RS Media, the creative brand founded by Remofilwe Setshedi, is building a space where Setswana language, culture and storytelling can be celebrated beyond their traditional geographical boundaries. What began as a deeply personal journey to reconnect with her mother tongue has evolved into a growing creative business driven by representation, cultural pride and meaningful human connection.
For Setshedi, the vision extends beyond hosting events or delivering performances. She wants Batswana to see themselves represented on major platforms, in corporate spaces and at celebrations where their language and identity may not always receive the recognition they deserve. Through RS Media, she is turning that ambition into a business built around authenticity, cultural preservation and the power of storytelling.
The Promise That Inspired RS Media
The origins of RS Media can be traced to a moment involving Setshedi’s grandfather. At his funeral, she was asked to read the messages on his funeral flowers in Setswana, an experience that made her reflect on her relationship with her mother tongue.
At the time, she was not particularly confident in her Setswana language skills. Determined to honour her grandfather, she made a conscious decision to learn how to read and write the language properly. Over time, that commitment developed into an interest in Setswana poetry and expressing herself through everyday conversations.
As she became more comfortable speaking her mother tongue, Setshedi discovered a deeper emotional connection to her identity and sense of belonging. She began questioning whether other Batswana experienced that same feeling and why Setswana cultural expression was not always visible in spaces beyond the North West province and Botswana.
That question became a driving force behind the creation of RS Media. Rather than allowing culture to remain something celebrated only in familiar environments, Setshedi wanted to help bring it into new spaces and onto larger stages.
Building a Creative Brand Around Representation
RS Media operates as an arts and creative brand with a focus on cultural representation, hosting, performance and storytelling. Its work is centred on creating experiences that connect audiences through language, tradition and shared identity.
For Setshedi, representation is not simply about visibility. It is about creating moments where people recognise themselves in the stories being told and feel that their backgrounds belong in the spaces they occupy.
South Africa’s cultural diversity has played an important role in shaping her perspective. She has observed how familiar languages, music and traditions can create immediate connections between people, particularly when they find themselves outside their usual communities.
She wanted RS Media to create those moments of recognition for Batswana, especially in spaces where Setswana language and culture are less prominently represented.
This cultural foundation gives the brand a purpose that extends beyond entertainment. It positions RS Media as a creative business seeking to preserve heritage while making it relevant and accessible to contemporary audiences.
Remofilwe Setshedi Recognised at the 2026 Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards
Remofilwe Setshedi’s contribution to South Africa’s creative industry earned her recognition as the Creative & Arts category winner at the 2026 Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards (YOBA). The award celebrates her excellence and impact within the creative and arts sector, marking an important milestone in her journey as a creative entrepreneur.
Beyond the recognition, Setshedi’s journey reflects the growing influence of young South African creatives who are using their talents to preserve cultural identity, challenge traditional boundaries and create meaningful connections with audiences. Through her creative brand, RS Media, she continues to champion Setswana language, storytelling and cultural representation, demonstrating how personal purpose can evolve into a broader entrepreneurial vision.
Her achievement also reinforces the importance of recognising creative entrepreneurs whose work contributes to both cultural expression and the development of South Africa’s creative economy.
From a Nine-to-Five Job to Building a Creative Career
Like many emerging entrepreneurs, Setshedi initially faced the challenge of balancing her creative ambitions with full-time employment. She was building a career in the creative industry while continuing to meet the demands of her retail job.
The growing number of bookings made that balance increasingly difficult. At one stage, she found herself booked for several consecutive weekends while still having to manage her responsibilities at work.
The experience required discipline, sacrifice and careful time management. It also forced her to reconsider how seriously she was treating her creative ambitions and whether she was prepared to build a sustainable business around them.
Eventually, Setshedi recognised that her creative work could become more than something she pursued alongside employment. The shift from treating it as an additional activity to developing it as a career became one of the most significant decisions in her entrepreneurial journey.
RS Media has been self-funded, meaning its development has depended on the resources available to Setshedi as she continues building the brand.
Why Emotional Connection Is Central to the RS Media Brand
One of the defining characteristics of RS Media is its emphasis on how audiences feel during and after an experience. Setshedi believes that successful hosting and performance should go beyond simply following a programme or occupying a stage.
Her goal is to create environments where people feel comfortable, appreciated and connected to one another. Whether working with private clients or corporate organisations, she approaches each opportunity with the intention of creating something meaningful.
This philosophy has helped shape the brand’s positioning in a competitive creative industry. Rather than defining RS Media solely by the services it offers, Setshedi focuses on the emotional experience associated with those services.
She is particularly interested in events that carry cultural, historical or personal significance. Importantly, her appreciation of tradition is not limited to African customs, but extends to the practices and celebrations that have helped shape communities over time.
For RS Media, this creates an opportunity to work across different types of events while maintaining a consistent focus on connection, belonging and storytelling.
The Four Values Driving RS Media
At the centre of the brand is a set of values represented by the acronym R.A.C.E., which stands for Representation, Authenticity, Cultural Pride and Emotional Impact.
Representation reflects the brand’s commitment to creating spaces where Batswana can be seen, heard and celebrated. It speaks directly to Setshedi’s desire to expand the presence of Setswana language and cultural expression across different platforms.
Authenticity is about approaching creative work with honesty and integrity, without compromising identity to fit into particular environments. Setshedi considers these qualities essential to building lasting relationships with clients and audiences.
Cultural Pride focuses on honouring Setswana heritage and the traditions that have shaped the community. It encourages the celebration of culture with dignity, humility and confidence.
Emotional Impact represents the belief that creative work should leave audiences with something meaningful. Every performance or engagement becomes an opportunity to create a connection that continues beyond the event itself.
Together, these values provide RS Media with a framework for making decisions, developing its identity and remaining connected to the purpose behind its creation.
Growing Through Social Media and Client Relationships
Social media has become an important channel for RS Media’s visibility and growth. Setshedi identifies Instagram and TikTok as the brand’s primary platforms for connecting with audiences and showcasing its creative work.
The platforms provide opportunities to communicate the brand’s personality, demonstrate its capabilities and introduce its work to potential clients. They also support the storytelling approach that forms an important part of the business.
Beyond digital visibility, Setshedi places considerable importance on reliability and communication. She believes clients should feel confident that their time, money and expectations are respected throughout the working relationship.
Her approach to building the business is grounded in honesty, integrity and delivering experiences that justify the trust clients place in the brand. These qualities are especially important in a service-based industry where reputation and client relationships can influence future opportunities.
As RS Media continues developing, Setshedi acknowledges that communicating its wider vision more consistently will be essential to strengthening the brand’s identity and recognition.
Learning to Build a Sustainable Business
Although RS Media is rooted in creativity and cultural expression, Setshedi recognises the importance of developing the commercial side of the business. One of her most significant entrepreneurial lessons has been understanding the need to pay closer attention to financial performance.
She identifies avoiding numbers as a mistake she has had to confront. For her, building a sustainable business means understanding revenue, costs and the performance indicators that reveal whether the company is progressing.
The metrics she monitors include revenue, bookings, repeat clients, audience growth and engagement. She also evaluates whether particular opportunities contribute to the brand’s long-term development rather than simply keeping her busy.
Profitability, in her view, means creating a financially healthy business that generates more income than it costs to operate. That would allow RS Media to reinvest in its growth, create opportunities and become less dependent on continually starting from scratch.
Her leadership approach is similarly focused on clarity and accountability. Setshedi values direct communication and prefers to address uncertainty rather than allow misunderstandings to affect working relationships.
Building a Legacy Beyond the Founder
Setshedi is clear that RS Media is not being built solely as a personal career or lifestyle business. Her ambition is to create a legacy that extends beyond her individual achievements.
She wants the brand to develop into a platform that creates opportunities for other creatives, preserves cultural expression and establishes a reputation for excellence in storytelling and performance.
Over the next three to five years, she hopes to see RS Media working with international brands and appearing on major platforms, including Netflix. These are ambitions she is working towards rather than partnerships that have already been secured.
She is also interested in collaborating with the Department of Education and organisations focused on youth development, communication and confidence-building. Through these relationships, she hopes to help younger people develop their public speaking abilities and become more comfortable using their voices.
The ambition reflects her belief that the brand’s influence should extend beyond events and performances into education, mentorship and personal development.
What RS Media’s Journey Teaches Emerging Brands
RS Media’s story illustrates how a deeply personal experience can become the foundation of a meaningful brand. Setshedi did not begin with a conventional business proposition focused solely on identifying a commercial opportunity. Her journey began with a desire to reconnect with her language and eventually grew into a vision for wider cultural representation.
The business demonstrates the importance of identifying a purpose that audiences can connect with emotionally. In RS Media’s case, that purpose is supported by a clear set of values, an understanding of its target market and an ambition to build lasting relationships through authentic experiences.
At the same time, Setshedi’s journey highlights the practical challenges of entrepreneurship, from balancing employment and bookings to managing finances and building a recognisable identity. Her willingness to acknowledge these challenges forms an important part of the story.
For emerging South African brands, RS Media offers an example of how cultural identity and commercial ambition can coexist. A business can be driven by heritage and community while still pursuing financial sustainability, broader audiences and international opportunities.
A Future Where Setswana Stories Belong Everywhere
For Setshedi, the ultimate measure of success is not simply the number of bookings secured or the size of the platforms RS Media reaches. It is the impact the brand has on the people who encounter its work.
She wants audiences to leave experiences feeling represented, encouraged and more confident about occupying spaces where they may previously have felt overlooked. That vision continues to guide the brand as it develops its presence in South Africa’s creative industry.
What began as a commitment to honour her grandfather has become a wider mission to celebrate language, identity and belonging. Through RS Media, Remofilwe Setshedi is working towards a future where Setswana culture is not confined to familiar spaces but celebrated wherever meaningful stories are told.
RS Media’s journey reflects the growing influence of purpose-driven creative businesses in South Africa. Discover more inspiring Brands on the Rise on Pat on Brands, and explore the Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards celebrating emerging South African entrepreneurs.
