As a young entrepreneur, Christian Cyuzuzo is fully invested in keeping individuals and businesses safe within their communities. Through Global Engineering Agency, a company he started two years ago, he works to solve people’s safety problems by means of technology solutions. He deals with supply, installation and maintenance of safety and security systems. He also offers safety trainings for different companies, and as a skilled engineer, Cyuzuzo works with a team to install security systems such as fire alarms, firefighting systems, air conditioning systems, surveillance systems and lightning arrestor systems. A pathway in engineering wasn’t his first calling, however. He had done economics for his Bachelor’s degree, though when he failed to get a well-paying job in this field, he later decided to switch careers. He installs security systems for individuals and different organisations. /Courtesy photo At that time, he says, he was looking for ways he could earn a solid income. “I started working in the hospitality sector but the salary was low. I also did food deliveries at some point where I would cook food and deliver it to clients, but I also had to quit that because I wanted something that would help me make tangible income.” He took on professional courses in engineering, safety and firefighting and when he was done with school, he started working as a mechanic-doing simple repairs for clients in need of these services, still with security systems. At first, he didn’t have a company but this thought crossed his mind when he started getting bigger clients. “When I got deals with big companies, they would want to pay a company and not an individual, so I opened it in 2018,” he says. Starting out, Cyuzuzo recalls using the little savings he had to launch his company. He also recalls moving around with his laptop since he didn’t have an office—that’s how he would look for clients and also attend to those he already had. It wasn’t easy but he had a dream and this is what pushed him. “It took a lot for me to be where I am today. I didn’t have that much capital and didn’t have a loan either yet I had to make this business work. I put effort in marketing whereby I got flyers, business cards and a badge, because I could afford these. With them, I approached random buildings, hotels, and companies and shared my proposal with their procurement officers or security officers depending on who I met,” he says. He would give them flyers and business cards that they would use to contact him. Some would accept, others would decline, while some would even stop him from entering the building, and this was discouraging, he says. “It wasn’t easy but I was determined because I knew that no matter what, my efforts were going to yield something, that’s what pushed me,” he recalls. His door-to-door approach took him long to get clients, however, he says it was the technique that built him the client base he has now. “Some later called me and gave me jobs, but I also had a note book where I had recorded their details so I made a follow-up by calling and reminding them.” His break through His first big client was Kepler, and the ones he got after that were a result of the connections he got with clients who had built trust in him. He later worked with Quiet Haven Hotel, La Rubibi Apartments, Baho International Hospital, and Manor Hotel among others. After creating a base in Kigali, he went into provinces to acquire more clients. “I went to Musanze District because there are so many hotels, I also went to Huye District and I approached different hotels, schools, hospitals. This all seemed so hard at the beginning but I call this the password to my success because this is how I got my clients.” Cyuzuzo also says use of social media has helped him a lot in terms of marketing his services. Lessons learnt His journey into this business has helped him gain confidence, he says, adding that he now believes that he can do anything he sets his mind on. “I would have easily gotten comfortable with the little money I was earning just to be on the safe side, but I wanted more and I went for it, so when I look back on this journey I realise that as long as you don’t lose hope, you can achieve anything you want.” He also perceives that running a business requires being fearless, humility, patience and having clear goals. He hopes for his company to continue growing and for it to be serving way more people in five years to come.
