Many people unleashed hidden skills and potential during the pandemic, like 25-year old Josée Eliane Ganza Kwizera who spent the lockdown period gaining crochet and knitting skills which eventually blossomed into a clothing company.

Looking at her crochet items, it’s easy to notice how talented this young girl is; she makes sweaters, cropped tops, scarfs and bags, to mention a few. As a fashion lover, she was inspired by various designs and constantly found herself looking for new patterns on the internet. 

During the 2020 lockdown, she worked on developing her skills. With school closed, she had nothing else to do, and so she asked her mother who used to make scarfs for her to teach her how to crochet. After gaining a few skills, she started making some small items to pass time and at some point, she started making tops for herself to wear.

"I started making cropped tops and scarfs for myself to wear and I was surprised to find that my friends liked them and asked me to make some for them. I never thought that I would make clothes for others, or even start my own clothing company, but that started to change after realising how people appreciated my work,” says Ganza. 

After learning crocheting the young entrepreneur took time to learn knitting as well from a woman who knitted sweaters. In 2021, after gaining even more skills, she started making crochet items for her business. This led to the launch of a company, Unique Crochet. She now creates a variety of outfits for males, females and babies. 

According to Ganza, when starting her business she used to work from home and used a crochet only, however, now she has a machine and her own place at Ziniya, Kicukiro. 

"In Rwanda crocheting and knitting are not developed even though we have schools to learn from. The machines we use here are outdated compared to current machines on the market today. Our work would be much easier and faster if we were well equipped but they are very expensive. 

"I get discouraged by people who say that crochet is outdated and for people who are not educated. However, it gives me strength because I love it and know that it is worth doing. I have also been able to give jobs to people who help me during the crocheting and knitting process,” she says.