Behind Uzuri K&Y, a fashion company that designs, manufactures, and sells handmade shoes from local materials, are two young women, Kevine Kagirimpundu and Ysolde Shimwe. The two business partners use their designs as a tool to empower women through fashion and to prove that fashion can, in fact, be a successful business in Rwanda.
What made you choose to start this type of business/enter this industry?
First is our strong passion for fashion, and our wish to use fashion to communicate with the rest of the world. We first met at the University of Rwanda studying design, and we quickly discovered that we were both fashion lovers and shared a desire to communicate to Africa about our heritage through fashion. We believe in fashion as a tool to women’s empowerment, even if many people may not see it.
What have been your failures or challenges and what have you learned from them?
Failures, we met many of them. We started Uzuri K&Y while being university students, and it was extremely hard, the business was not going well. When we first started we made a lot of bad investments, but the first one was always a lesson for the second one, and eventually we learned how to really focus on our business. As a matter of fact, we learned that business is a serious job: When you decide to do it, put everything aside, and concentrate on growing it–and use your education as a strong foundation. Another big challenge for us is finding good raw materials in Rwanda, which evidently makes mass production difficult.
Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Well, there is no formula in business. However, creativity is useless without hard work. In business, as in all other fields, hard work is equally important. And not least, be yourself!
What advice would you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Ysolde: Train yourself to learn every day, try not be the same as you were yesterday, always seek improvement. I believe that is key to making any business grow.
Kevine: Don’t expect too much and never give up. Stick to your dreams no matter the challenges you are facing. Search for ways to solve the challenges, and don’t repeat mistakes you already made, learn from them. In other words “try and fail, but never fail to try!” Finally, I encourage you to always search for networking opportunities for your business.
The Accelerator Magazine is a quarterly publication that explores, analyzes, and critiques the business environment in Rwanda. From the established business owner to the policy maker to the aspiring entrepreneur, The Accelerator Magazine will keep our readers inspired, informed, and challenged through well-researched and analytical articles from all corners of the business ecosystem.See more on www.accelerator-magazine.com.
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