09 Mar 2022

Nowadays most graduates do not  rely on  government for employment, instead they “hustle” to make a living.

One such graduate is Lopang Kenosi, 26, of Marobela in the Tutume Sub district who started his business of taking pictures to make ends meet. 

For Kenosi, it is nothing short of inner joy for him as he wakes up every single day to do what he loves most,  capturing pictures which has turned into making a living after opening Niche Brillo Media Company in Francistown.

The urge for Kenosi to have someone take a picture of him accurate to what he had imagined was his moment of self-discovery.

Kenosi’s childhood was centred on a dream of a normal Motswana child, going to school, getting good grades, graduating from a good university and getting a job.

But, as a child the kind of future he saw for himself certainly did not include passion or following a dream, it was a typical future of being a doctor and earning lots of money to live a comfortable life.

That is why he went and pursued a Bachelor of Science and Health Information Management at Botho University, where he graduated in 2019. In 2017, he started taking pictures of himself that would be his pride and joy.

For a while, he felt unsatisfied being in front of the camera and somehow he still did not have the picture he was longing for. “That is when I started being curious about being the person who took the picture and wanting to experience being behind the camera,” he said.

While focusing on his school work, he also saved money to buy a second hand camera, which he said was later stolen within a year of purchase.

That being a huge setback, he never thought of giving up, if anything, he saw that as a blessing in disguise because he eventually managed to get a much bigger and good quality camera.

This was possible through the friends that he had been associating with in the same industry, who supported him and encouraged him to register a company in 2019.

In an interview with BOPA in his  photo studio, he said it took a while for him to get his own place of operation.

“Once I realised I was growing as a photographer, I decided to get my own studio so I can make my clients as comfortable as they can be to capture the rawness of their true emotions because it is very crucial for a good picture,” he added.

Even though he moved into his studio about three months ago, he said, it had been rewarding because he never thought it would be possible and this has now officially become his job and source of income.

He might have never taken a picture of himself that he initially wanted, but now he lives every day to give other people a picture they are looking for.

 Kenosi said he has never attempted to apply for the Youth Development Fund (YDF) because it was important for him to accumulate necessary resources by himself in order to appreciate all that went into his growth.

He stated that being funded had not always been a good thing as he had witnessed many small businesses failing due to lack of using money wisely and being too excited.

Explaining the name of his company he said he wanted something that would remind him of why he decided to follow this journey on days when he experienced hardships. He said Niche is a Spanish word meaning a proper combination or make up of something while Brillo is a French word meaning brilliance.

When adding it up, he said his company Niche Brillo Media is where a combination of his brilliant work blossoms or explodes to create the most amazing photographs.

Kenosi emphasised the importance of never giving up in any dream one chooses to pursue. He said nothing would ever be easy and not a single successful person had had it easy.

“Self-doubt is a cause to the death of many dreams because you will never push yourself to measures that can make you see what you are capable of, therefore focus on your own journey at your own pace,” he said.

ENDS