Valentine Nashipae is the founder and CEO of Cube Communications Rwanda, an agency that creates commercial solutions through advertising, marketing, research and branding. She spoke to Women Today’s Sharon Kantengwa about her journey and what she intends to achieve.

Tell us about yourself

I was born in Kenya. I am 35 years old and have two children. I studied in Kenya before moving to the UK for further studies where I focused on Business, Economics & Finance before working at a company called Euromoney Institutional Investor in the central marketing team. That is when I first ventured into what I do now. I then went on to work in various agencies before moving back to Kenya in 2007. I first visited Rwanda in October 2012 and just fell in love with the country. I was not driven by business at first, but by the environment because I thought it was perfect for my children. We have been living here since April 2013.

How did the idea of Cube come up?

My interest in marketing started in the United Kingdom in 2011 where I learnt to approach marketing holistically with the clients’ commercial bottom-line in mind. When I came back to Kenya I got involved in high profile events and experiential marketing projects. I was working with an entertainment company which had an experiential agency. We really did have an impact in the industry and acquired several high profile clients including major brands such as Tusker, Tusker Lite, Tusker Malt, among others.

I launched Cube in October 2013 but the idea came up when I was producing the P-Square concert in Kigali in 2012. I wanted to do something that brought together all that I had learnt. I spent seven months planning what Cube would do to be certain that I would achieve the goals that I had set out to achieve. We are on a journey to ensure that everything we do is focused on commercial strategy as a whole from research, product development, advertising to event / experiential marketing.

What have been some of your great moments in your career so far?

My great moments happen everyday when I see my team develop and learn. We are always under pressure but we manage to execute the projects because the team is committed. Each project elevates their confidence, skill set and determination. We have become skilled at identifying barriers and tackling them the best way possible to ensure we deliver. Actually, that is how Mo Sound Rwanda was created. We kept having challenges with eventing equipment and so we created Mo Sound Rwanda together with Mo Sound Entertainment Kenya that is the largest event production company in the region. That barrier is no longer there. We can comfortably produce events without having to import a lot of items from Kenya. Other great moments include getting involved in projects such as the first private sector IPO and Transform Africa 2015. We have become good at working under pressure. My team members have become experts at crashing barriers! Whatever it takes, the client will get what they want.

What do you think is the best way to achieve success?

Success is being good at what you do and doing it to the best of your ability with integrity and passion. This takes a lot of investment of time which can be very daunting if you are a mother. You have to find a balance. Your children should come first, which means that you have to put in some rules to control the work load so that you are relaxed, open, present and in the moment with your kids. It can be tough but it is possible with a good support system around you. Another important thing is to embrace the need for knowledge by making good use of tools that have given us access to learning from great minds through their books, lectures and so forth. My goal is to gain new information everyday. That information is then applied to a tangible situation. At this point, you start become knowledgeable. You keep applying it and the journey to gaining experience truly begins. That process is transferred to my team. This allows us to eventually build a team that can share the work load. It is not a quick journey but I remain persistent that we can be the best team there is in our field.

What makes an entrepreneur different from an employee?

The business of business to make our world a better place for the next generation. As an entrepreneur, you have to reach a new level of courage, to push you to do things that you didn’t think you could without the comfort of someone above you to guide you and keep you in check. Whether a business is big or small, you have to be willing to recognise barriers and deal with them with courage. You also truly redefine the meaning of family. My team is key in the journey to achieving what we have set out to do because they are committed and willing to learn. We are not afraid to take on something new together. We make mistakes and learn from together. I will always protect and nurture them as we grow together.

What is your greatest fear?

My biggest fear is not doing my best. Much as I am sometimes overwhelmed, I find it within myself to work hard to try and constantly present the best version of me that I can offer up that day. We sacrifice a lot to deliver to the clients.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

My parents inspire me because they have their hearts in what they do. They are committed, kind, selfless and extremely hardworking. Their values are my values.

In terms of known figures, the President of Rwanda is one my biggest inspiration. I am driven by his emphasis on hard work. He is always certain. He is also persistent in his policies. He keeps his word. I learn a lot from that. If I can emulate some of these traits, I know I will be able to achieve something worthy that adds value to my team, my clients and most importantly, my children’s core principles.

Where do you see your company in five years?

want Cube to be synonymous with the word ‘delivery’. We want to ensure we are able to contribute to anything that has to do with our clients’ commercial success from research, product development, advertising and brand assets such as their events with zeal.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw