When he was a university student, Claudine Rudasingwa noticed that Rwanda is a country that opens doors to people from all walks of life—people with different linguistic backgrounds. 

As a student in English with majors in translation and interpretation, he interpreted this as an opportunity where he could utilise his skills but also be a solution in terms of connecting people. 

He understood that as long as people with different linguistic backgrounds were to interact, there had to be need for language specialists to play the role of connecting them.

With this understanding, he carried on with this vision and established a translation agency, Hubso (Hub of Languages and Events Solutions), to address communication and language barriers. 

He had this to observe; Rwanda being one of the safest destinations in Africa, it attracts people from all over the world who either come for touristic or investment purposes. This, according to him, raises a huge demand for the best language services to those coming to visit or invest in the country. 

Rudasingwa says a professional interpreter is an invaluable resource. Photos/ Courtesy

"As long as people with different linguistic backgrounds interact, there will always be need for language specialists to play the role of connecting people,” he notes.

Hubso offers translation services in local and international languages such as Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, German and others.

Whereas he does translation, he also works on other language services that include proofreading and editing already written documents, localisation of websites, video subtitling, transcription, voice over to name a few.   

He says he does this with a vision to preserve knowledge and avail it for easy access for those in need of it.

"We translate documents whereby a translator transfers a message from one language to another. There is a saying that information or knowledge is power. We have got a lot of useful literature available in other languages which could be of great importance to us. It is, therefore, up to translators to put such material in our language and sell the information in those books in collaboration with other business partners involved,” he says. 

Interpretation, an invaluable resource 

Rudasingwa reveals that investing in the language industry can be successful on condition that those interested in investing in this business are well up in it. 

A professional interpreter is an invaluable resource in any face-to-face negotiation, communicating your meaning and intent to your customer, and vice versa. Therefore, people ought to know that not everyone who speaks various languages is likely to be a good translator or interpreter. Professional interpreters and translators bring a different approach and skill-set to the job, he reveals.

"Having a good command of languages, having the willingness and courage will significantly contribute to the success of the business.” 

He wants people to be aware that there are steps involved in becoming a professional translator or interpreter. Translators and interpreters are meant to meet required qualities to exercise that profession.  

"Familiar with different interpreting techniques, they are trained to get your message across—accurately, smoothly, efficiently—and let you know exactly what the other guys are saying too.” 

The same way people buy services from lawyers, professional accountants and other professions, Rudasingwa says, is the same way the public ought to approach professional and certified translators as well as interpreters. 

Offering these services efficiently requires a qualified and dedicated team to do the job. Those people must be committed to meeting clients’ needs in a timely manner.  You also have to ensure that the equipment used in meetings and conferences are of excellent quality.  Communicating and seeking feedback from our clients also helps us provide our services in an efficient and outstanding manner.  Again, it is not our intention to gain only money from our clients but our intention is to make sure that we meet their expectations, he clarifies. 

Lessons learnt 

At the beginning, Rudasingwa hesitated to set up his company with fear that he wouldn’t have what it takes to run it successfully.

He, however, didn’t give up but sought to work with other people in order to build his skills and confidence. 

In 2016, six years after graduating, he eventually conceptualised his vision. This journey has so far taught him that as long as you trust in yourself and in your skills, you can turn a dream into reality.

This, he says, takes a strong commitment, consistency and constant learning, especially in this field where much willingness is needed to work whatever hours required to meet the needs of the client. 

"In the journey of starting my own business, I have learnt things I was not able to acquire while on the school bench.  First of all, when you work for yourself you learn to address challenges you are faced with in your job. You get to a point where you realise that you have total responsibility for your life. In that process, failures become life lessons or stepping stones,” he shares.

Working for himself contributed to a mind-set change, he reveals, adding that he has learnt that he has to associate himself with people who aspire to get more out of life in general and in the business in particular. 

"Given the fact that I meet new people, I learnt to communicate with people with various behaviours and backgrounds in a proper way. Also there are some new positive behaviours and habits I learn from people I met. Such habits include being time sensitive, setting goals, having daily plans and reading.”

Pursuing purpose 

Rudasingwa shares that there is nothing better than when someone gets a chance to discover their potential, and the only way to do that, he says, is by accepting to come out of your comfort zone.  

For those who dream of starting something of their own, he recommends engaging with people providing similar services because it helps to get more knowledge about what they want to do in life. 

"I would also advise them to do things they understand better. If people who dream of being their own boss still work for others, they need to start putting aside savings for the business they intend to start. As long as they work for others they ought to know that their employers will control their destiny.”