Prince Kamari was like any other kid in school, wondering what path life would take after completing high school. He did, however, have a longing to promote the coffee culture in Rwandan communities. With this zeal, the senior six graduate partnered with a friend, Aidan Miller, to establish a cafe in Musanze dubbed ‘Crema’. “We decided to start Crema more specifically out of Kigali, mainly because Musanze was still an available market, in addition to being one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country, and to also promote the coffee culture within the country,” 24-year-old Kamari says. Inside Crema Cafe in Musanze, owned by Kamari (on cover) and partner, Aidan Miller. Photos/Courtesy He also believed that as essential as school is, it’s not always the only road to success. He realised that a number of young people never really discover themselves or know what career or education paths they truly want to pursue immediately after high school. Kamari wanted to change the narrative and pursue something different after high school. Having met his business partner in 2017 with the same goal, they both decided to turn their ideas to practice, and the rest is history. His parents, he says, gave him one year after high school to start whatever business opportunity he wanted to pursue, as a condition or otherwise continue with school. The business partners got starting capital from a crowd funding platform called ‘indiegogo’ (similar to GoFundMe). The businessman points out that Crema is primarily an exceptional specialty coffee shop. It serves all sorts of coffee and non-coffee beverages, professionally crafted by highly trained baristas. “We are also known as the only place in Musanze to serve the American style bagel sandwiches, plus other fresh fast-food items for breakfast and lunch such as; breakfast quesadillas and burritos, salad, granola, among others. Our menu is completely vegetarian, except for the options of ham as the only meat item,” he says. Kamari is currently carrying out periodic barista training sessions for individuals who wish to acquire barista skills. He explains that having a unique food menu from his competitors attracts the traffic of tourists in Musanze, in addition to being the only place hosting the first outdoor art gallery and the first ice cream trailer. A barista makes coffee at the cafe. The youngster believes that the goal of a proper coffee shop should be to engage and create relationships with customers, while also creating a comfortable and relaxing environment for all sorts of people to connect, whether professionally or casually. “It should also be a place where people want to spend a long period of time. Therefore, making it as convenient as possible for people to work from, carry out meetings or just hang out with friends and family, he adds. Kamari highlights that Crema’s mantra is, coffee, community, and creativity as everything they do revolves around the three words, adding that the coffee shop has become more of an experience. He says, apart from creating an environment for people to relax, work and connect, Crema empowers the community in various ways such as; hiring high school graduates and college students and providing space for young entrepreneurs to showcase their talents. The entrepreneur says that he has provided space to a young talented local artist, who has created the first outdoor gallery to which he carries out weekly painting classes to individuals, titled, “Paint and Sip”. And in addition, they also provided space to another young entrepreneur to house the first and only ice cream trailer serving specialty ice cream, named, “Scoops”. Kamari explains that the coffee shop houses a small artisan or craft shop (DuHope Shop) for tourists or other people that wish to purchase souvenirs or gifts. He has no doubt that coffee shops are the middle ground for people who don’t want to stay home or go to high paced or loud places like bars. “Although coffee shops are initiated almost everywhere and anyone can put coffee grounds and water together and make some sort of coffee, however, people are not willing to invest in a proper coffee shop,” he says. The entrepreneur says that some business people are not able to invest in proper equipment (that may be expensive) and equip their staff with knowledge of coffee and the right professional training. For him, first class services, and consistency, are what will create a good name and sustain a coffee shop’s reputation. “One of the challenges of hiring young people is not having a long-term stable team because with the skills they gain, they tend to pursue other opportunities that are better paying. “Since my purpose for doing business is not just making lots of money, but also empowering and giving employees opportunities to learn and grow, there are usually some mistakes in the daily operations. So finding the perfect system and balance that does not affect the operations of the business and maintains teaching and empowering the staff is a problem,” he says. He further notes that any businessman or entrepreneur will tell you that there’s no manual handbook of how to perfectly start and run a business regardless of the level of education. The first thing is to find something you’re passionate about and gifted at, then identify and pursue a business opportunity that is aligned with that passion and then associate yourself with people in that particular field and learn, explore, research and then start. “That’s what most young people are scared of, to just start. There will never be the perfect timing to start a business and it will be a rollercoaster, which is what business is essentially about,” he says. In five years, he hopes to see Crema as a bigger brand with two to three or more branches across the country. He also anticipates to pursue more unique and impactful opportunities. For example, inspiring the youth to take advantage of the opportunities and potential the country has to offer, but also giving them helpful lessons and tools he has gained so far. He is inspired by his parents who have supported him and continue supporting him not only in his business ventures, but also giving him the space, advice and lessons to discover his potential and purpose. “I am also inspired by our president HE Paul Kagame most especially for his leadership style of accountability, inclusion and love for our country, which is all ultimately to promote and develop our beautiful country,” he says. He plans to start school soon, even this year, but while running the business.
