Gaius Kayiranga (22 years old) and Jean Bosco Nganizi (23 years old) are the brains behind ‘Kicksman’ a digital marketing platform that is currently involved in offering different services and serving different items to the local community. Nganizi has been doing business in Kigali, leading him to a realisation that many people across the country had to move to the capital to get some of their favourite and quality products. This led him to look into the idea to emerge his business into the digital world. That’s what inspired him to implement an idea he had harbored ever since he was a high school student—of distributing quality footwear, clothes, and accessories on a platform accessible to all Rwandans. The Chief Executive and Founder of Kickman developed an online platform that serves over 600 sellers across the country. Currently, the platform sells only footwear for both men and women. Nganizi said that there are plans of adding other products including Made in Rwanda products, as well as looking for ways they can ship their products outside the country as they have started receiving orders abroad. While in secondary school, Nganizi had been interested in economics and entrepreneurship courses. He later started trading business in 2019 before transitioning to an online platform would help many to solve different challenges in local markets. ‘’This is a solution for all buyers across the country but especially for the people out of the capital city who used to always come to Kigali to get their items but through our platform. It’s just simple to press order and get their needs,’’ he says. He also added that during this tough period of fighting the spread of covid-19, it is an ideal way of emerging into the digital world. How it started Jean Bosco Nganizi says that he has always struggled to find some of his favorite and trending styles like clothes, bags, and other different accessories but particularly shoes on local markets. He often bought some of the online platforms which he says, often require waiting for long and at times could be of poor quality. ‘‘Many of my favorite shoes(sneakers) were rare to found them on local markets, and when I found them the prices would be doubled and I couldn’t afford them, same as online shipping which would take forever to reach and they sometimes not fit and lack many criteria I would look for,’’ he says. Nganizi revealed that, in one year only after finalizing his secondary studies in 2018, pushed by his love for entrepreneur skills that was among his combination in secondary school. He started selling different items including shoes, clothes, bags, and accessories in Kigali city but also thinking of ways he can move his business to digital platforms. ‘’I was happy that my childhood dreams of becoming an entrepreneur were turning to be true but then I wanted to move my business into digital form as the world we reside in today also is turning digital, and also helping people to found an online shopping mall which will give all their need at an affordable price and on time,’’ he says. In 2020, in the midst of the outbreak of coronavirus, which saw the government impose a series of lockdowns and consequently the closure of businesses, he decided to design a platform which would allow his business to continue its activities as well as enable clients access products without moving to the physical markets. With the help of his friend Kayiranga who is a professional web designer. They implemented the project and he designed the platform and their project was launched officially in August 2021. Asked about their specialty, Kayiranga the co-founder of Kicksman narrated that their platforms aim at selling quality products and at affordable prices. Adding that their shipping takes only 24 hours. ‘’Some people don’t know their feet sizes, in that case, we would let the client get three different sizes so that he/she can choose the perfect size for him and bring back the other two pairs,’’ he says. He also added that they also do special orders which they dubbed ‘express shipping’’ in case the client needs the products urgently. Currently, the platform is selling footwear for both genders including kids but their aim is to make all clothing items, footwear, and other accessories accessible to all local communities and shipping in other different countries across the world.
