GiRiNZU, a French-Rwandan company that designs and builds urban villages, officially launched its presence in Rwanda on September 29, to showcase new and innovative concepts of housing and a unique approach to the industrialisation of the art of construction. Their debut village named “Umutuzo Village” located in Kigali at the entrance of Gahanga, was officially inaugurated, and is expected to accommodate 67 dwellings by the end of 2022 through Gahanga 1 project. The company offers a 2-year warranty on all homes from time of delivery. The company designs its buildings with an idea that children would be happy to live there. GiRiNZU offers range from Rwf 35 million to Rwf 120 million for houses and apartments from two to six bedrooms. Speaking during the launch ceremony, Stéphane Monceaux, Founder and President of GiRiNZU said: “We are a company which is unique and highly innovative at a global level. We build urban villages that are very sustainable where we would be happy to see our children live. With our team made of local architects and engineers, we reinterpret the living atmosphere to create a Rwandan solution that brings Umutuzo. We adopt a high standard of quality because there is no reason to do otherwise.” Monceaux also declared that the company is set to deliver more than 60 houses by the end of 2022 with a good quality, adding that they chose Rwanda due to the country’s spirit and vision. Jacqueline Wibabara, Co-founder and Vice President of the company asserted: “The quality of our construction is assured. We aim to build 250 dwellings a year. We respect the Rwandan vision and best practices for gender equality in all our activities. We intend to reach 50 per cent of women in our hiring process at all levels in the years to come.” Wibabara said Gahanga 1 project is on two hectares and will be completed in late February 2023. Gahanga 2 project will also be on two hectares while Gahanga 3 project will be on 3.8 hectares, according to Wibabara. She said they are studying on how they can lower the price of houses so that more people can be able to afford them as they look forward to kick off the next two projects. Umutuzo urban village (Gahanga 1) is built with a reduced environmental footprint. Wibabara said GiRiNZU values sensible choice of construction materials and planting of trees and vegetation around the village. She also noted that among their 250 employees, only one is a foreigner. Pudence Rubingisa, Mayor of the City of Kigali, commended GiRiNZU for the houses they have built and those they are yet to. He noted that their prices can be afforded by many, given that most of the houses have already been sold. Rubingisa also underscored that the project aligns with the government’s policy concerning proper housing, merging land for better use, master plan as well as a preserving the environment, adding that the mind set of Rwandans toward joining urban villages has changed and the city is witnessing significant increase in uptake of the houses. Umutuzo urban village has provided jobs to the locals and are built with Rwandan materials. Antoine Anfré, the Ambassador of France to Rwanda, declared that the GiRiNZU project helped local workers gain skills because they were properly trained. He added: I am convinced that this is a proof of concept that what is being done here by GiRiNZU will be done elsewhere in Rwanda, but also in the neighbouring countries. That is interesting because this kind of buildings is needed. My guess is that eventually, it will be exported because of the success of GiRiNZU in Rwanda, he said. Jacqueline Mukamazimpaka, an architect at GiRiNZU, stated that the houses were well designed and structured with quality materials and technology. She added that her colleagues have become a family – something that boosted her team-working skills. “Since we work from the site, I am able to check if what I have designed is being well-implemented. If there are challenges, we work together and solve them easily. There is also that aspect of learning things daily,” She said
