Editing and Mixing services according to the taste or theme requested by clients. “We have started this year with the services of on-spot mixing and projection. This service was in demand for conferences or seminars, where a video of less than 5 minutes is projected to highlight the best moments of a seminar, projected during a gala night for example,” adds Ansina on her part. Moreover, after gaining much experience in this field, they have also started producing video adverts to be displayed on the net, cinemas and TV. “We have been part of the crew for Le Grand Jeu, TV game on MBC1 on Saturday evening for Made in Moris with the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” they highlight.

The idea of embarking in this field came from their passion. Ansina points out, “I have always been fascinated by photography. Once I finished my secondary studies, I joined a course of digital photography. Having spotted my dedication, my trainer Mr Sharma once invited me to be his shadow for a press conference (shadow: first assistant of a photographer). I was totally amazed on seeing so many journalists working together, and I was encouraged to take some photos. At the end, I came up with some very interesting results. Mr Sharma encouraged me to come forward and be more confident. He introduced me to one of his friends, Jaabir.” However for Jaabir, photography in practice is far from what he studied.

“My parents wanted me to be an Arabic teacher. I went to Kuwait for my studies and over there I learnt about the possibilities of studying cinematography, which we do not have in Mauritius. I was so keen about it that I started a parallel course and earned a diploma. Upon my return, I got to understand that video recording services were not of high standards and quality. I must say it was very difficult as the local market has been saturated since long. Clients would also look for an identity, a name or reference. I was once offered a coverage by Mr Sharma, who soon became a good friend. He encouraged me and guided me in dealing with clients. Most of the time, clients would ask for photography services too, and Mr Sharma introduced me to Ansina, a dynamic and motivated young lady who wants to become a professional photographer. The very first time that I worked with Ansina, I felt at ease and thought that we could pair up for providing a combined service. With the help of Mr Sharma, we joined forces and came up with providing videography and photography services,” relates Jaabir on his part.

Challenges 

However, as young adults, the very first challenge in setting up a business is money. “You may have the brightest idea and be motivated, but the financial aspect determines whether the business gets started, especially when you plan on providing high quality services at competitive price in a country of slightly over a million inhabitants,” says Ansina. She believes that her dreams would never have come true without the support of Jaabir and Mr Sharma. As for Jaabir, understanding the administrative process was a real challenge. “I am naturally a technician, and admin work is very hard for me. However, Ansina is a blessing at this point, and she is better than me in communication,” he says. Another challenge for a young entrepreneur, he says, is creating a name. “In general, people recognise a quality service provider by its name, and to build on this reputation, it is very hard and it demands time. Mr Sharma proposed me an idea, why not use FOCUS, which is a recognised name in the world of photography,” he adds. 

On this note, Ansina continues: “when it came to the identity, I immediately agreed about FOCUS, for it was the place where I studied photography. Since its creation in late 2009, Focus Digital Photography has been offering courses only. But now, it has changed totally. It is not just a training centre and service provider, but also a job creator,” she says.

According to these two young people, the Ministry of Arts and Culture should encourage photography and videography as an art. “There should be more platforms so that we can expose our services,” she says.

Qualities of young entrepreneur

If Jaabir is of the opinion that to love what you do and always have innovative ideas help to become a successful entrepreneur, Ansina on her part believes that for a young entrepreneur to succeed, he/she must be ready to make sacrifices especially when your services are entertainment related.