I am Boaz Shani, director and principal AV consultant at PRO AV Africa in Kampala. I design sound, video, conferencing and control systems for buildings: boardrooms, meeting rooms, conference halls, auditoriums, churches, hotels, stadiums, smart offices and homes.
I come in at any stage, from the first concept drawings to a building that is already finished and needs fixing. I lead the design, and my team prepares the specifications, BOQs, drawings and tender documents.
A solution is only as good as its after-sales and local support.
How I got here
I started in the early 1990s in Israel, as stage crew and technical producer for city events in Givatayim, then spent six years in show business as a sound technician, lighting designer and later production manager for TV productions, celebrity tours and the Israeli Opera. That background still shapes how I design: a system has to work on the night, every night, for the people operating it.
I moved to Kampala in 1999 and have been here ever since. Over the years I ran bars, nightclubs and DVD libraries, worked as an ICT and logistics manager for Balton Uganda, and consulted on IT for Solel Boneh International. In 2010 I co-founded UGO (Uganda Goes Online), and through it we coached more than 100 companies and 2,000 people on using social media and online tools. In 2011 I helped found the ICT Association of Uganda.
Also in 2011 I joined Technet EA Solutions as a shareholder and turned it from a telecoms supplier into a distributor of professional AV brands for East Africa. In 2012 we brought Kramer Electronics to Uganda. In 2019 the company became PRO AV Africa.
How PRO AV Africa works
PRO AV Africa is a value-added distributor. We do not install. We supply, design, train and supervise. The systems are installed by integrators we have trained, working to the approved design under my supervision, and then we commission and hand over.
I only design around products that are available in Uganda and backed by local after-sales support. A system that cannot be serviced here is not a good system, however good the brand.
The kind of work I do
Since 2014 I have designed and consulted on AV systems across Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Kenya. The work covers government buildings and parliaments, banks and corporate offices, hotels, hospitals, universities and training colleges, churches, a national stadium, and private homes.
Typical jobs are auditoriums and conference halls, boardrooms and meeting rooms with video conferencing, building-wide public address and background music, video walls and command centres, press rooms and broadcast studios, digital signage, and smart offices and homes. Some are new buildings where I start from the drawings. Others are finished buildings where the existing system never worked and needs to be put right.
Training and certification
I am trained and certified by TOA, JBL Professional, Audio-Technica, Blustream (AV infrastructure and Dante), Polywall, AVer, MAXHUB, Datavideo and Lithe Audio, and hold Kramer Academy, Vivitek, ZeeVee, Denon and Exterity certificates.
Outside work
In 2007 I was one of the founding members of Little Light Uganda, an NGO that supports the upbringing, health and education of children from one of Kampala’s poorest neighbourhoods. I was involved until 2013. I also run RBE Solutions, a social media and advertising agency, and I mentor young Ugandan entrepreneurs whenever I can. I speak English and Hebrew.
Get in touch
Email boaz@proav.africa, message me on WhatsApp, or visit PRO AV Africa. I am boazshani on every platform below.
