Inkomoko, a Rwandan organization that provides specialized training to business leaders to learn skills that can be applied directly to their companies, as well as the potential to access zero-interest loans from Bank of Kigali; reached out to some of last year’s winners to ask them how the initiative impacted their business, and why entrepreneurs should apply this year.
Moto riders get opportunity to buy own motorbikes
SafeMotos, a Rwandan ride hailing platform that enables customers to book moto-taxi rides, won Rwf 11,800,000 in last year’s Urumuri Initiative.
“The Urumuri initiative enabled us to create a new product offering, that we wouldn’t have been able to launch otherwise,” said Nash Barrett, the CEO of SafeMotos.
According to Barrett, the platform used the loan to purchase motorbikes that riders would eventually buy using the Family Wallet, which is an online platform that enables the riders save a small percentage from every ride.
“We really appreciated the combination of business support and zero-interest loan. The money enabled us to launch the program, but the consulting helped us to redefine the product – initially we wanted to finance drivers’ equipment, such as helmets, but Inkomoko helped us realize that it was more interesting to partially finance the bike purchase” said Joseph Erick, the director of the SafeMotos Family Wallet product.
The program was well received by SafeMotos drivers, according to Jean Chrysostome, one of the drivers who managed to buy his motorbike by using the platform: “I have been working in the moto industry for more than 5 years, renting bikes and paying Rwf5000 a day to the owner of the bike. I am grateful to SafeMotos’ platform that allowed me to save part of my income and helped me to get my own bike. From now on, I will not worry about the daily fee I have to pay to the owner or the times I used to stay jobless because the owner had decided to take his bike.”
Publishing house gets investors ready
Mudacumura Publishing House, another 2017 Urumuri winner who received a Rwf8 million loan from Bank of Kigali commended the initiative for helping them acquire skills they lacked.
“If an investor comes at any moment, we are better prepared than before, and that it is why I decided to continue with Inkomoko business support even after the initiative, because in today’s world, the business environment changes a lot and we have to have the skills to stay in the game.” Says Fiston Mudacumura, the CEO of Mudacumura Publishing House.
“We used the loan to purchase publishing rights for new books by authors from Muhanga district” added Fiston Mudacumura.
Murakali grocery store grows substantially
Murukali, an online grocery store, is another business that was amongst the winners. The business received a Rwf6 million loan from Bank of Kigali that they in turn invested in stocks.
“Now I’m no longer afraid of any shortages, I have enough stock to cover the demand. Our daily revenues more than doubled after the initiative, so it has really helped us to grow substantially” said Yvette Uwimpaye, Murukali’s CEO.
Murukali also benefited from Inkomoko’s programme on marketing and sales as they learnt how to better target customers and generally increased their professionalism and competences.
Urumuri 2018 – your chance to win consulting support and a zero-interest loan
The Urumuri Initiative, which began last year to mark Bank of Kigali’s 50th anniversary, continues this year as Bank of Kigali continues to invest in Rwanda’s emerging business leaders.
“In line with the government’s initiatives to develop local products and services for the Rwandan and export markets, this year’s Urumuri is seeking to help entrepreneurs with a unique “Made in Rwanda” brand,” said Nathalie Niyonzima, Inkomoko’s Managing Director.
“We’re pleased to partner with Bank of Kigali for another opportunity to support young entrepreneurs and promote Made in Rwanda.”
The Urumuri application deadline is June 15, whereby the 25 selected winners will start the Inkomoko Business Development accelerator on July 2nd. Eligible businesses must be based in Rwanda, have financial sustainability plans, and meet other competitive criteria.
To apply for Urumuri 2018 and get the chance to win 6-months free consulting and zero-interest loans, entrepreneurs can visit www.BK.rw/urumuri or www.inkomoko.com and contact +250 786 779 012 or +250 788 548 441 for any questions.
Leave a Reply