Paris: from building locally to showing up globally

There is something different about seeing something you helped build being presented thousands of kilometres away from where it started.

As part of our enablement through the Habesha Creative Lab, I had the opportunity to represent one of our ventures at the NewImages Festival in Paris.

We went there to showcase our work.

But we came back with much more.

Being surrounded by creators, technologists, immersive storytellers and innovators from different parts of the world gave us the opportunity to see where our work sits within a much bigger global conversation.

We showcased what we’ve been building.

We learned from what others are building.

We met creators and organizations approaching similar problems from completely different perspectives.

We received feedback.

We challenged some of our assumptions.

And, importantly, we started conversations that have since developed into partnership opportunities we are currently working toward.

For me, that was one of the biggest takeaways from the experience.

International exposure isn’t valuable simply because you get to say, “We showcased in Paris.”

The real value is what happens after you come home.

What did you learn?

Who did you meet?

What changed about the way you think?

Which conversations are you continuing?

And how do you turn exposure into something tangible for the company?

We are still working through those questions.

But seeing something that started as an idea in Ethiopia being discussed, challenged and appreciated in an international space was an important reminder:

Build locally. Learn globally. Then bring the value back home.

Paris was a milestone.

Definitely not the destination.

Special appreciation to Olivier PASCAL, Olivier Mouginot, Tristan Desplechin, Markos Lemma, Sara Antonio DIMARIA, Amanuel S. Getahun 🦉, Saron Engidasew Zerihun, Tsega Melesse, Mahlet Kassaye