Today we’d like to introduce you to Emmanuel Amido.
Hi Emmanuel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I didn’t really see a future in academics for me while in grade school but I did take AP art throughout high school, the only AP or advanced class I took. Not wanting to take math and science and being good at art, I decided to go to art school after graduating from Central High in Memphis, TN. I ended up going to the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, MO. I was there for a year before becoming disillusioned with the art world and deciding to leave art school for a traditional 4-year college or university.
I ended up at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where I graduated with a B.An in Interdisciplinary Studies. I got a Visa and an apartment in South Korea, where I intended to relocate right before I met my now wife of 12 years, but a $300 balance I owed the University of Alabama prevented me from leaving so I returned to Memphis and we worked on our relationship and I got a job working construction in West Memphis, Arkansas. I ended up canceling my plans to move to South Korea to be with her, and soon after graduating college, we got married and now have three beautiful daughters.
After we got married I started my first business here in the States (where I grew up there are no child labor laws, so I’ve been working since I was 7-8 years old and starting businesses in produce, construction, and a bike rental and repair shop). My business in Memphis was in video production and transitioned into a marketing services company. After a brief time at a local CBS affiliate, I jumped into the world of Agriculture as a Lead Brand Storyteller for AgLaunch, an ag accelerator in Memphis, TN.
Looking ahead, I plan on continuing to grow my video production and brand storytelling business and growing my latest venture, AgroTech Noire, a blog site that promotes black entrepreneurship and ownership in general, but specifically in agriculture. The website is in the pre-launch phase and will officially launch later this year. I am also a documentary filmmaker. My motivation comes from my background as a former refugee. I was born in the capital of what is now the youngest nation, the Republic of South Sudan, right before the Second Sudanese Civil War, Africa’s longest-running civil war.
My family left the south for North Sudan where we lived under a dictator’s regime. We left Sudan in the late 90s for Egypt before moving to the United States in 2001. Being from a country ravaged by war, living under a brutal dictator and his regime, and living in the shadows as a refugee in Egypt shapes how I deal with obstacles and hardship here in the United States. Though I may not be invited to the table, I feel like I can have multiple attempts at building my own and no one will stop me.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth ride simply because I started from scratch. Coming to a new country, I needed to learn the English language and understand the culture to get acclimated to one of the worst school systems in the country. That part was more difficult than starting a business and pursuing my passion.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a documentary filmmaker and run a creative service business that provides web design, photography, video production, and brand storytelling services. I am also the founder of AgroTech Noire, a news and blog website that provides content to promote black entrepreneurship and ownership in agriculture through blogs, podcasts, video casts, articles, and videos. I currently serve as the lead brand storyteller at AgLaunch.
In Memphis I am mostly known for my work as a documentary filmmaker and then as someone in video production services. This makes sense because I am most proud of my work as a documentary filmmaker, I love the topics I cover in my documentaries including the one currently in the early stages of production. I strongly believe my early childhood experiences set me apart in how I tackle my creative and professional goals.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think more access to people who normally aren’t able to break into this industry due to prohibitive costs in gear and labor. Things are a lot more affordable and almost anyone can start creating and breaking into this industry, that’s a good thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emmanuelamido.com
- Instagram: @emmanuelamidofilms
- Facebook: @emmanuelamidofilms
- Twitter: @emmanuelamido
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@emmanuelamidofilms
- Other: www.agrotechnoire.com
