Events Factory was founded in 2006 by Rwandan entrepreneur Celestin Makuza and has since grown into a healthy company with 14 employees. Although Makuza initially marketed his company exclusively as an event coordinator, local clients can now turn to Events Factory for a full service package: not only organising events - digital and otherwise - but also setting up expos, arranging accommodation and even providing simultaneous interpreters are now part of Events Factory's offering.

Yet Makuza felt it was time for the next step. As a professional conference organiser (PCO), he wants to enter the international market with Events Factory, further professionalise services and internal processes and thus grow sustainably to become the pre-eminent provider of innovative solutions and services in Rwanda. To streamline this growth and ensure that further expansion is tackled strategically and proactively, Exchange vzw will join Makuza at the table to put Events Factory through a strong growth programme.

In recent years, the company itself has already made great strides. What started as a one-man business with one office space has since grown to include several offices and storage areas, with additional storage areas - both nearby and in a new zone near the airport - in the pipeline.

Now Makuza is looking to Exchange for expertise and guidance in building his business. Not only does he want to tap the international market and also serve multilateral organisations, private companies and the Rwandan government, the focus will also be on professionalising and expanding two lines of business. On the one hand, the rental of material and equipment will be streamlined - less ad hoc and more as a permanent service, while on the other hand, digital products and systems will be optimised to develop a clearer, more professional offering.

To oversee this growth, Exchange will provide a PCO expert to better organise the current operation, a software engineer to help fine-tune the digital event systems and enough knowledge and expertise in inventory management, business development and organisational design to make the whole company a well-oiled machine.

Events Factory has already built a strong reputation for itself and fits perfectly within the scope of the Exchange growth programmes. At the head of the company is a passionate entrepreneur with a large network, a customer-centric approach and a huge commitment to his team. In return, that team - educated and highly competent - always does what is necessary, even in peak periods when productivity needs to be doubled. A promising project with a lot of potential and achievable areas for improvement, which the team from Exchange will enjoy working on immensely between now and September 2025.