Thabita Niyoyabikoze, a young female entrepreneur found her life changing in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, even to many, it was life-threatening. The Computer Science finalist decided to switch jobs, after her former canteen business in Ruzizi had failed due the outbreak of covid-19. In April 2020, she turned to a local manufacturer, for her to sustain her income in the pandemic, together with her family. “The idea came after my former business crashed down due to the total lock down in the beginning of covid-19 and I wondered how I would survive with my family” Niyoyabikoze says. Mitage brand products. With capital of Rwf64, 000 in her pocket, Niyoyabikoze wondered what she could do to generate more income and to keep her going with her family in such a period. She bit the bullet and used the advantage of YouTube where she came up with the idea of utilizing that capital to make liquid soap. “I went to the market to check for the prices of some chemicals that I had seen that can make the soap, thanks to the fair price of chemicals” Niyoyabikoze said She bought three chemicals at Rwf2, 400 and used the rest of the money to buy containers to use, while mixing the chemicals, following the YouTube tutorials, and made the Mitage liquid soap, company’s name. The first one she made was sold to a friend who owns a hotel in Musanze district. “The feedback was good, he only requested me to improve on the hardness, to advance my brand’s quality. From there, I won a big market by supplying the soap to schools and more to hotels since customers loved what I do while at cheap prices” Niyoyabikoze says When she realised that her business was on good track, she also tried making hand sanitizer, toilet cleaner which are currently produced from Karuruma district in Kigali city and Burera district, under the Mitage brand of Tabby Ltd. Mitage products are sold in Nyabugogo Market center, in a shop she happened to open, as well as in other different shops in Kigali and Burera district Today, Tabby Ltd produces different products which are hand sanitizers, liquid soap, bar soap, toilet, glasses and tiles cleaners. Sulphonic acid, Texapon, foaming booster, caustic acid, sodium sulfate, coral, glycerine and perfume are some of the ingredients and chemicals she uses to make Mitage brand products The products come in different packages and sold at different prices. For instance, a 100 Ml of hand sanitizer costs Rwf2, 000 while 1little of liquid soap costs Rwf13, 000. The innovator manufactures around 30littles of hand sanitizer, 40littles of liquid soap and 80 bottles of cleansers a month. Niyoyabikoze said that her company values between Rfw4 million and Rwf6 million and now employs five permanent workers in her company, two non-permanent workers plus one laboratory technician. Challenges After graduating at University Of Kigali in 2018, the innovator chose to be self-employed due to the passion she had for self-employment but also the fact that the world economic trends drive us to be self-employed, adding that there is no other sustainability that can enable you earn money anyhow, without doing business. However, Niyoyabikoze said that the production is still low as she cannot satisfy the demand. “We still find it hard to get some of the raw materials because some are still exported,” Niyoyabikoze said. She also said that there was a time she got a client from Musanze district who wanted 400 bars soap every week, but she couldnt win the market. “I get a lot of customers who order bulk goods but my small scale business cannot satisfy the market due to lack of raw materials,” Niyoyabikoze said. Achievements Niyoyabikoze won Rfw1 million from the Ministry of Youth in partnership with UNDP and KOICA, to support her business as one of the young female entrepreneurs that created opportunities during the outbreak of covid-19. The motivation is to work hard with a target of making her business worth Rfw20 million in the coming five years. Tabby Ltd is working closely with Zamukana Ubuziranenge, one of the Rwanda Standard Board’s programmes that aim to improve quality and standards of such products, so they can qualify for S-MARK certification, according to Niyoyabikoze. As the company grows, Niyoyabikoze hopes to make the company’s name big for her children’s legacy, as well as contributing to the growth of Rwanda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “This is a long sustainable business that will be my children’s legacy” she says.
