Luqman Muramba, a designer and tech expert, created an e-commerce website where he would help promote different businesses. He created Hano Online, a platform he meant to use to promote digital and physical products. His target clients were young entrepreneurs, people with disabilities and businesswomen. “I wanted to create something where everyone could sell and expose their brilliant ideas and make money. This is one of our key drivers here at Hano,” he says. Muramba said this goal encouraged him to venture into designing. He also created a studio and an e-commerce website that later morphed into Hano Online. With the platform, he helps clients with creating ideas for their products, documenting them, marketing and selling the products for them. Marketing is done through advertisements in videos and posters for social media. “We turn the ideas into a product and post them on our e-commerce platform to get them, customers.” For example, if someone has an idea of making t-shirts with brands, we take pictures of the same exact t-shirt, post it online, and when a customer likes and orders for it, our client gets to work on the product, he explains. “The idea came to me because I used to do photography and designs for different people. It later occurred to me that I should start something with these skills and be self-employed,” Muramba said. His passion for design and technology was also handy when starting and running this business. “I have been passionate about design and technology since high school, fulfilling my desire to create and innovate. I didn’t want to sit at home and wait to get a job.” Speaking to the New Times, Muramba shared the story of how he was lucky enough to work alongside his talented brother, who carefully showed him everything he needed to know about photography, videography, and graphic design. “My clients would tell me their ideas for the products they want to put on the market, and I would design, brand, and do photography for them. Positive feedback motivated me and gave me confidence.” Since 2019, Hano Online has been a reliable platform focused on selling or showcasing different businesses. However, with support from the BK Urumuri Program, Muramba has been able to expand and grow his services. BK Urumuri Initiative is a brainchild of Bank of Kigali in partnership with Inkomoko that seeks to support 25 innovative entrepreneurs selected out of a pool of applicants. Through the program, the entrepreneur has learned how to nurture relationships with his clients, something he says has given his business a boost. “I now keep long-term relationships with my customers. I follow up on the services I give and get feedback from them. This has helped me a lot; through the program, we learned the importance of bookkeeping and managing business finances without mixing them with personal finances. We also learned a lot about building a brand for your business.” “The training from the BK Urumuri Program has improved my understanding of the business. We learned about the potential mistakes that businesses make and how to overcome them in the long run. I now know it is not about opening up a company but also making sure that you declare and pay taxes,” he adds. Muramba encourages all young entrepreneurs to be part of the BK Urumuri Program to get training on how to keep their business stable.
