Plante Josue Niyomugenga is a 23-year- old entrepreneur and fashion designer and founder of Aflimba, an online store, that sells local fashion designs while uplifting lives of rural and underprivileged artisans.
In an interview with Sunday Magazine’s Sharon Kantengwa, Niyomugenga spoke about his startup story and plans for his online store.
When did you know that entrepreneurship is the path you wanted to take?
I started my first business when I was seven, selling matches and soap at home. I would put up a poster when my parents went to work and put it off in the evening.
At the age of 12 I owned like 10 goats because enjoyed grazing them but had to sell them to support my first year of high school.
After I completed high school, I ditched the opportunity to study medicine to follow my passion, so I enrolled for business and technology with Keplar, a higher education programme.
In level two, while learning programming, my friends and I teamed up and formed our first technology company Nexpas, where I was the creative designer which earned us some money but later had to close after we graduated as each one of us got busy with our jobs.
Although it ended prematurely, I learned quite a lot from the experience.
You were among the young Rwandans selected for the Tony Elumelu Foundation programme. What did you benefit from it?
Some friends of mine linked me and my assistant to the Tony Elumelu competition and were selected. We were then lucky to be selected among the 10 out of the 76 competitors by the Ministries of Youth and Trade to attend the forum in Nigeria, where we learned a lot.
Share with us Aflimba’s story...
While at university, I got exposed to Made in Rwanda products by seeing what local famous fashion designers were doing. I realised the potential that my mother has in expanding her market.
My mother has been a tailor my whole life and the best tailor in our hometown. I decided to help market her skills and asked her to make for me a blend coat out of leftover material from her clients.
Within a day of returning back to school, I had already received five orders from my school mates. That is when I became sure this was going to work. I borrowed little money for startup from my friend and began searching for more western styles to make out of African fabric, made by my mother.
How did the business grow to an online store?
After I saw how marketable our designs were, I realised we could do more in impacting our community by involving other tailors. I partnered with another foreign company who made orders for 3,000 laptop bags in African fabric, although I could only take a few hundred out of the deal because I couldn’t find the manpower to handle all of them.
It has been my biggest deal so far.
After many orders, of customized designs from our clients which was very stressing, I decided it was time I used my creativity and make my own customized options for clients. That is when I started making bags.
I’m currently maximising the accessories on my online store but will be soon launching my clothing line. I’m also currently working with employers, DMM Hehe which helps the shipping.
What long-term plans do you have for Aflimba?
I am trying to raise awareness for people to know about the online store. I am also trying to create accessible accessories for the available market and also help more artisans especially in the rural areas.
Those people are very creative but need visibility for their products so Afflimba can market their products. I also want to have diverse products on the platform such as décor and home furniture in a few years to come.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com