Recently, I got the opportunity to speak with Emmanuel Tuombe, Founder and CEO of ABES Engineering in Memphis. Growing up witnessing the challenges created from a lack of infrastructure in Rwanda, Emmanuel set out to become a civil engineer. He founded ABES Engineering in 2015 with the goal to build a profitable business and to give back locally and around the world in underserved communities.
After a successful career working for the largest engineering firm in the world, Bechtel, Emmanuel embarked on the entrepreneurial journey with ABES. Through his involvement in the community and a chat with the city of Memphis Mayor Office through the Office of Business Diversity and Compliance (OBDC), Emmanuel learned about and thought highly of The 800 Initiative, a program with the primary goal of growing existing minority-owned businesses in Memphis. After joining The 800, his business developed quickly. With The 800, ABES was able to learn how to scale his business by partnering with other engineering firms, as well as create a sound strategy to support Emmanuel’s vision and ABES’s growth.
Learn more from our interview here.
Carter: What work is ABES Engineering currently doing?
Emmanuel: “ABES is currently involved with many major infrastructure projects with the City of Memphis, Shelby County Government, the International Port of Memphis, and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). We partner with other engineering firms, such as the largest in Memphis, Fisher Arnold, to execute our projects. We will soon embark on projects with the Tennessee Department of Transportation. ABES hopes to soon accept projects at the federal level.”
Carter: You were named a Game Changer Entrepreneur and honored at the White House in 2020. What did being named a Game Changer Entrepreneur mean to you?
Emmanuel: “I thought for a while that this was potentially a prank until I was physically accepting the award in the White House. I had no idea that anyone was noticing the hard work and long hours I was putting into my business, projects, and community. I quickly realized that this award was something much bigger than myself. I was representing all minority business, all small businesses, all of those entities quietly doing the difficult work. I came away truly believing that working hard towards your dreams leads to great things.”
Carter: What is the nature of your work with Engineers Without Borders?
Emmanuel: “My work with Engineers Without Borders stems from having noticed the lack of infrastructure within Rwanda when I was growing up. I became an engineer to solve the infrastructure problem plaguing underdeveloped areas. After making connections with existing Engineers Without Borders participants, I believed that I had the ability to begin the program in Rwanda. After working on a project in Gabon and seeing the need for engineering solutions, I began a chapter there as well. Typically, we go to a community and assess their issues and then provide the infrastructure solution to their problem. While doing so, we provide the community with education and training to help them better provide for themselves going forward.”
Carter: What are your 5 to 10 year goals for ABES Engineering?
Emmanuel: “With our mission to create a company that makes an impact locally and around the world, we are looking to be a profitable company with an engineering branch and a construction branch. I’ve said in a previous interview that I would like ABES to become like FedEx, both a local and international business that is stationed in Memphis. A big step in accomplishing our goals has been the recent hiring of Brad Davis, a very talented engineer that was previously managing a 50 million dollar project as the Deputy City Engineer in Memphis. Similarly, we are continuously looking for more partners and engineers that share the same vision as the company and myself. As we further solidify our business, we are looking for opportunities for more projects. We are teaming up with a company in Nashville, as well as with some clients in Texas.”
Carter: What are your thoughts on Memphis’s current trajectory in terms of innovation?
Emmanuel: “My goal is to continue to see Memphis grow and improve. There are many infrastructure projects in the works, such as The Walk on Union. I believe that the community will continue to be uplifted in the process. 65% of the community is African American, but they only receive 1% of the total revenue to their businesses. Myself and ABES have made it a goal to offer training to people who are interested in receiving a construction license giving them educational opportunities to have the skillset to make an impact. As a city, we ought to strive to lift others up as we ourselves are lifted. I look forward to continuing seeing the community take those intentional steps towards innovation.”
Carter: Do you have any advice for those beginning their journey with entrepreneurship or engineering?
Emmanuel: “It’s essential to have passion before beginning this journey. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart as there will be plenty of challenges and setbacks along the way. To overcome them it’s important to find good resources early in the process. This means building relationships that can lead to partnerships, funding, and guidance. For me, this was achieved by immersing myself in The 800 Initiative early on.”
Carter: What has guided you on this journey from Rwanda to South Dakota to Memphis?
Emmanuel: “My journey has been guided by my passion to make an impact wherever I go. I look to see where I can be a solution in the area that I’m in. This has led to challenging decisions where I took the first step without fully knowing what the second step would be. To overcome this, I believe it is important to have a certain optimism in this life where you believe that your best days are always ahead of you. This way of thought is what guided me to pursue engineering, to begin Engineers Without Borders chapters, and to begin my own business”
Carter: Do you have anything to add or final comments?
Emmanuel: “My goal is to build a strong company that is making an impact. To do so, I’m still actively looking for partners to participate in this journey with me, specifically those with aligned goals and insights. I firmly believe that we can make a greater impact when we work together and view the challenges of today as opportunities to make a difference.”
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Emmanuel’s story is incredibly inspiring. It is made abundantly clear when speaking with him that he has a passion to be involved in the community wherever he is located. We look forward to staying connected with Emmanuel and following his future success and impact in Memphis.
You can learn more about ABES Engineering and Emmanuel’s journey with these links:
http://www.abesengineering.com/
https://dailymemphian.com/article/16263/rwandan-immigrant-now-a-memphis-entrepreneur