As any successful entrepreneur will say, the best kept secret in business is in knowing and doing something that nobody else knows or has done.

That is exactly what Emile Murego, a master’s degree holder in law, did when he returned to Rwanda after eight years of legal practice in the United Kingdom.

Murego, the man behind the Woodland business empire, decided to try out something many lawyers in Britain or even Rwanda would never think of doing. Instead of continuing to practice law in London, Murego returned home to open a supermarket.

How he started

Upon his return from UK in 2009, Murego and his family settled in Nyarutarama, a Kigali suburb that is home to the affluent cooperate class. This is the very class and a neighbourhood that Murego would later tap to build a hugely successful business to make money and employ hundreds.

As the Murego’s settled in, they found it difficult to find quick and reliable services in their Nyarutarama neighbourhood.

"You would go to buy something from a shop but either found the shop closed or the particular product not available. No shop operated beyond 9.00pm, something that caught my attention because in London we were used to shops that operated 24 hours. I quickly realised that introducing this concept [24-hour-service] was a great business opportunity, hence the birth of Woodland Supermarket,” said Murego.

Being able to understand that Kigali was no longer a place where people go to work and then return to sleep was very important for his business, he said.

"This required us to focus on a wide range of products so as to be able to serve the whole range of customers; both local and international. Besides Rwanda at the time was attracting people from all corners of the globe,” said Murego.

As Nyarutarama kept on expanding and attracting more corporate dwellers, Murego felt it was necessary to diversify his business by incorporating a beauty salon, a night club  (KL Night Club), and a  bakery that would supply bread around the clock across the country.

"It was very important that we put all businesses under one roof; first as a marketing strategy but also as a means to fully satisfy customers—a customer who comes to buy something from the supermarket can at the same time go for a haircut, or grab a pizza or even go to relax in our club,” he said.

Achievements

What started as a simple  supermarket in 2010, has since grown to include a beauty salon, a club, restaurant,  a pizza inn, a bread bakery, and  a coffee shop in three years, thanks to Murego’s style of business art.  

"We have not only managed to expand our annual total turnover, but also created over 160 direct jobs for the unemployed youth,” Murego said.  

Business challenges

"Power shortages are one big challenge that threatens the success of any business, especially in the hospitality sector. But also being able to source for the right skills for the job is yet another challenge. We had to go as far as Norway to get our bread bakers.

This is an issue that all stakeholders must get involved in order to find solutions.”

Advice to entrepreneurs 

He says that it is very important for people, especially entrepreneurs, to understand that business needs a lot of commitment and consistency. According to Murego, a good business environment has been created for everyone to come on board and offer services. "These, must however be quality and right services,” he says.

Future plans for wood land

He plans to set up a supermarket chain in Kigali and expand to other regions.