She has ridden a bicycle since she was 22 years old, but Marie Agnes Uzabakiriho, a resident of Byimana Sector, now 52, still peddles away on her bike.

Uzabakiriho is married with five children. She is a clothes dealer in Byimana trading centre, but also traverses various markets like Mutara, Nyanza, Kigoma, Kinazi, Ruhango and Gitarama. She says the bicycle has been her major means of doing business since 2000.

"As a person with little means, I use the bicycle because I cannot afford a car or a motorcycle. I use the bicycle to travel to the market. It is has given me all that I have today,” she says.

She says when she started out in business, many people, especially women, used to disapprove of her riding on a bicycle, saying it was disgraceful for a woman.

"People would stop working to stare at me. But now, they have realised that the bicycle has benefitted me and are familiar with me riding it. Some women even want me to teach them how to ride it,” she says.

For her, the bicycle is an enabler of development.

"I am grateful to President Paul Kagamefor the decision to allow bicycles back on the roads because they ease movement and business since they are affordable,” she said.

 Uzabakiriho advises women to be confident in their abilities, urging them to ride bicycles if it will get them to their goals.

"Everything is possible, the most important thing is having the will, especially as we have security and good governance, which promote inclusive and sustainable development,” she noted.

In 2010, she won three women’s cycling competitions in the former Ntenyo District. Her two daughters can also ride bicycles.

Her journey

Uzabakiriho says engaging in business has significantly benefited her family. She says she started with Rwf15,000 in 2000, that she collected from the sale of cassava and kept reinvesting the profits to expand her business.

"I worked within my means to grow my business. Even when I borrowed money, I would not exceed Rwf20,000,” she says.

By 2002, she had saved enough to buy a plot in Byimana. She constructed a house and relocated her family from Kanyarira mountains.

"Thanks to this business, I managed to build a house, worth about Rwf6 million. I am also constructing some units for rent, worth about Rwf7 million, which could earn me about Rwf80,000 per month,” she says with a beaming face.

Using proceeds from her business, she  has also managed to educate her children.

"One of my children will join university next year; two others are in secondary school,” she says, adding that her other child is now a professional driver.

Uzabakiriho says working closely with microfinance institutions such as Umurenge SACCO has helped her meet her business goals.

Her business worth has since grown to between Rwf1.5 and Rwf2 million.

"I don’t want my children to struggle like me. That’s why I work hard,” she said.

What others say about her

Jean Nyandwi, a medic at Byimana Health Centre and Uzabakiriho’s neighbour, said bicycle riding should not be underestimated.

 ‘This has clearly been demonstrated by Agnes,’ he said in reference to Uzabakiriho. 

Florentine Munezero, Uzabakiriho’s daughter, said their mother has managed to raise their school fees from cycling.

"Had it not been for the bicycle, we would probably not have attended school,” said Munezero.

Munezero, who also learnt to ride a bicycle while in her Primary four, said the perception that riding a bicycle is not suitable for women is a matter of mentality.

Delmas Mutagawa, Uzabakiriho’s husband, said initially his wife would be ridiculed for riding a bicycle but society has since come to accept it as normal.

He said the bicycle has helped his wife reach goals.

"She committed to relocate us from Mwendo Mountains,  and achieved it though I could not believe it at first that this had been  achieved through her bicycle facilitated-business,” he said.

Jean Marie Nahayo, the executive-secretary of Byimana Sector, said women should not be afraid of undertaking any activity. 

"Women think that a bicycle was designed for men alone. But it can bring them various benefits. Agnès (Uzabakiriho)’s testimony has inspired many and we hope they will emulate her. Byimana is an area with large plain terrain that is friendly to cycling,” he said.

"Bicycles can be used for transportation of people and  various commodities like cassava, milk from remote areas to the market or dairy. It’s an affordable  means of transport and we encourage women to embrace it,” he said.

Nahayo said the sector, in partnership with Hope Foundation, a local NGO, organised a cycling competition for male secondary students this year in which female students also expressed interest to participate.

Uzabakiriho participated in several local women cycling competitions in 1998, 2004 and in 2007, where she always emerged the winner.