Small businesses benefit from celebrity Obama

In Kigali, both small and medium businesses have benefited from Obama’s celebrity status. This is because of the high demand of Obama labelled items such as shirts, caps, calendars and banners. The business sector was quick to pick an opportunity when it appeared. Frank Micyo, a hawker in Kigali city says that Obama’s rise to fame was a blessing for them. He says they were availed an opportunity to profit because of his celebrity status. “I never had enough money but I decided to borrow so as to earn from the high demand of products marked with Obama. Micyo hawks caps that have an Obama portrait and some other items such as sun glasses, mirrors and radios. The most interesting aspect is that he has taken Obama photos from the internet and labelled them on his ware like radios in a creative attempt to lure customers. “Originally, this Obama photo was not part of the radio. After it emerged that people were being attracted by items that have Obama portraits, I decided to go to the internet and download his photos so that I put them on my products. I have attracted the attention of people who are over taken by Obama.” Micyo says that before the Obama phenomenon, he could sometimes; take a week without selling a radio. But now people and mostly those from upcountry are buying radios even at high prices because they have Obama portraits.Micyo says that he now earns twice as much as he used to before Obama’s popularity skyrocketed in the country. Peace Ingabire owns a shop in town where she sells clothes. She also testifies that she has made a killing by using the Obama label. “I got to know products with Barrack Obama’s portraits were selling high, when I had gone for shopping in Kampala. So many people were earning a lot from his portrait, calendars, shirts, caps, stickers all were selling like hot cakes on Kampala streets. People never cared about the price of these products. Many were paying without even bargaining”. Ingabire says that that’s where she got the idea of bringing such products to Rwanda. She is among the first people to start selling Obama labelled items and says it is good season since Christmas it is about. However despite all this, all is not for with the hawkers. They are worried as the police continue to chase them off the streets. Many of them say they have no alternative apart from going back to the village. Ends