In a world where everything is going digital, people’s data security is paramount. That’s how Megabit took on a mission to provide services and products that not only facilitate people but also secure them as they navigate the digital world. Megabit is an IT and digital company focused on providing domain name services, backup security, disaster recovery, and cloud hosting. Marlene Ange Umuhoza, Business Development Officer at Megabit, said that based on the fact that the most valuable asset now is someone’s data, the company’s vision is to digitalise every business in Rwanda, and the continent at large. The company started in 2018 and it has five permanent staff so far, however, when Covid-19 hit, Umuhoza said they struggled to meet and maintain conversations with clients aside from talking to them “behind just computers.” According to her, this is because they needed to educate more people on the importance of having these digital products. She notes that the BK Urumuri Initiative helped the company in many aspects, given the fact that it seeks to grow and expand the market. BK Urumuri Initiative is a program run by Bank of Kigali in partnership with Inkomoko to support 25 innovative entrepreneurs selected out of a pool of applicants. They gain access to six months of training, consultation, and business assessment as well as get a chance to compete for zero-interest loans offered by Bank of Kigali for their business development. “The most exciting part for us was the courses we received and meeting other young entrepreneurs, talking to them about their different common challenges and how they overcame them but also one learns a lot from the courses and the consultation that they provide,” said Umuhoza. Having exposure, training, and consultations as a package helped us to have a new perspective on the market, she added, “So, we now know how to go about our ambitions to expand to other markets and create partnerships that will help us in introducing more people to the digital world.” She, hence, encourages other entrepreneurs to apply and join the BK Urumuri Initiative to “learn a thing or two” and access the consultation services that they would otherwise pay for elsewhere as well as the needed skills to grow a business.
