TSM11-web

Issue 11: Sept — Nov 2012

www.theservicemag.com

Customer Service Standards in the public sector

Kwita ku marangamutima yawe igihe utanga serivisi nziza Accueil Enthousiaste Service Clientèle

NEW!

ICT Column

MTN Rwanda

Consistency Is All That Matters

Celebrating 14 years of operations — Khaled Mikkawi

FOCUS: Rwanda, UN Root for Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

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CONTENTS 50

36

Starting a Business: 10 simple rules for a successful start-up

62

Rencontre avec... Judo combattant pour la culture

Features

For You Manager

10/ Consistency is All That Matters

20/ Bakoresha, mwubahirize amasezerano mwagiriye abakozi banyu

12/ Customer Service Standards in the Public Sector 14/ Client recherche désespérément constance

21/ Le casse-tête de la lettre de motivation 22/

34

teams?

15/ Kwita ku marangamutima yawe igihe utanga serivisi nziza

Women Entrepreneurship

16/ The Importance of Getting an Insurance for One’s Business

36/ Starting a Business: 10 simple rules for a successful start-up

18/ Kwakira neza ababagana ni inshingano si amahitamo

38/ Entrepreneurs, osez animer vos équipes

NEW!

ICT Section

SOCIAL MEDIA to improve service delivery 57

15th Expo most successful ever

40/ The Discipline of Working from Home Have Your Say 44/ An Encounter with a Hungry Waiter

40

Issue 11: Sept — Nov 2012

45/ Summer Activities for Rwandan Teenagers www.theservicemag.com

Customer Service Standards in the public sector

Tanga urubuga rugari ku bakozi bawe bisanzure Accueil Enthousiaste Service Clientèle

46/ Accueil enthousiaste: qualité majeure du service à la clientèle 47/ Kwita ku batugana neza kandi kuri gahunda

NEW!

ICT Column

MTN Rwanda

Consistency Is All That Matters

Celebrating 14 years of operations — Khaled Mikkawi

FOCUS: Rwanda, UN Root for Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

ON THE COVER: Khaled Mikkawi CEO, MTN Rwanda.

Photo by Timothy Kisambira

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PLUS: Ask Our Laywer, Cartoon, Pictorial, Travel & Restaurant Review

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PUBLISHER’S FEATURE NOTE

Publisher Sandra Idossou sidossou@theservicemag.com

Consistency will brand you

Design & Layout Edward Matovu edward@theservicemag.com English Editors David Kezio Musoke - david@theservicemag.com Aryantungyisa Otiti - aryantu@theservicemag.com Kinyarwanda Editor Gaspard Habarurema gaspard@theservicemag.com

L

ast year we commissioned a marketing company to conduct a survey for The ServiceMag. We were amazed by the results as we discovered that our ‘Entrepreneurship’ section attracted 68 percent of positive votes from readers. The profiles on young entrepreneurs and the articles in each issue of the magazine on how to start and sustain a business, make it grow, were a real source of motivation to many aspiring entrepreneurs who want to embrace the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship.

As entrepreneurs, our major challenges lie on getting advertisers and sponsors in order to keep the magazine free, educative and of high quality. Like most other entrepreneurs, we also face the challenge of getting the right, qualified and dedicated people to carry on our vision.

But one of the greatest lessons we have learnt right from the beginning is to be consistent no matter the challenges. Consistency delivers excellence. If you adopt the right attitude and make it a daily habit, you will become an excellent person, entrepreneur and organisation. As Jason Hartman says, “Your personal brand is a promise to your clients; a promise of quality, consistency, competence and reliability.” Therefore make consistency part of your personal brand.

It is for these reasons that we are extremely happy to feature MTN Rwanda as the cover story in this issue.

Fourteen years of operations in Rwanda is quite a milestone that needs to be celebrated. Khaled Mikkawi, the CEO shares with readers how MTN has managed to build one of the strongest brands in the country.

Jim Rohn, a famous American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker says that, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”

So do not wave on quality, on consistency. Do not go for mediocrity even for a single day.

Work towards excellence. Surround yourself with good people, good thoughts and good ideas. Brand yourself by being consistent even in tiny details… that is how you will reach the next level.

Marketing Consultants Bea Umwiza bea@theservicemag.com +250 788 304 226 Eva Gera eva@theservicemag.com +250 782 029 803 Marketing Assistant Lynda Mushinzimana lynda@theservicemag.com +250 788 781 562 Financial Advisor Edward Luyombya eluyombya@gcgandassociates.com PHOTOS: Adam Scott

Our gratitude goes to UNWOMEN for having sponsored that section for a whole year and as we look forward to having another partner for this section; we continue to believe that entrepreneurship especially among youth and women is key to Africa’s economic growth.

French Editor Diana Ramarohetra diana@theservicemag.com

ServiceMag Online Webmaster Willy Liambi administrator@theservicemag.com Photographers Timothy Kisambira photography@theservicemag.com Cartoonist Ndarama Assoumani cartoon@theservicemag.com Contributors Jean-Pierre Afadhali, John Kageche, Simon Corden, Joseph Habimana, Sandra Idossou, Thomas Oppong, Abdi Simwaya , Manisha Dookhony, Dominique Ntirushwa, A.K Otiti, Eric Rutabana, K. Ezéchiel Ouedraogo, Irene Kaindi, Dr. Rachna Pande, Eva Gara, Vanessa Mutesi, Eddie Heh, Richmond Runanira, Aaron Shapiro, Sam Whittemore, David Kezio-Musoke, Joe Nsano, Katia Manirakiza, Shivani Suresh, Diana Ramarohetra.

The following organisations supported us in producing this issue: Diamond MTN, UNFPA, PSF, RDB Platinum BCR Gold Akagera Aviation, Bralirwa, Turkish Airlines, Serena Hotels, Ecobank, RwandAir, Kalaos Media, Silver Business Partners, Nyungwe Forest Lodge, SSENNP/DAI, Gorillas Golf Hotel, Igihe Bronze iAfrica, Easy Info, Ad Care

Enjoy the reading.

*The opinions, articles and photos in The ServiceMag and The ServiceMag On-line do not their agents.

4 | The SERVICEMAG Sept - Nov 2012

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

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mob: +250 786 730 231 line: +250 280 444 849-50 mail: kigali@thy.com

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NEWS

Akilah Institut, le “Girl Power” en marche Diana RAMAROHETRA

T

PHOTOS: Akilah Institute

out sourire sous leur toque, ces 39 étudiantes du Akilah Institute for Women ont de quoi être fières. Diplôme en main, elles entrent dans la vie active assurées d’un avenir professionnel des plus prometteurs. C’est d’ailleurs, l’une des principales missions de cet institut : promouvoir la femme dans l’environnement du travail grâce à des acquis professionnels sûrs.

Qu’on se le dise, les femmes sont dans la place! TSM

Babson College boosts entrepreneurship through training

Ethiopian Airlines’ Dreamliner’s Inaugural Flight to Kigali

Jean-Pierre Afadhali

F

These lessons are important to my life as I am a future entrepreneur “said Yvannie Kamikazi, a student from Lycée Notre Dame de Citaux.

“We have trained students from Ghana, Tanzania and Rwanda, now one of the Rwandan students trained is running his business” Dennis M. Hanno, Head Trainer, Vice Provost & Graduate Dean of Babson College told The ServiceMag. During her closing remarks, Dr. Joyce Musabe, the Deputy

Director of Rwanda Education Board in charge of curricula and pedagogical materials development said that it’s through this kind of training Rwanda will achieve its development goals. She also urged teachers and students to share the skills they gained.

BELA is one of main activities of Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center, a result of Babson College partnership with Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation. TSM

PHOTOS: Akilah Institute

TSM Reporter

PHOTOS: Babson College

rom 3 - 4 August, 2012 the 2nd annual Babson college of Entrepreneurship Leadership Academy(BELA) and a first entrepreneurship teachers training organized by Babson and UNIDO took place at Byimana School of Sciences in Southern Province to improve the quality of entrepreneurship education in Rwanda.

100 students and their entrepreneurship teachers selected from top secondary schools representing all provinces of Rwanda were trained by Faculty, students, and Alumni from Babson College. According to the organizers during the workshop students worked to identify problems in their community which can be solved through business and they developed plans to turn those ideas into actions.

“Throughout this week we have acquired skills in entrepreneurship: generating ideas, business management and leadership skills.

E

thiopian Airlines proudly celebrated the inaugural flight of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Rwanda. The first of 10 airplanes ordered by the airline in 2005 took flight from Addis and landed at the Kigali International Airport on September 8. The airline is the first outside Japan - ahead of any airline in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas to operate the state-of-the-art aircraft. TSM

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LETTERS

We’ve Got Mail!

Variation in service delivery is not the service agent’s fault!

Here is a point of view. I arrived in Kigali last year and have been to many places to eat and drink. One restaurant proud of its service and speed, like many others sometimes provides good service and sometimes poor service.

Recently, service has not been good.

On one occasion my order, as part of a group was simply forgotten. On another I waited their promised delivery time before I was even asked if I wanted to order. Today, I noticed that I received more attention when it was time to pay the bill, why is this? Variation in service delivery is inherent in any system unless it is understood and action taken. That’s why I hardly ever complain - it’s not the service agent’s fault!

It’s a classic case of a performance measure that actually creates a system that delivers poor service or simply fails to meet ‘purpose’ from a customer’s point of view. In this instance, there is greater intrinsic motivation for the waitress to account for the ‘Amafranga’ linked to the food order she placed than understand what matters to me, the customer.

There are ways to fix this.

Ese mwak unze inya tubageza ho? Turab ndiko asaba ngo muduhe ib itekerezo Kuri: lette . rs@servic emag.com

Great work with your weekly articles

I have become used to reading your Monday articles online and receiving information on the Kigalilife network. This brings me joy. The articles are very educative but I would like to suggest to have them in all three languages as in the magazine.

Avid Reader

Le ServiceMag dans Jeune Afrique

Grâce à vous la presse au Rwanda a bonne presse. En effet, l’article paru dans le grand hebdomadaire « Jeune Afrique » sur votre action me met le baume au coeur. Un grand merci à Sandra et à toute votre équipe. Turi kumwe.

Une lectrice de Paris.

simoncorden@me.com

Article on Hole in the Pavement

I was checking on the online version of “The Service Mag”.

Your article on page 48 is very appealing! I had my car encroached in that same hole some months back. I have seen other cars getting trapped in the same way. But funny enough that hole is there for life to the point that I no longer complain; I rather took it as part of decor in street. I always pay attention when parking, especially when reversing, making sure I am not on the side of that hell of hole.

Again thank you, Eng. Vivien Munyaburanga

Umushinga munini mu Rwanda, Imvugo ijye iba ingiro

Biranshimisha cyane uburyo abikorera benshi bavuga cyangwa bandika ibyerekeye kwakira ababagana kandi nta n’umwe ubikora nk’uko aba yabivuze.

Nifuje kuvuga agahinda kanjye mbinyujije mu kinyamakuru cyanyu, nterwa n’abo bikorera aho abayobozi b’iyo mishinga batajya bakora ibyo ababagana baba bifuza. Iyaba ibyo bavuga babigiraga ingiro, twakabonye impinduka ifatika.

Nimwandike ku kwakira abagana RDB, PSF, Minisiteri y’Ubucuruzi n’Inganda, n’abandi bose bitwa ko bateza imbere gahunda yo kwakira neza ababagana hano mu Rwanda.

Joshua Kinama

Agace ko kwihangira imirimo ku bagore…

Ni byiza

Kuri njye, Agace ko kwihangira imirimo ku bagore ni ko nahisemo. Nkunda by’umwihariko uburyo mutanga urubuga mukavuga ku bagore bikorera kandi bakiri bato. Bintera imbaraga nkumva nanjye umunsi umwe nzikorera.

Murakoze cyane k’ubw’inyandiko zitandukanye zigisha.

Nicole Gasana

Ni gute nagaragara mu kinyamakuru cyanyu?

Nakwishima cyane muramutse munshyize mu kinyamakuru cyanyu. Ntekereza ko inkuru yanjye ishobora kwiganwa n’abandi. Mfite kandi inshuti yanjye ishaka gutanga umusanzu yohereza inkuru zitandukanye.

Joseph Safari

CONNECT WITH US

Le service public à l’honneur.

J’ai apprécié le portrait du chef de district mais j’aimerai avoir plus d’articles sur le service public. En effet, si des efforts sont observés chez les privés, cela ne suit pas forcément au sein des ministères et autres.

Emily M.

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/theservicemag

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/TheServiceMag

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om

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FEATURE

Consistency is All That Matters

PHOTO: www.comstock.com

By John Kageche

H

ave you noticed how easy it for people to update their status on Facebook? Check their inbox?

Expect their salary? And have you noticed how difficult it is for them to deliver good customer service? Stick to their exercise routine? Reply to their email?

Why is it that the same human being finds the former so much easier to do and the latter not

so? The former activities are comparatively shortterm, selfish and much less productive; the latter have long-term positive effects, are generous and progressive. Yet both have been perfected by one thing: consistency- the ability to be sufficiently motivated to religiously and infinitely repeat an ordinary task. That’s how I like to look at consistency.

I believe anyone can become consistent in

anything for as long they are motivated to do so.

A friend admits that he never used to give thought to any information about diabetes until his child got it; now he subscribes to newsletters; scours the internet and consistently attends seminars on the same.

That singularity of purpose is what makes a rock break in the hands of a mason. Have you noticed how he hits a specific spot on the rock

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FEATURE

over and over and over again until, at one point, it simply gives way and cracks. Would you say it was the third hit, the thirtieth, or the three thousandth that cracked it? Actually it’s all of them.

What about you? What is it you are inconsistent in? Could it be empathizing with and assuring customers? Being responsive to them and reliable? Or maybe diarizing appointments as they arise is your challenge? Whatever it is, it is not enough to say, you are not good at it. If you are not good at it, you will automatically become consistent in making it worse! As a businessman if you cannot find sufficient motivation to change your inability to do your books, then staff that weakness; if you don’t, it will most certainly negatively affect your business. As an employee if you are poor in sales, and find your strength is in operations, apply for a change of departments or employer. If on the other hand you feel you really want to do sales, be consistent in your learning-repeatedly make the calls; the visits; the presentations.

Consistency requires discipline and truth be told truly disciplined persons are rare to find.

Employees who kick off work at the clock of 8a.m (let alone earlier) are rarer still. Consistency is something you can be thrust into doing or you can choose to take on; few take it on and in my thinking it’s because few have a predetermined purpose in life. The army of them, lacking a purpose for their life, live for the day, and at best the weekend. It is this lack of vision that leads to indiscipline and inconsistency. If one had a purpose for their work-life that went beyond their end-month salary, I highly doubt they would be indifferent to their work Consistency is really all that matters. Practice makes perfect implies consistency and in that proverb lies a warning: be careful what you practice.

Accomplished athletes, musicians and businessmen will admit to a singular truth-they were purposeful; they locked in and consistently focused on the one thing that made them stars. They went out of their way and avoided anything that did not add value to their vision. Do you?... Have a vision that is?

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again results

Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence ... Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

On the other hand Einstein said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. In between persistence and insanity lies consistency-it is everything! TSM lendmeyourears@consultant.com

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PHOTO: Mark Sebukima

FEATURE

Customer Service Standards in the Public Sector

By Simon Corden

W

hen you’re setting a tight budget and money is strictly prioritised, service organisations and especially public service organisations should focus more and more on feedback from their customers to make effective and sound decisions about their services.

Yet decision-making is only as accurate and reliable as the information upon which it is based.

In light of Transparency Rwanda’s (TR) recent research using ‘drop-off boxes’ in Kigali City and a proposal for Community Scorecards, Rwanda’s public sector is off and running in the right direction. TR rightly says that ‘poor service delivery is an impediment to rapid economic recovery of the country’ and is pushing for service providers and local leaders to be accountable for the services they provide to citizens who should also be able to influence policy according to their necessities and preferences.

This is all sound thinking but transformational change requires much more than a robust data gathering diagnostic tool. However effective it

might be at engaging the service user, the methodology must be embedded in the service provider’s psyche for improvements to happen. The next time the organisation asks its customers for feedback – the silence will be deafening. It’s all about ‘measuring the service gap and closing the loop’.

The Service Gap The difference between what customers expect and their perceptions of that service is the Service Gap and it can be positive or negative.

Negative - when expectations exceed actual service delivery levels, leading to a less than satisfactory service experience; or Positive - when service delivery exceeds expectations.

Even positive gaps may be problematic as customers may see positive gaps as a misuse of public resources. Understanding customer expectations is crucial to addressing service satisfaction. But let’s be pragmatic for a moment.

Some public services may not be ready to deliver the ‘expected’ level of quality

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FEATURE

... real customer service measures are phrased in a customer’s terms and on things that matter to the customer.

without considerable investment and in these circumstances it’s important to be honest with customers and tell them what they can realistically expect. This can be done using Customer Service Standards.

What is a Customer Service Standard?

A Customer Service Standard is a way of telling people what public services are provided and a clear statement of the service’s purpose. It’s a way of managing expectations and demonstrating accountability and importantly, a means to ensure a consistent minimum standard of customer service.

A typical customer service standard would describe: What the service is – a brief description of the services and who they are/not provided to What the user can expect – recent and reliable performance figures What the service expects from the user – explains that the customer might have to provide information or follow instructions: Customer service values – a list of measurable statements about Timeliness – such as phone answered in 5 rings, waiting time is 10 minutes Accessibility – opening times Quality – satisfaction is high, 80% of users are either satisfied or very satisfied Equality and fairness – treating all people with respect and courtesy Responsiveness – going the extra mile Information – information on how to get the service required Competence – people are professional, well trained and knowledgeable Ownership - the first person you contact owns the request Privacy – personal information treated as confidential Delivery – getting what you wanted.

How can a customer comment on the service – complaints/compliments procedure How to get in touch – contact details What about Closing the Loop?

Having communicated service standards to their customers, public bodies need to measure the gap between what they deliver and what customers can expect.

Many services initially fail to see the business case for regularly gathering feedback from customers, seeing them as costly and time-consuming activities that add little value. However, when it is proved that service delivery is seen as poor and the actual costs of handling complaints far exceeds those of the survey, there is a change of thinking.

Obviously, customer satisfaction surveys need to tie back into the service standards. For example, to check Equality and Fairness users need to be asked if they felt they were treated fairly, with courtesy and respected as an individual; on Delivery users should be asked if they got what they wanted.

If the answer to this question is mostly ‘No’, the service is failing to deliver what its customers see as its true purpose – its reason to be – and that can come as a big shock to a manager.

Combined with internal performance management data this deep customer insight will help any organisation point improvement activity in the right places targeting resources at: The things they are really good at and need to keep doing The things they are currently doing well but need to improve The things they are doing poorly or not at all (and need to put more effort into).

A health warning – all this feedback only provides opportunities for improvement the secret ingredient for improving customer service and reducing costs, is leadership. Leaders must show an interest and demonstrate personal involvement identifying improvements and making them stick and if they fail to take action on these findings then time, effort and money will have been wasted and worse, customers will feel let down. TSM simoncorden@me.com

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FEATURE

Client recherche désespérément constance

PHOTO: www.kingdomentrepreneur.blogspot.com

Par Joseph Habimana

J

’ai relevé un sérieux problème dans notre pays qui affecte gravement la qualité des services et affecte également la longévité de tout business... Ce problème s’appelle: LA CONSTANCE! En anglais on dit: ‘Consistency is quality!’

Dans notre cher pays, ce principe semble avoir été dilué au point d’être devenu absent.

Exemple 1: L’aéroport de Kigali. Jadis, l’hôtesse nous appelait pour l’embarquement. A peine sortis de l’aérogare, un superbe bus nous attendait pour nous transporter vers l’aéronef.

«Waouh!» s’exclamèrent tous les passagers. Les amis étrangers nous félicitaient chaudement pour

cette innovation. Hélas … A peine quelques mois plus tard, le beau et grand bus fut remplacé par des Coaster/Toyota, sales, sans confort... Où est la continuation, la constance, la continuité du service?

Exemple 2: Bourbon Coffee à UTC et MTN center. Au départ, la connexion wireless était super accessible. Depuis plusieurs mois, aucun des deux Bourbons n’est connecté. Pourquoi ? Aucune raison. Et aucune excuse, évidemment !

Exemple 3: Beacoup de sociétés s’ouvrent avec des employés bien habillés et bien chics.Elles mettent en place des standards de

service. Mais après quelque mois, il y a un laissez aller général car les normes ne sont plus respectées et personne ne paye attention aux petits détails du début.

Je voudrais suggerer que vous fassiez une enquête pour qu’on comprenne mieux les causes de ce problème de manque de CONSTANCE dans notre pays. Je suis sûr qu’un bel article pourrait réveiller les MANAGERS... Puisqu’il s’agit bien d’eux dans ce genre de cas. TSM info@theservicemag.com

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FEATURE FEATURE

Kwita ku marangamutima yawe igihe utanga serivisi nziza Byanditswe na Sandra Idossou

Abakina nk’amakinamico bajya bagira “igihe cyo kwisubiramo” mbere yo kujya imbere ngo bakine. Ni umwitozo wo mu mutwe aho bagerageza kwireba ubwabo bakina bakagera aho biyibagirwa. Ibi bituma basiga ibibazo byabo n’amarangamutima ku ruhande ku buryo bagira imyumvire mishya ku byo bagiye gukina.

Ushobora guhitamo gutangira umunsi wawe mu mahoro, ukawuzuza amahoro ukanawurangiza mu yandi. Ni icyemezo ufata uri gatozi. Abenshi mu bantu twakira buri munsi, baba bafite ibibazo byabo nabo.I yo ubakiranye inseko, ushobora kwizera ko bari buyishimire nk’uko bivugwa ngo “Iyo umuntu ananiwe ni ngombwa kumuha inseko kuko aba ayikeneye cyane”.

Kwita ku marangamutima ye neza bituma umuntu yita kucyo arimo atitaye ku bibazo bihari.

Si ko buri gihe byoroshye ariko birashoboka. TSM sidossou@theservicemag.com

PHOTOS: Timothy Kisambira

U

bushize ubwo natemberaga, nahuye n’umukozi wo mu ndege warimo aseka kandi w’igikundiro.Yari afite ijambo rishimishije yabwiraga hafi ya buri mugenzi. Mu kiganiro gito twagiranye, yambwiye ko ari nyina w’abana babiri. Uwo munsi, umwe mu bana be yari yarwaye mu gitondo ubwo yajyaga ku kazi. Ubwo namubazaga uko abigenza aseka kandi akora akazi ke neza, igisubizo cye cyaranshimishije cyane “ uyu ni njye uri ku kazi ngomba kugakora nseka n’ubwo naba mbabaye imbere muri njye, ninkarangiza, ndongera mbe wa mubyeyi ubabajwe n’umwana, ariko ubu abagenzi bishyuye ngo babone inseko yanjye”.

Ni byo, twese mu usanga ku buryo butandukanye tugira igihe cy’amarangamutima kandi tugakomeza urugendo, cyane cyane nk’igihe tuba turi mu kazi tugomba gusabana na buri wese duseka, nk’uko tubisabwa mu kazi.

Igihe twababaye, dufite ubwoba, twarakaye, twacanganyikiwe, twatentebutse ku mubiri cyangwa se mu bwenge, akazi kagomba gukomeza gukorwa.

N’ubwo buri munsi dukorana n’abakiriya, nta kundi twabigenza, ni ukugerageza tukubaka imyitwarire n’imigenzereze myiza muri twe.

Niba twiyemeje gutekereza bizima, imyumvire yacu iraba mizima ndetse n’imigenzereze ibe uko.

Dushobora guhitamo buri munsi kugira amagambo n’ibikorwa bishamikiye ku migenzereze mizima.

Ikintu cy’ingenzi mu mitekerereze yacu ni uko imeze nka konti ya banki. Iyo dushyizemo ibitekerezo bizima, ibi biratugaruka umunsi wose. Ni ukuri, gukorana n’amarangamutima akomeye si ibyo gukinisha. Dushobora kubana n’amarangamutima yacu mu kazi ari uko tubashije kuvangura ubuzima bwacu bwihariye n’ibyo dukora n’abo tubikorera kandi tukumva ko ikosa si iry’abatugana mu gihe twifitiye ibibazo byacu bwite.

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FEATURE

The Importance of Getting an Insurance for One’s Business

By John Kageche

PHOTOS: www.gettyimages.com

F

or those who drive, you always have a spare tyre especially when going on a long journey and yet you never hope to use it. Why bother? Then there are those who have guards at their homes and places of work yet when no attack occurs they do not withdraw the salaries paid. Such is the importance of insurance. It is the only product in the world that you buy and hope you will never use.

I have noticed that businesses are most notorious at ignoring it. The reasoning most submit is that if they do not see any immediate benefit, it ties working capital and disrupts cash flow. I don’t blame them though- the industry itself has not done much in terms of educating them on the importance of insurance. It is difficult for a growing business to see why they should commit money to a product that is of no immediate direct value to the struggling business; yet, this thinking implies that at one time need and value will be apparent which is not the truth.

The purpose of insurance is exactly the same as that of the spare tyre.You want to know your business will continue even if it caught a fire or was vandalised.You want to know that should you get a puncture, you will curse at the inconvenience but know you will quickly be on your way. A struggling business, razed by a fire will be a minor inconvenience for someone with insurance. For the one without it, it will do worse than affect working capital and cash flow-it will eliminate it!

Like the spare tyre and the guards, insurance is not something you take when a catastrophe occurs- it is impossible to take it then. It’s something you take immediately you start your business and build upon it as you progress; and always remember, like the spare wheel it’s something you never wish to use, much as you have it.

Insurance works in much the same way a granary traditionally used to. Food would be

Insurance is something you take immediately you start your business... stored there in readiness for a dry spell. The difference is the dry spell was almost a given then; on the other hand, a disaster occurring to your business is not a given. Similarities are many though: different homesteads would store

portions of foodstuffs in this one granary to make a pool. Today, insurance companies collect small amounts of monies from different businesses and from this pool they are able to “repair the flat tyre” when it occurs. The flat tyre could be a fire or theft; whatever it is, the cost of putting the business back on its feet is usually much more than the cost of buying the insurance. In fact, the more the people who buy the insurance and the lower the incidences of the misfortunes, the lower its cost becomes.

Most insurance products for a business last 12 months and are renewable at the end of the twelve months. To their credit, insurance companies have developed products that respect the erratic nature of business income.

For instance these products allow the business to have any insurance the business might need (like fire, theft, loss of income) as one product which is then renewed on one date. This makes it easier for the business to plan for it. Insurance companies have gone further to enable businesses pay for the insurance in monthly installments, though this may not always be easy for a business not getting a regular income. To know a good insurance company always check with your country’s insurance regulatory authority.

Businesses take time and effort to build. It is unforgivable to let all this input go to waste overnight because a rioting mob demolished your stock of electronics, or a careless smoker left a burning stub in the dustbin and the resulting fire brought down your barbershop. With insurance, this would be a puncture you click your mouth about and proceed to repair as a minor inconvenience. Without insurance... TSM The author is a trainer, speaker, writer and Principal Officer at BKY Insurance Agency lendmeyourears@consultant.com

16 | The SERVICEMAG Sept - Nov 2012

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FEATURE

Kwakira neza ababagana ni inshingano si amahitamo

PHOTOS: Timothy Kisambira

Byanditswe na Sandra Idossou

B

yinshi birimo biravugwa ku byerekeye kwakira ababagana hano mu Rwanda, nanjye nifuza gutangira mvuga mbasangiza ibyavuzwe na Mahatma Gandhi. Biranshimisha ukuntu mu 1890, Gandhi yari yarumvise agaciro k’abakiriya. N’ubwo Gandhi atigeze akora mu bucuruzi cyangwa se ngo abe hari iduka yari afite, mu by’ukuri yemeraga ko kwakira neza abakugana/abakiriya ari yo mpamvu yo kubaho k’uruganda/ubucuruzi bwawe. Nifuza ko abikorera bose bakagombye gufotoreza abo bakorana ibi ngiye kuvuga hasi.

“Umukiriya ni umushyitsi mukuru aho dukorera. Ntatugenderaho, tumugenderaho.

Si uwo kutubuza gukora akazi kacu. Ni we ntego yako. Si umunyamahanga mu bucuruzi bwacu. Ni umwe mu babugize. Nta mpuhwe tuba tumugiriye iyo tumwakira. Atugirira impuhwe aduha uburyo bwo kumwakira dukora bityo tugakora umurimo wacu.”

Ibi bivuzwe haruguru buri wese ukora yakabigize ibye haba ku bacuruza cyangwa se muri biro, ntibyakagombye gukoreshwa mu bikorera gusa ahubwo no mu kazi ka Leta. Uwo ari we wese yakagombye kumva ko hatabayeho ba patoro cyangwa se abakiriya cyangwa se uko wabita kose, nta bucuruzi bwabaho.

Mu isi y’ubu aho benshi baba bakorera hamwe, aya magambo yakagombye kujya asubirwamo kenshi kugira ngo abe ayo gufasha abakiriya ababagana kuva ku bakozi bo hejuru kugeza ku bakozi bandi bo hasi, bose bibanda ku ntego nyamukuru y’akazi kabo.

Iyo ubajije gusobanura “Kwakira ababagana”, abenshi ubona ku maso babuze uko babyitwaramo.

Ese impamvu ni uko aba ari umwihariko wa buri muntu atabona uko awuvuga? Ese kwakira abakugana ni gatozi kuri buri wese? Ese bikorerwa abakugana gusa cyangwa na we wabikenera?

Nabajije zimwe mu nshuti zanjye,

by’umwihariko Janet, Bea n’undi witwa Gerald, uko babona Kwakira abakugana/abakiriya, dore uko bansubije: “Kwakira abakugana/abakiriya n’igihe umukozi nishyura ansuhuje iyo mugeze imbere maze guhaha hanyuma akanshimira ko nabateje imbere. Bitari nk’uko ubushize nagiye kuri ku busheri bw’abadage, aho umukozi waho atigeze anyereka n’inyinya,” ng’uko uko nabwiwe na Janet.

Gerard yarambwiye ati: “Kwakira abakugana/abakiriya ni igihe mpuriye n’umutagisimani ku kibuga cy’indege, mu cyubahiro akambaza aho njya, akamfungurira umuryango, agashyira ibikapu byanjye inyuma, hanyuma akantwara neza atashyizemo umuziki ngo amariremo cyangwa ngo aganire ibye kuri telefoni kandi atwaye.”

“Kwakira abakugana ni igihe umukanishi w’imodoka yanjye ambwiye ati imodoka yawe iraboneka saa kumi hanyuma akubahiriza igihe yampaye cyangwa se akampamagara ambwira ikibazo ahuye na cyo mu gihe agikanisha imodoka,” Bea niko abyumva.

Kuri njye, Kwakira abakugana ni uguhura uko ariko kose hagati y’umukiriya n’uwikorera bishobora gutuma habaho kugira uko umukiriya abibona neza cyangwa nabi.

Ni uburenganzira, inyungu, ni iby’ingenzi, ni inshingano si amaburaburizo iyo ushaka gukura mu mikorere no guhangana n’abandi mukora bimwe.

Mu bukungu bw’iki gihe, kwakira neza abakugana birenze kuba wahatana n’abandi mukora bimwe, ni iby’agaciro gakomeye. Niba mu bucuruzi hano mu Rwanda ndetse no mu bihugu byinshi bya Afurika habaho kwakira abatugana mu rwego rwo hejuru, ibi bizashimisha abakiriya, bitume habaho kuzamuka k’ubukungu n’iterambere ry’ibihugu ryiyongere. TSM sidossou@theservicemag.com

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FEATURE

I

cyifuzo cyo gushyira umunzani hagati y’akazi n’ubuzima bwihariye bwa muntu, ni ikintu gikomeye gufatira icyemezo mu gihe umuntu akora. Icyemezo cyose wafata gishobora kukwegereza uwo munzani cyangwa kikakwigiza kure yawo.Inkuru nziza ni uko ushobora kugira umwuga mu gihe cy’inzibacyuho iyo wabipanze neza. Buri ruganda ruba rufite inzitizi, bitewe n’ibyo wanyuzemo, haba hari buri gihe amahirwe agutegereje.

Kureba uburyo wava munzibacyuho ujya mu kandi kazi nabyo birashoboka, ariko bishobora gutwara igihe. Ba kabuhariwe mu by’ubukungu bafite uburyo bwiza bwo kuzamura cyangwa kumanura ubukungu ariko ni ingenzi kuvuga ko mu kazi k’ubu bisaba ubumenyi mu ibarurishamibare n’imibare ubwayo. Kurenga inzibacyuho iyo ari yo yose biterwa n’amashuri wize n’ubunararibonye bwawe. Buri ruganda ruba rufite ibyo rusaba, ubukungu bukaba ku isonga.

Mbere y’uko wiyemeza guhindura imirimo, reba inzira zose zishoboka ziri

imbere yawe hanyuma uvuge impamvu igutera guhindura imirimo. Kuki ushaka guhindura? Ufite kubyemeza ubu cyangwa ikindi gihe. Ni nde icyo cyemezo kiribugireho ingaruka cyane cyane iyo ufite umuryango witaho. Ese ukunezezwa n’akazi ni yo mpamvu? Ese akazi gashya urimo ushaka kazagushimisha?

Buri murimo usaba ubumenyi runaka wakagombye kuba witeguye bihagije ngo ujye mu ntera aho biri ngombwa. Kuri buri bumenyi wagize busaba kuba bwateguwe no gushyirwa mu bikorwa iyo umaze gufata icyemezo cyo kujya mu kandi kazi.

Mu bigo byinshi, hari amahirwe yo gukura no kuzamukiramo. Ntugahuge kuri ayo mahirwe ari mu kigo ukoreramo.

Abakoresha benshi bazaha amahirwe abakozi babo bafite impano, bazamurwe mu ntera aho kugira ngo babure abakozi nk’abo b’agaciro.

Buri gihe menya n’iki gihari aho uri mbere yo kujya gushaka akazi ahandi. Ni byo ni iby’ingenzi kuba wajya ahandi niba uzahagera ukahabona ibyo wifuza, ukeneye

Iyo ufite igitekerezo cyo kwihangira imirimo, kora ubushakashatsi, reka ikijya mbere muri iyo mirimo ushaka gukora, ese ba mukeba muri yo ni bande, ese isoko ringana gute, urebe koko niba ibyo ushaka gukora bikenewe.

Kwikorera ni uburyo buzima bwo guhindura imirimo ariko ni ukwibuka ko bisaba kwitanga no kuba ubyemera. Ushobora gutangira nta mushahara mu gihe runaka mu gihe wari usanzwe uwukorera. Ushobora no kubura uko ukora yewe ukabura n’igishoro.

Cyakora kwikorera birahemba k’umunota wa nyuma iyo wihanganye ntucike intege mu kugera ku ntego wihaye.

“Isesengura ry’ibyo utabonye n’ibyo ufite ni umusemburo w’ingenzi mu kazi.” Orison Swett Marden TSM Uwanditse iyi nkuru niwe washinze ndetse ni umwanditsi wa “Alltopstartups”. thomas@alltopstartups.com

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FOR YOU MANAGER

Bakoresha, mwubahirize amasezerano mwagiriye abakozi banyu PHOTOS: Oscar Karekezi

Na Abdi Simwaya

M

pereye ku bunararibonye mu kazi, nabonye ko abakozi b’ahantu runaka bagira uruhare rukomeye mu kwinjira amafaranga kwaho. Mu bihe bitandukanye, iyo ubonye abikorera bahomba, haba hari ikigomba gukorerwa abakozi. Iyo abakozi bafite ubushake n’abakoresha bagatanga ibyo babemereye bakabibaha bakora neza.

Abakoresha bamwe bemera ibyo batazakora hanyuma, abakozi bamaze kuvunika bakora, ntibabishyire mu bikorwa, ibyo bigaca abakozi intege ubwo bakaba batagikoze ngo bagere ku ntego bihaye.

Abakozi b’ingenzi kandi binjiza

bazagasezera bave aho bajye ahandi kubera kutubahiriza amasezerano bahawe.

Igihe abakozi bishimye baba bafite buri gihe gukorera hamwe basenyera umugozi umwe ngo ikigo bakorera kijye mbere bategereje ko hari icyo bemerewe kizabageraho.

Iyo abakozi bemeranije kuri kontaro n’umukoresha agatanga ibikenewe byose, abakozi bakora ibirenze ibyo mwateganyaga gukora.

Iyo abakozi bishimye, abakiriya barabibona mu mikorere, inseko nziza, imigenzereze myiza n’ibindi. Abakozi bishimye ni bo bakora ubucuruzi bw’ikigo neza.

Gucunga abakozi kuri njye byakagombye kubateramo akanyabugabo bakarangiza inshingano

zabo mu rwego rwo hejuru. Mu gihe abakozi bumva batewe ingabo mu bitugu, bakora bashyize hamwe mu buryo bwiza. Itsinda rikorera hamwe risenyera umugozi umwe bigira uko bigaragara mu kazi. Uti gute? Ahenshi, habaho kwakira neza abakiriya, imvugo nziza hagati y’abakozi bose kuva hasi kugera hejuru, kandi buri gihe bashaka ibisubizo mbere y’uko ibintu biba bibi.

Itsinda rifite imyumvire imwe kubyo ritezweho rizashyira mu bikorwa ibyo ryiyemeje noneho kwakira abakiriya neza bibabere umuco. Abakiriya bishimye bongera umusaruro w’ikigo mu gihe kirekire. TSM asimwaya3@yahoo.com

Contributors Contributors Welcome!

Welcome!

Are you a manager, business person or on an expert in a field of customer service, management or business? The ServiceMag is offering you a platform to share your knowledge and experience.

Send your articles and ideas to: editor@theservicemag.com

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FOR YOU MANAGER

Le casse-tête de la lettre

de motivation Par RHD

A vos marques, prêts, rédigez …

Maintenant que vous avez mis en ordre vos idées et vos arguments, il est temps de passer à la rédaction Ne jamais oublier de mettre le nom de votre destinataire, son titre et l’adresse L’introduction doit être percutante et donner envie de lire la suite. Ne parler pas de vous

L

a quête d’un emploi relève souvent d’un vrai parcours de combattant pour beaucoup. Pas assez d’expériences, trop diplômés, personne n’est épargné. Toutefois, même si beaucoup se plaignent de l’exigence des employeurs, parfois les échecs résident dans une simple lettre : la lettre de motivation.

Cette feuille A4 rédigée en manuscrite ou bien mise en page sous Word n’est pas une simple lettre d’accompagnement de votre CV, il reflète votre candidature et votre personnalité. Vous l’aurez compris : ne la négligez point !

Avant tout …

Avant de se mettre à faire de la poésie à votre futur patron, il est primordial d’avoir les bons éléments de rédaction. Prenez donc une feuille de brouillon et notez toutes les informations concernant l’entreprise pour laquelle vous postulez : son activité, ses objectifs, sa taille, son mode de fonctionnement, etc. Ainsi, à la lecture de votre lettre, l’employeur sera rassuré de votre implication future dans la vie de son entreprise.

Ensuite, toujours sur ce brouillon, notez vos qualités et surtout vos atouts pour ce travail : votre savoir-faire, votre méthode de travail. Il

Une lettre de motivation doit être concise et non un roman. directement mais plutôt de l’entreprise et du poste que vous visez. Evitez les formulations banales comme « j’aime beaucoup l’informatique c’est pour cela que je voudrais être informaticien. » ou encore « suite à votre annonce … » Après avoir conquis votre lecteur sur vos connaissances techniques de son entreprise, vous pouvez parler de vous : votre expérience, vos acquis, vos résultats par exemple dans votre précédent poste. Il s’agit de ne pas répéter votre CV mais d’énoncer des éléments clés qui n’apparaissent pas dans votre CV et qui, en même temps, donne envie de le consulter.

Proposer une rencontre à votre destinataire.

Cela démontre votre ouverture à défendre votre candidature et votre disponibilité pour

plus d’informations.

La conclusion est parfois difficile même si des formules toutes faites existent, « je vous prie d’agréer … mes salutations … » Certes, encore de vigueur, elles font de plus en plus place à des formules de politesse simples et directes comme « Bien à vous. » Bien entendu, comme pour toute lettre, n’oubliez pas de la signer et d’indiquer votre nom et vos coordonnées.

Très souvent, certaines annonces demandent votre « prétention salariale ». Une question bien difficile à aborder. Avant d’y répondre, renseignez-vous sur la grille salariale en vigueur soit dans l’entreprise, soit dans le pays avant de vous avancer. Indiquez ensuite une tranche selon votre expérience et selon les termes de référence.

Mais avant de déposer votre lettre de motivation accompagnée de votre CV, par pitié, évitez : Les fautes d’orthographe. Si vous êtes plus forts en anglais, rédigez-la en anglais. Sinon en français ou en kinyarwanda. Qu’importe la langue, du moment que l’employeur ne se retrouve pas avec une lettre dénuée de sens tant la complexité de la langue utilisée porte à confusion. Si besoin est, relisez-la 100 fois ou faites-la relire par une autre personne.

Evitez les ratures, les traces de Tippex et autre tâche. Rien ne vaut, une belle page blanche, toute propre et vierge de toutes tâches d’huile ou de café.

Encore une fois, plus c’est court mieux c’est. La littérature n’a pas lieu d’être ici.

Surtout, aérez votre texte par des espaces, des passages à la ligne, etc.

A présent, en attendant le poste de vos rêves, nous vous souhaitons bonne chance dans votre rédaction. TSM

PHOTOS: www.gettyimages.com

s’agit surtout de qualité intellectuelle car votre capacité à vous maquiller n’a guère d’intérêt pour un poste de Chargée des Opérations, par exemple.

Enfin, après avoir vu tous vos arguments, rangez-les par ordre de priorité car une lettre de motivation doit être concise et non un roman.

rhd_communication@yahoo.com

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FOR FEATURE YOU MANAGER

productivity of teams?

By Manisha Dookhony The problem with sanctions is that instead of bringing the employees to the directed path, it makes them scared. Employees thus become unable to progress in their work. Work done under the pressure of punishment will not be as good as that done in collaboration with the employee.

Collaboration indeed is the key word. A manager should work along with his/her team and the team

the more a leader is bad, the less or engaged and the less successful that agency becomes.�

members should work with the manager in a top to bottom and bottom up fashion. This makes the employees satisfied, engaged and committed in their work. The more satisfied and engaged an employee is, the better the customer satisfaction of the agency and the higher the revenue of the company. For better customer service, it is better to avoid sanctions.

Some would justify sanctions in structures where work quality is stringent, time is limited, managerial power is challenged by employees. In such situations, if management adopts a positive and collaborative attitude, sanctions are not even necessary. Cases of dishonesty, major faults, theft, lack of candor and attitudes that contradict company values, may call for sanctions. To prevent such deviations, leaders need to set norms and values.

If you are in management: Authority can be expressed differently. Instead of sanctions, try investing in building up a real team. With a strong team spirit, the realm of fear dissipates and positive feedback sets in.You will understand the root of problems and better address issues without sanctions.

Have an open discussion system.

Conversational communication will help you build trust. Interaction bring in inclusiveness allow the management to create robust processes and collaboration.

Finally build a corporate culture, with strong and shared values, code of ethics and a corporate integrity that will lead your business to success.

And of course beware of sanctions! TSM manisha.dookhony@post.harvard.edu PHOTOS: www.gettyimages.com

W

ithout going into theory, let me start by saying that there are many different types of management styles as perhaps you may have experienced yourself throughout your working life. The one that relies most on sanctions is the autocratic type of management. Often the sanctioning manager has little or no trust in the employees.

Any initiative by the employees is considered a threat to the manager, hence highly limiting creativity and innovation. Had Zuckerberg been an autocratic leader it would have been the end of Facebook, as the creativity of his team is one of the main ingredients of the success of Facebook.

Nowadays in a highly competitive and fast-changing environment where innovation is important to keep up with the market, autocratic management is becoming increasingly not in sync with the requirements of the day. An autocratic manager operates under a set of structured rewards and punishments and often relies on a small set of employees with whom trust has been achieved. Rewards are often for the small team the manager likes and punishment for those who are in his or her bad books. That is not a recipe for success.

A recent study of close to 3,000 leaders of a large financial services company shows that the more a leader is bad, the less the employee is satisfied or engaged and the less successful that agency is. In fact, in one of the agencies I worked, the head used to terrorize the employees. Needless to say, this institution was not effectively fused with high performance!

A trait of this punishing management was a high level of insecurity.

The head of the agency did not understand the entire operation and terror became a means to hide his own inabilities. Often when sanctions are applied, the problem lies with the management rather than the employee.

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FOCUS

World Population Day

Rwanda, UN Root for Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

R

wanda’s population growth rate is among the highest in Africa currently at 2.9 percent. Based on the NISR National Population Projections (July 2009) Rwanda’s population in 2012 is estimated at 11.033.141.

The theme for this year’s World Population Day celebrations was “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services.” Reproductive health problems continue to be among the leading causes of ill health and death for women of childbearing age worldwide.

Lack of access to reproductive health services such as family planning services is also the leading cause of families producing large numbers of children, most of whom they are unable to take care of.

Based on a new study that was released ahead of the London Conference on Family Planning, the use of contraceptives can save the lives of more than 250,000 women in the developing world annually.

Access to reproductive health services leads to improved maternal and child health services, good

quality of life and planned pregnancies.

It’s in this regard that Rwanda joined the rest of the world, on July 11, 2012, to mark the World Population Day (WPD).

Ms. Victoria Akyeampong, the UNFPA Country Resident Representative, in a statement to mark WPD, said that some 222 million women who would like to avoid or delay pregnancy lack access to effective family planning.

Nearly 800 women die every day in the process of giving life. About 1.8 billion young people are entering their reproductive years, often without the knowledge, skills and services they need to protect themselves.

“Investing in reproductive health is crucial.

Reproductive health is at the very heart of development and crucial to delivering the UNFPA vision, a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled,” Ms. Akyeampong noted.

She also said that Maternal and newborn deaths hurt families, slow economic growth and lead to

2.9%

Rwanda’s population growth rate (Among the highest in Africa)

250,000

The lives of women saved by the use of contraceptives in the developing world annually

10.7million

Estimate of Rwanda’s population according to the 2002 Census results

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FOCUS

global productivity losses of about $15 billion each year.

On the other hand, investing in improved health for women and babies has far-reaching benefits for nations.

Ms. Akyeampong cited the example of the fact that one third and one half of Asia’s economic growth from 1965 to 1990 has been attributed to improvements in reproductive health, reductions in infant/child deaths and fertility rates.

Existing challenges such as myths, rumors and misconceptions about Family Planning methods and their side effects are some of the issues she pointed out as barriers to family planning.

“There are also gaps in sexual and reproductive health education in schools which presents an immense potential since children can learn about such issues at an early age,” Ms. Akyeampong said.

“There is still inadequate information and counseling on family planning,” Ms. Akyeampong stated while pointing out insufficient decisionmaking power among women about the use of Family Planning and limited support and involvement of their male partners as key barriers.

During the World Population Day Celebrations at Amahoro Stadium, Mr. John Rwangombwa, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, highlighted the significance of prenatal and postnatal care, contraceptive use, and family planning.

He emphasized the significance of this year’s theme saying that if Rwanda is to have a sustainable and productive society in the future, population concerns are paramount.

“World Population Day is an opportunity for Rwandans to reflect on the past and assess the way forward. Opinion leaders at different levels have to contribute to the education required to the community to understand these concepts,” Mr. Rwangombwa said.

According to the Finance Minister, Rwanda’s population under the poverty line reduced from 57 percent in 2005 down to 45 percent in 2011. However, he emphasized the fact that less than 20 percent of the population needs to be under the poverty line by 2020, if Rwanda is to transform into a middle-income country.

Mr. Rwangombwa urged Rwandans to stay focused on achieving the Vision 2020 goals in order to have a GDP of US$1,200 as opposed to the current US$900.

According to the State of the World Population Report (SWOP 2011), major problems related to women’s reproductive health include unwanted

Access to reproductive health services leads to improved maternal and child health services

pregnancies, maternal deaths, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections and gender-based violence and disabilities, among others.

Researchers estimate that without the use of contraceptives, the rate of maternal death would have been 1.8 times greater.

The report established that prematurity and low birth weight doubled when conception occurred within six months of a previous birth, and that children born within two years of an elder sibling were 60 per cent more likely to die in infancy than those born two years afterward.

“Increasing contraceptive use in developing countries has cut the number of maternal deaths by 40 percent over the past 20 years,” the study stated.

According to the study, the number of unwanted pregnancies and unmet contraceptive need are still high in many developing countries and that the use of contraception is “a substantial and effective primary prevention strategy to reduce maternal mortality in developing countries.”

Meeting the unmet needs for modern family planning and maternal and newborn health care will reduce maternal deaths by more than two thirds – from 358,000 to 105,000. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, maternal deaths will drop by 69 per cent and newborn deaths will fall by 57 per cent (Guttmacher Institute, “Facts on Investing in Family Planning and Maternal and Newborn Health,” November 2010).

The participants were urged to cooperate with the relevant authorities to ensure accurate and reliable outcomes of the forthcoming National Population and Housing Census which is due on August 16 to 30, 2012. TSM

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The Public’s Views on Access to Reproductive Health Rights

“I personally practice protected sex with my partner and in case things go wrong and we haven’t planned a pregnancy, I would advise her to carry out a safe abortion. I would also advise married people to discuss what type of family planning method works for them.”

“I am still a student and if I were to get pregnant, that would stop me from completing my education and, I am not ready for this. The only option for such a situation would be abortion and life goes on.”

Rugira Aliane,

Marshal Ubaruta,

“To avoid unwanted pregnancy, I would use a condom and in case I get pregnant when I am not married or even If I were married but didn’t plan to have a child, I would never go for abortion.”

Diane Bampire,

“So far we have five children but if it comes to my understanding that my wife attends any of these family planning workshops, I would divorce her and marry another one.”

“When men engage in unprotected sex, they should accept all the consequences that come with it. They should be responsible for their girlfriend or wife and the unborn child.”

Simeo Pierre Nzeyimana,

Jean Rugambira, Kirehe Resident

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FOCUS

“Why would I have an extra child that I never planned for if there is an abortion option?

Why would I have a sixth child when the existing five children are not well catered for? Women should be educated more about their reproductive rights and the choice to have children or not, is theirs.”

Delphine Ujeneza,

“I am yet to get married but I have never heard of the best family planning method. But when I get married, I will ask at the health centre for the best method that I can use.”

Charlotte Mukandayisaba,

“Married couples should use family planning methods however, I am not supportive of abortion, even if you didn’t plan for a pregnancy. It is good to take measures to prevent having many children that you are not able to look after but if you have failed, please don’t abort that baby.”

Immaculate Mukankaka,

“At the age of 35, I had five children without spacing them out and I regret this so much; I did not bother to seek family planning advice. I can only encourage the youth to try out the many options available at the health centres and avoid having many children that they can’t raise.”

Louise Mukandoli, Kigali Resident.

“A child is a gift from God; if my wife is pregnant, she should give birth to the child, who knows what this child may become in the future?”

“I think every adult who wants to succeed in life should use at least one method of family planning because raising several children at a go isn’t easy. When you give birth every other year while your friends are busy focusing on doing business, you are left behind.”

Speciose Uwimana,

Damascene Nsabimana,

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FOCUS

Q&A

A Gynecologist Responds to Popular Questions on Contraceptive Use in Rwanda

In Rwanda, the contraceptive prevalence rate is 45 percent and unmet needs for Family Planning are 19 percent, according to DHS 2010. The ServiceMag interviewed Dr. Alphonse Butoyi, a gynecologist at Kibagabaga Hospital on several issues that hinder access to family planning and contraceptive use in Rwanda.

Below are the excerpts: What is the current situation of Reproductive Health in Rwanda?

According to the DHS 2010, the average Rwandan woman gives birth to 4.6 children (total fertility rate). This has reduced from 6,1 in 2005. Maternal mortality ratio decreased from 750/100,000 live births in 2005 to 487/100,000 live births in 2010 What are the major barriers to accessing family planning in Rwanda?

The main barrier is misunderstandings sprouting from myths about contraceptive use. Several women share false information about contraceptive methods among themselves and rely on this information. They talk about false side effects such as uterine cancer, change of sexual appetite (libido), which is false. As a result, many women are afraid of using one or several contraceptive methods.

On average, how many women seek your advice regarding the use of family planning methods?

In my daily consultation, I meet about one or two in every 10 patients who ask about family planning services. However, the hospital has a special department that deals with contraception.

What is the most popular contraceptive used?

Many women use injectables (Depo Provera) because most say they do not experience side effects from it. The other preferred contraceptive is the IUCD (Intrauterine Core Device) for it follows normal physiology (doesn’t disrupt hormonal changes).

When students are informed about their choices, teenagers will avoid undesired pregnancies, risky abortions and the spread of STIs. What challenges do you meet when educating women on contraceptive use?

The main challenge is to explain the mechanism and action of different contraceptive methods and their side effects. On several occasions women have said that they have asked other women for advice on using certain contraceptive methods and have received false or half information on the details of the contraceptives. Therefore, as a doctor, you have to find an appropriate and simple way to explain the various benefits and side effects and emphasize the fact that all these vary and differ from one woman to another.

Do they approach you as a couple or alone?

Women come mostly alone and rarely with husbands. It’s mostly the educated who often come as couples for consultation.

Are you approached by youth,especially unmarried youth?

Rarely. There is no misunderstanding between them and us. However when they do, we have realized that they mostly use short-term contraceptives (pills).

What is your take on sex education in schools?

I really appreciate its value as it used to be a taboo.

Information is shared at the right time and the right way. When students are informed about their choices, teenagers will avoid undesired pregnancies, risky abortions and the spread of Sexual Transmitted Infections. TSM

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The SERVICEMAG June - August 2012 | 29

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BOOK FEATURE REVIEW

7

Steps To Exceptional Customer Care E

Dominique Ntirushwa

xceptional customer care starts with first understanding customer care. There is no single definition of customer care. The main reason is that customer care is often seen as a performance measurement and a philosophy. Organizations, managers, customerfacing agents, customers, and everyone else often have a personal definition and understanding of customer care.

This often is what determines how we serve, or expect to be served.

There is only one difference between all the different definitions of customer care that exist; the boundaries of the definition. Where the definition starts and where it ends. What it includes and what it doesn’t include. What it allows you to do; what it doesn’t allow you to do.

The boundaries of the definition are what determine the level of service that can be considered poor, acceptable, good, or exceptional.

Unlike customer care, there is only one definition of Exceptional Customer Care.

Exceptional customer care is the ability to meet and exceed every customer’s definition of customer care in an adaptive, and sometimes, creative way.

The book You’re ability to stretch your definition and understanding of customer care to a point that will allow suggests a you to accommodate every customer’s definition and simple 7-step process understanding of customer care is what determines your ability to offer exceptional customer care. that any person can It is true there are so many challenges and barriers follow to be able to that are often considered as the general factors affecting exceptional customer care. In the book, “7 Steps to Exceptional Customer Care”, the writer talks about customer care in a unique way. The book shows in a Customer Care simplified way, suggests a simple and effective 7-step process that any person, in any organization or Industry can follow to be able to offer Exceptional Customer Care, irrespective of what are generally considered as challenges and barriers. Exceptional customer care always starts with you. TSM

Winking in the Dark?

Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does

To advertise call

+250 788 781562

info@theservicemag.com

Launch Date: 15th of September 2012. Cost: 10,000 Rwf.

www.theservicemag.com About the Author Dominique Ntirushwa, is a young Rwandan who recently won the best individual ‘MTN Group Overall Customer Care Award’.

Ground-Breaking Press in the U.S published his book.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

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TRAVEL REVIEW

Discovering Nyungwe Forest Lodge and

National Park

By A. K. Otiti

W

hen was the last time you rewarded yourself for all your hard work? If you have not got into the practice of taking a break and treating yourself well, it is high time you started. Before the year is over, a visit to Nyungwe National Park and the Nyungwe Forest Lodge would be the perfect get away providing rest, comfort and freshness all in one. Rwanda is such a beautiful country, you need to explore it!

Arrival through beautiful tea plantation.

RwandAir’s daily early flights to Kamembe will put you an hour’s drive away from the Nyungwe Forest Lodge, allowing you enough time to spend the rest of the day. The drive from Kamembe Airport is a breath of fresh air – literally- through the tea plantations and one feels a real return to nature, driving away from the noise and fumes. Driving from Kigali is another option, which would take about 4-5 hours; a longer drive but giving you a chance to see more of the country.

The two year old Nyungwe Forest Lodge is the only 5-star lodge in Rwanda and truly lives up to its ratings. It was built on the edge of Africa’s largest expanse of montane rain forest surrounding a tea plantation. The Lodge stands out as a unique architectural concept and was awarded the Best International New Small Hotel Construction and Design last year.

The air is fresh, and other than the birds that wake you up in the morning, you will hear nothing else. Nyungwe provides a tranquil place to rest. Forget stress! You will also see nothing else but a massive tea plantantion, giant trees and maybe a colobus monkey or two jumping from branch to branch. In order to see more monkeys, chimpanzees and maybe a leopard if you are lucky, a visit to Nyungwe National Park provides a perfect complement to your stay at the Lodge. You will need good walking shoes and some level of fitness to take it on.

Visiting the Park The Uwinka Visitors Center is about 45 minutes

drive from the Lodge. It is a well kept center maintained by the Rwanda Development Board with support from USAID. Park Staff are welcoming and knowledgeable and will explain the range of adventurous guided hikes you can choose from. For understandable reasons, all activities in the Park must be taken with a Guide and the fees visitors pay go to cover the cost of maintaining the Park and remunerating staff.

The Guides are well conversant with the Forest and you will come away with a vast knowledge of the trees, birds, chimpanzees and the history of the Forest. The hikes offered require different levels of energy and amount of time. RDB Staff at Uwinka reception will make recommendations but you may choose what you would like to depending on how adventurous you feel.

The Canopy Walk is a favorite for Park visitors.

The walk is on a suspended 60 meters bridge above the forest floor between giant trees and towers, and offers a magnificent view of the upper canopy. Talk of adventure; I felt like I was hanging on for dear life but felt proud of myself when I was back on firm

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‘Five Star is in the detail’ and one feels the details have been taken care of.

ground. Please note - no cause to be afraid, no one ever drops off! The Canopy Walk is on a shorter trail and even children tall enough to hold on to the rope handrails can give it a try, so you could do it as a family.

And you will feel you deserve the dessert at the Lodge after you have been out hiking. The hikes are not only beneficial as much needed exercise but also provide you with a chance for meditation, while bonding with nature.

A visit to Nyungwe National Park provides excellent opportunities to see a variety of fascinating birds along the forest paths, including quite a few of the regional endemic species. Hosting about 310 bird species including 27 Albertine Rift endemics, even hikers with only a passing interest in birdlife will be amazed by a sighting of the Great Blue Turaco.

Among other activities, you can choose to track chimpanzees; Nyungwe is home to about 400 chimpanzees and represents one of the last intact populations in the area. In addition to several wild chimp communities, there are currently two groups of habituated communities open for tourism; one in Cyamdungo and the other around Uwinka (Mayebe). A third group located in the northern part of the Park (Gisovu) is still under habituation.

Tracking Chimpanzees in Nyungwe is an exciting challenge! Professional guides and trackers will lead you through the forest using chimp calls, feeding signs, and nesting sites as you trace your way through their montane habitat. Since chimps are most easily seen in the early morning, such an excursion usually means having to wake up around 4:00-4:30 AM. In June, July and August, Nyungwe’s fig trees are in fruit, making this is a particularly good time for viewing chimps. Although this viewing is not always guaranteed, you will certainly experience the thrill of following the paths of these wild and elusive primates, and learning about chimps and their habitat through well-trained guides.

PHOTOS: Nyungwe Forest Lodge

TRAVEL FEATURE REVIEW

‘Five Star Hotel is really in the details Accommodation at the Lodge is in tastefully decorated wooden cabins that are in every way environmentally friendly, very well built, clean and comfortable. As the Manager, Jerry Were says, ‘Five Star is in the detail’ and one feels the details have been taken care of. Although the Lodge has become a favourite as a honeymoon destination, accommodation is family friendly and with so little distraction- no shopping, no theme park, the Lodge provides an excellent opportunity for real deep, up close and personal family time. There are board games available too in case you need some entertainment. Also on offer are spa treatments to pamper you and if you prefer some exercise, the swimming pool’s location will make you feel you are swimming out in the ocean with the birds watching over you.You can also take long walks through the tea plantation or ride the bicycles available for guests.

I asked the Manager to share his tips on acquiring such a desirable level of service excellence and he pointed out three main tips – recruitment, training and staff motivation. At Nyungwe Forest Lodge, waiters are flexible, pleasant and attentive.

That most certainly goes to provide an exceptional customer experience. At the lodge, tables can be moved, items on the menu switched and orders changed to keep the client happy!

My favorite part of the day at Nyungwe Forest Lodge was the afternoon cup of tea. Served in the lounge with warm fires glowing, tea is brewed by a professional tea connoisseur who explains the origins of the different teas while you unwind on the comfy couches.

Dinner is served in the small dining hall. Wood fires are burnt every night giving it a warm homely feel. As the lodge also hosts corporate get togethers and high level meetings, it could be just the place to gather your Executives for real productive brainstorming as they lay out next year’s plan and strategize for business growth.

A week end at Nyungwe will rejuvenate anyone… and the cost is worth the long term benefit one gets. aryantu@yahoo.com

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Starting a Business: 10 simple rules for a successful start-up

By Eric Rutabana

W

hile the thought of starting one’s own business may be exciting, it can also be intimidating – even for someone with a successful business career behind them. The difference between owning a business and working in one is significant – as an owner you’re directly responsible for every aspect of the business’ success.

The good news is that, by following a few basic rules, it’s easier than you think – and the chances of success is much greater.

Business Partners, Rwanda’s leading specialised added-value investment group for small and medium enterprises has drawn up Ten Simple Rules for a Successful Start-Up to assist entrepreneurs:

1 1.

Choose an option that’s right for you When thinking of starting your own business, choose one that will suit your lifestyle and preferably one in which you have some direct knowledge and experience. For instance, if you want to work regular hours (say 8.00am to 5.00pm), opting for a fast food restaurant isn’t a good idea. Similarly, if you’re thinking of buying a car repair business, it’s important that you have some knowledge of what’s involved, even if you’re not a professional mechanic yourself. Many businesses succeed because they match lifestyles of an entrepreneur. Similarly, knowledge and experience about a particular sector or

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PHOTO: Sean Jones - www.thejonesexperience.com

WOMEN FEATURE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2

activity will be vital for success for a start-up business since such a business is least able to hire experienced people to substitute the entrepreneur.

Do your market research Market research does not have to be complicated. It’s important to make sure that there’s a need for your product or service, though. Check out whether there’s any competition already established in your area, whether your offering is unique or whether it fills a special gap in the market. If you can offer a product or service that people need and which doesn’t already exist, you’ll have a good chance of success. For example, you might be able to offer a scholar transport service in an area off the public transport route or develop a new form of health snack where there’s a demand, but no supply. It is common for people to think that there is ‘abundant’ market, just because there are no other local producers of the same product. This is not enough because the cost of production may be prohibitively high for a local producer. Also understand where to get your raw materials and how reliable the source is.

Draw up a business plan Writing a business plan is like drawing up a road map.You’re not likely to reach your destination unless you know where you’re going and what you’ll need to get there.You will need the information that will give the business operational and financial direction. Business Partners offers a free business-planning model for entrepreneurs.

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4.

4

Choose a specialist investor When looking for investment, choose a company that has specialist knowledge of the challenges facing entrepreneurs, as well as of the sector in which you intend to work. This could be one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make – for yourself and for your business. It may be more than just money initially as technical skills may be needed to ensure that the product is the right fit for your target niche.

Employ the right people Not all start-ups employ people from the start, but if you do, it’s important to choose carefully. In a small business, people spend a lot of time together, so you need to select employees that you feel you’ll be able to work with. Also, choose people that have experience in the business you’ll be starting – this will give you a valuable support system.

Market your business Business doesn’t come to those who wait – it comes to those who go out there and tell people what they have to offer. Even the smallest business needs to market its services by, for example, placing ads in the local papers, distributing flyers, putting up notices in shopping centres, recreation centres and other public places and developing special offers for special needs or occasions.

Put in financial systems from the start Even if you’re not a financial expert yourself, put in simple but solid financial systems right from the start. There are excellent, user-friendly software packages that can be used to do this and it’s even worth contracting the services

5 7 5.

6.

7.

6

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

8 10

of a bookkeeper or other financial professional to assist you on a regular basis.

Lack of financial discipline is often where start-up businesses go off the rails.

Manage your cash flow Cash is the life-blood of a business and it’s important to manage cash flow carefully. Ensure that cash is kept within the business to keep it alive. The right investor will be able to assist you in doing this.

Supplement your own knowledge with specialist skills No entrepreneur can be a specialist in every aspect of business and it’s important to contract specialist skills and services when you need them. For example, if you’re thinking of setting up a small factory and don’t have much knowledge of the production process, an experienced production manager will be worth his or her weight in gold. Such services can be hired on a temporary basis.

Enjoy yourself One of the best things about owning and running your own business is that you have total independence. There’ll be good days and bad days, but it’s important to enjoy what you’re doing. Owning one’s own business is an adventure - enjoy it every step of the way. TSM

8.

9 9.

10.

The author is the Chief Investment Officer of Business Partners International Rwanda SME Fund, a risk finance company for formal small and medium enterprises. erutabana@businesspartners.rw

Finance and support for entrepreneurs

Tel: +250 252 585 065, Cell: +250 78830 8873 1st Floor, 1680, Umuganda Boulevard, Kimihurura, Kigali, Rwanda *Subject to terms & conditions

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurs, osez animer vos équipes Par K. Ezéchiel OUEDRAOGO

L

’homme qu’il faut à la place qu’il faut !

C’est souvent ce que les entrepreneurs recherchent à tout prix, en pensant qu’une bonne sélection garantit l’efficacité de l’équipe.

Malheureusement, une bonne équipe requiert plus que l’humain.

Une équipe se forme en passant par 4 phases de développement:

1

L’orientation Quand les membres d’une équipe se mettent ensemble ils ont besoin d’être orientés, c’est-à-dire: parvenir à une compréhension commune des objectifs du groupe, avoir un accord sur les règles de base de fonctionnement du groupe (prise de décision, fréquence des réunions etc.)

à la réalisation de l’objectif commun. Leurs efforts sont dirigés vers la résolution de problèmes de manière productive car les problèmes de structure et interpersonnels ont déjà été résolus. A ce stade, le groupe se caractérise par un moral au beau fixe, une grande créativité, et une grande loyauté entre les membres En tant qu’entrepreneur il nous faut prendre conscience qu’il faut oser animer les équipes pour transformer un groupe d’individus (même compétents) en « Equipe » c’est-à-dire vers l’interdépendance.

D’où la nécessite pour un entrepreneur d’être un leader, capable d’obtenir des gens un plein engagement à une action pertinente pour

Se réunir est un début, rester ensemble est un progrès, travailler ensemble est — Henry Ford la réussite. rencontrer des objectifs acceptés de tous avec des valeurs communes.

Tous leaders c’est possible ! TSM ezechielo@successvaluablepartner.com

2

Conflits pour l’influence et le pouvoir Dans cette phase de la formation de l’équipe, une concurrence commence à s’exercer entre les individus qui cherchent à se valoriser.

Des intérêts divergents apparaissent tandis que les membres commencent à donner leur point de vue et leurs idées sur le travail ou à exprimer leurs sentiments à l’égard des autres membres.

La cohésion ou « esprit d’équipe » Le groupe commence à développer une identité propre ou «esprit d’équipe ». Les individus sont plus réceptifs vis-à-vis des besoins des autres et sont plus prompts à partager leurs idées, leurs opinions et les informations. Les exigences du travail commencent à prendre le pas sur les préoccupations et objectifs personnels.

4

L’interdépendance Étape finale du développement, le groupe atteint le statut d’équipe. Les membres travaillent de façon coordonnée et se consacrent entièrement

PHOTOS: www.gettyimages.com

3

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GLOBALENTREPRENEURSHIPWEEK

12th-18thNOV2012 Unleashing Ideas

Get involved today! connect inspire mentor engage RWANDA

Find us on: Contact Us: gewrwanda@gmail.com

National Host

TSM11_Mag.indd 39

Strategic Partner

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The Discipline of Working from Home

By Irene Kaindi

O

PHOTOS: Oscar Karekezi

ne can choose to work from home for various reasons, the most common being: Where one is starting out in business, or wants to go the self-employment way, and is not yet able to afford the costs of running a typical office - hiring staff and paying them, paying for the required licenses, normal office running costs and paying for the necessary infrastructure that comes with having an office; Where one chooses to be a stay-at-home mother, but would still like to use their skills to make a contribution to the economy in one way or another; Where one needs to get a piece of work done without interruptions; this can be on those days when being in the office does not help this objective.

It is very important to have some ground rules for this to work. The most important is self discipline, there should be no or at least, minimum distractions – this is everything. It is important that one behaves as though they are going to work, and are in an office set-up, with normal or keeping to their usual working hours (for those who are normally on flexi time), in which case:

1.

4.

2.

5.

6.

As Stephen Covey said in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, start with the end in mind, and everything else will fall into place naturally.

Set aside a work area, it could be a room, or an area conducive to working – there should be a desk suitable for working - a lounger is a no-no; ensure there is adequate lighting and reliable power supply and internet connection if you need it.

3.

Dress the part - as though you are actually going to work - this helps set the mental frame for a working environment; also, for those who will be expecting visitors, imagine being found inappropriately dressed!

Wake up like you are going to work anyway; this will work to your advantage as you will not be wasting time in traffic, therefore ahead of the rest of us who will be stuck in traffic!

Start working at the time you would normally start work in the office.

Break for coffee/tea and lunch, but do not take unnecessarily long breaks – manage your time well.

7.

Do not start doing chores around the house when you should be working – make arrangements for this well in advance to ensure you focus on working, or on the piece of work at hand or the project you are working on.

8.

Let your family members or housemates know that you will be working during certain times – communicate clearly when you will not be available and when you will be available.

9.

Have a plan for each day, or for the days you will be working on that piece of work from home; review this plan at the end of the day.

10.

Build in time for extracurricular activities and for running errands, and stick to this. TSM irenekaindi@yahoo.com

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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YOUR WELLBEING MATTERS

Monitor Your Own

PHOTO: www.gettyimages.com

By Dr. Rachna Pande

G

ood health is the basic requirement for a person to succeed in any field of the world. Barring exceptions, only a physically as well as mentally fit person can do the hard work necessary for achieving success.

The busy urban life style leaves little time for people to have a regular healthy life with regards to proper meals and sleep time and exercise. Persons working in offices are worst affected as they have to stick to a fixed schedule of work. Commuting long distances to work in big cities and having targets and deadlines to meet puts them under stress, affecting their health further.

Hence it is vital for a person to be able to monitor his or her health. This is simple. Only thing needed is that one should be aware of some tell tale signs that indicate health problems.

Feeling, ‘run down”, or, “not so well”, is what everyone feels when sick. Headaches, body ache, running nose, nausea, vomiting, e.t.c., symptoms also suggest sickness. But apart from these, there are subtle signs which can help one detect sickness at the earliest.

One should always keep track of his pulse. It is felt on keeping a finger lightly below the thumb

at the junction of the wrist and forearm. Normally there are 60 to 90 beats felt per minute, when one is relaxed. If the pulse beats faster than this, either the person is stressed or is sick. It usually heralds the onset of fever also.

While in front of a mirror, one can check the color of the inner side of the lower eye lid. If the color is pale and not red, it denotes anemia, i.e. a state of deficiency of hemoglobin,( a component of red blood cells that carries oxygen to body cells). This is more important for women as they are more prone to anemia for multiple reasons.

Yellow discoloration of the normally white portion of the eye is suggestive of deranged function of the liver.

If there is a urinary tract infection, one can develop swelling over the face, more so in the morning. In kidney and urinary tract infections, the affected person can also have swelling on the feet. But if an individual starts getting swelling over feet coming in the evening or after walking, he should get himself screened for high blood pressure and heart related problems.

Regular monitoring of weight also helps to determine the health status of a person. Gain

in weight should alert the person to keep it under control. Unexplained loss of weight is highly suggestive of diabetes mellitus or hyperthyroidism. If the weight loss is associated with persistent intractable pain in some body part, cancer is a strong possibility.

Another thing which one can monitor is the color of urine. The urine of a healthy person is clear or mildly pale in color. A dark colored urine indicates that hydration of the body is affected.

This happens due to hydration of the body being affected which mostly occurs due to much work with or without stress and or drinking less water.

Once somebody notices dark colored urine, he should increase the amount of water and other fluids consumed. Due to deranged liver function, one can have dark yellow colored urine.

Just by being aware of these subtle changes in the body, earliest signs of any sickness can be detected and it can be checked before anyone falls sick. TSM The author is a specialist in Internal Medicine at the Ruhengeri Hospital Musanze rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk

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HAVE FEATURE YOUR SAY

An encounter with a hungry

By Eva Gara

It is important to treat your employees with respect and dignity.�

I

PHOTOS: www.gettyimages.com

was hungry and could not wait to meet my friends so we could eat. The restaurant was busy and it was difficult to find a seat. We sat next to a window and beckoned to a waiter who stood by the door. He walked to us and we noticed reluctance in his approach. When he got close we notice that his lips were dry and when he started talking his breath was stale! Concerned I asked if he was sick.

No he said with a weak smile. He took our orders and walked away.

We discussed him and my friend said she suspected it was one of those restaurants that did not feed their workers before the last customer left. I also found out that though they served the most delicious food, waiters ate food that was tasteless and quite the opposite of what was served. As you can imagine I will not frequent that restaurant much.

My question to the restaurant owners is how they let hungry waiters out to serve food when chances are the last meal they had was a day before. The fact is some of those are students working days and going to school in the evenings and hardly getting a chance to cook or loose change to buy the next meal.

I wonder how a boutique owner would fair if their shop attendants wore rugs to serve their clients or doctors appeared dirty and sick at work or a hair dresser whose hair is dirty and uncombed? The point is the person serving you in whatever capacity has to be or appear happy and well taken care of.

It is important to treat your employees with respect and dignity. It is them that you get the revenue so watch out! TSM

evagara@yahoo.com

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HAVE YOUR SAY

Summer activities for Rwandan Teenagers Needed

By Vanessa Mutesi

PHOTO: www.gettyimages.com

S

ummers in Rwanda aren’t what I would consider fun. One of the reasons I say this, is because summers here aren’t full of activities to keep us teenagers busy, and not loitering around. Another issue is, when we have nothing to do we disturb our working parents, since we have nothing to do we demand for things such as transport. There are very many issues we need to be more active not just staying indoors watching TV, and we sometimes watch shows that are not within our age range. Keeping us active isn’t just benefitting us, but also our parents. The other issue is majority of people here are not fortunate to afford the available entertainment facilities such as swimming, tennis, acting classes and much more.

I suggest that these facilities should be made affordable, not only in Kigali but also upcountry where people don’t have this kind of luxury. We also need to learn about our culture not only learning from our parents, but also from museums.

What I also think we need are summer camps that are not only organized by schools but also parents.

Not only do we need camps but also other sorts of entertainment such as movie theaters, parks with games, and much more. We need anything that can keep us busy, and away from anything that doesn’t help us in anyway. I would like to see more improvement in the entertainment sector not only fun, but also educational. TSM The author is a student at the Kigali International Community School (KICS) bellankubz@gmail.com

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HAVE YOUR SAY

Accueil enthousiaste: qualité majeure du service à la clientèle Par Eddie HEH

Le concept même de la fonction Combien de fois s’est-on retrouvé face à une personne qui se montre trop occupée et peu disposée à gérer nos attentes et nos réclamations?

Pourtant cette réaction affecte beaucoup la clientèle car elle démontre que le client est indésirable et qu’il ne mérite pas à ce qu’on lui parle correctement.

Il s’avère très nécessaire que les gens à l’accueil soient conscients qu’un bon accueil correspond souvent à la moitié de toute la demande. Imaginez une situation où vous vous présentez devant un bureau d’accueil et la personne en charge fait semblant de vous accueillir alors qu’elle continue de tripoter son portable ou d’appuyer sur les touches de son clavier. A cela s’ajoutent des réponses très courtes, parfois dites avec dédain, alors que votre demande nécessite plus d’explications. La situation s’aggrave encore si votre demande n’obtient suffisamment pas de bonne réponse.

Résultat ? Vous repartez avec cette pensée que vous n’avez pas la tête qu’il faut ou que vous ne remplissez pas tous les critères pour vous présenter à ce service. Pire, vous repartirez sans doute avec une mauvaise conception de toute la société et la seule idée qui vous restera en tête c’est qu’ils ont un très mauvais service. Concept qui restera gravé à jamais et que vous n’hésiterez pas à communiquer autour de vous.

Alors que si l’accueil avait été enthousiaste

vous auriez gardé une bonne image de cette société et vous en repartirez soulagés avec l’idée de revenir.

Rien qu’un sourire, une phrase, une attention Pour un bon accueil, il ne suffit pas que le premier mot soit toujours « en quoi puis-je vous aider ? » ou répéter des formules classiques. Ce qui compte

Si l’accueil avait été enthousiaste vous auriez gardé une bonne image de cette société et vous en repartirez soulagés avec l’idée de revenir.

réellement c’est savoir comment interagir avec vos clients, quel ton utiliser pour leur parler, comment se tenir devant eux et identifier leurs attentes.

Il est important que l’accueil soit introduit par une salutation et un mot de bienvenue : « Nous sommes contents de vous accueillir. Est-ce que l’on peut vous être utile ? » Autant d’expressions qui donnent l’impression que soit votre présence, soit votre personnalité, représente un intérêt pour l’entreprise, le magasin, etc. Et à votre départ, si elle se soucie de votre satisfaction : « J’espère que votre demande a été satisfaite. Si vous avez besoin d’un autre service, n’hésitez pas à revenir. », vous seriez ravis de revenir.

Un bon accueil ne demande pas trop d’énergie ou d’efforts, ce n’est même pas une perte de temps. Il suffit d’être attentif, courtois et être prêt à répondre à toutes les demandes. Quitte à le répéter plusieurs fois. Et enfin, et pas des moindres, exercez votre sourire envers les clients et laissez-vous guider par leurs attentes. TSM

PHOTOS: www.gettyimages.com

Q

ui reflète en premier l’image générale de l’entreprise ou du service ? La réponse est bien entendu : l’accueil ! Or, très souvent ce service ne correspond pratiquement pas à nos attentes. Tout simplement parce que parfois les personnes chargées de la réception n’ont pas cet esprit de l’accueil enthousiaste et ne se rendent pas compte de l’impact de leur travail sur le reste de l’entreprise.

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Kwita ku batugana neza kandi kuri gahunda

PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY Join us in empowering women entrepreneurs in Rwanda. Sponsor our Women Entrepreneurship section.

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B

imwe mu bikorwa mu kwita ku batugana bitangirana n’abakozi.

Ubonye uburyo umukozi arimo yakirwa biguha ishusho y’uwo munsi ikugaragariza uko uwo munsi uri burangire.

Ubwo buryo ni nko kuba umukozi yarahawe inshingano n’imirimo byo gukora n’ubufasha ahabwa n’umukoresha we. Ubwo buryo kandi bugendana n’uburyo habaho guhanahana amakuru kuva ku bakoresha bakuru kugeza ku bakozi bo hasi, ibi bituma umukozi akora agendeye kuri gahunda n’amategeko ngenga y’aho akora, birafasha kandi bituma akazi kagenda neza.

Ubwo buryo bukurikiwe no kwakira abakiriya neza ku itsinda ribishinzwe, bituma abakiriya boroherwa mu gihe baba basabwa gukurikiza gahunda runaka kugira ngo bahabwe serivisi. Gahunda na yo irafasha igihe abakiriya ari benshi kandi bagomba kuyikurikiza kugira ngo bahabwe serivisi nziza. Ibi bitera icyo bita Uwaje Mbere, Niwe Witabwaho Mbere. TSM

asimwaya3@yahoo.com

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WHERE WE HAVE BEEN

Our 3 Favourite Rwandan Business People

By Aaron Shapiro & Sam Whittemore

Innocent, from Green Hills Eco-Tours (0788219495). Innocent took a potentially nerve racking experience and created one of the most stress-free, enjoyable adventures of our lives. He organized all of our visas, arranged for exceptional guides, and seamlessly helped us cross the border.

When one of us had a problem with our CPGL visa, Innocent calmly and professionally talked with the border guards, effortlessly working through a situation that otherwise could have been fairly unpleasant. On another occasion when our gorilla trekking permits were stolen the day before we planned to visit the park, Innocent coordinated with park officials and RDB staff to resolve the issue. Despite us not having any form of ID (also stolen), nor any proof of purchase, Innocent was able to get replacement permits issued.

Everyone in Kigali has seen Sameer Hussein’s name printed on one of his offices or on the many TVS motorcycles that taxi people throughout the country. When the two of us approached a motoowning friend about buying bikes of our own, he couldn’t speak more highly of Sameer. For both of us, buying TVS GLX 125s was our first purchase as vehicle owners. Sameer walked us through the entire process. Never once getting impatient with our repetitive, nervous questions about a

process he goes through countless times a day. He was flexible about payment, trusting us and doing significantly more than we’d ever expect to make the process as easy for us as possible, even when it came at the expense of his own convenience. He was always available when we had any questions and somehow always made time for us even during his busiest days. When I ultimately decided to sell my bike, Sameer again walked me through the whole process, directly helping with negotiation and hand-over. The day I went into his office to meet the person I was selling to, a third party walked in and offered Sameer more money for my bike. His

minutes from Musanze, Tentia (0788816578) runs a humble bar-resto (no signage whatsoever) at a beautiful spot on the lake. Tentia greeted us with immense warmth and hospitality as we pitched our tent. She even cooked vegetables we had brought for the one vegetarian at no extra cost.

The unassuming minimalism of Tentia’s setup made us feel like we had our own private campsite in one of Rwanda’s most stunning locations. This place is truly a diamond in the rough, and our desire to see Tentia’s business succeed is the only thing that convinced us to write about it at the risk of letting too many people in on this best kept secret.

All we hope is that humble, respectful, and kind people like Innocent, Sameer, and Tentia are the ones forging the path on how to run businesses throughout the country.

PHOTOS: Aaron Shapiro & Sam Whittemore

T

oo infrequently do good business people get the praise they deserve. We are often quick to criticize and complain about the negative experiences we have with the service industry. However, during our last year in Rwanda, the two of us (young American NGO workers) have met three extraordinary business people and we want to make sure they get the praise they deserve. Not only as a public “thank you,” but also to publicize business role models with exceptionally admirable work ethic.

When the two of us decided to climb Nyiragongo volcano just outside of Goma, every one of our friends pointed us to the same tour guide:

response: “I’m sorry, Aaron, but even though this man is offering more money for the motorcycle, I already gave my word to your buyer that we agreed on the price.” My response: “I wouldn’t expect anything less honest and admirable from you.”

Finally, while we have had countless memorable experiences during our time in Rwanda, few compare to the utopian camping trip at Tentia’s bar on the shore of Lake Burera. About twenty

As we depart Rwanda we can’t help but reflect on the incredible direction this country is going in.

All we hope is that humble, respectful, and kind people like Innocent, Sameer, and Tentia are the ones forging the path on how to run businesses throughout the country. With utmost sincerity, thank you. TSM aashapiro@gmail.com

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Private Sector Federation

15th Expo most successful ever, more exhibition space needed

By Paul Ntambara

A

fter 14 days of frenzied business activity with young and old shoppers cramming the stalls and exhibitors showcasing and demonstrating their latest products, on August 8, curtains fell on the 15th Rwanda International Trade Fair (RITF) that attracted a record attendance.

Billed as the most successful Trade Fair ever by both local and international exhibitors, the fair attracted over 490 exhibitors from 20 countries including Rwanda the host. The handsomely attended fair attracted about 200,000 visitors with 80 per cent of the exhibitors attesting to have made satisfactory sales during the fair. The fair, in its duration, created employment opportunities for over 1,000 young people.

At the closing ceremony attended by exhibitors and other high ranking government officials and diplomats, Trade and Industry Minister Francois Kanimba remarked that through the trade fair Rwanda has showcased its productivity and potential in agriculture, ICT, trade, and other services to local and international visitors.

Kanimba called upon local and international investors who attended the trade fair to continue identifying opportunities for doing business in Rwanda.

“Rwanda has numerous emerging opportunities for local and international investors in the area of value adding industries for agricultural and livestock produce, Manufacturing and services,” he said.

The Minister noted that there was a remarkable upscale in the profile of exhibitors, product range, customer and innovation during the 15th RITF. Faustin Mbundu, the Chairman of the

Private Sector Federation noted that the cornerstone of the economic policy of Rwanda is a private sector-led investment in all facets of economic activity. He lauded government’s efforts in ensuring private sector participation in all government programs and plans.

Mbundu expressed his delight that a sizeable proportion of the products exhibited by industrialists and medium and small scale entrepreneurs at this year’s fair were mainly indigenous.

One of the major concerns raised by exhibitors during the 15th RITF was the limited exhibition space at the current trade fair grounds in Gikondo.

The PSF chairman noted that plans are underway to create more exhibition space so as to accommodate many more exhibitors during the 16th RITF. Exhibitors noted a remarkable improvement in the way the fair was organized. They hailed the high security provided by the Rwanda National Police that created a secure working environment.

Tom Mugira speaking on behalf of local exhibitors said that the fair provided an opportunity to advertise and sell products.

“Most importantly it was an opportunity to learn from our colleagues so as to improve in terms of quality and value addition.”

Mugira implored local exhibitors to attend trade fairs in other countries to show what Rwanda has to offer to the rest of the world. He requested for more exhibition space and facilitation to attend fairs outside the country.

John Tumwesigye, the representative of foreign exhibitors appreciated the hospitality shown to exhibitors during the two weeks of the fair.

Minister Francois Kanimba with officials from Bralirwa ltd the best overall exhibitor Trophies

“Rwanda has numerous emerging opportunities for local and international investors in the area of value adding industries for agricultural and livestock produce, Manufacturing and services,”

As is the tradition, the trade fair was crowned by the award of trophies to winners in the different categories. The panel considered a number of aspects in choosing the winners. These include: External appearance including promotional materials at the stand, internal arrangements and displays, design and layout and function of staff.

The panel of experts looked at relevance of displayed presentations, clarity of the messages, use of visual and audio com-

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Private Sector Federation

15th Expo most successful ever, more exhibition space needed munication tools, customer care, depth of knowledge of exhibitors, information dissemination, quality of products, availability of technical information of the products, quality marks, packaging, labeling and design as well as marketability, innovation, type of technology and creativity among others. Bralirwa Ltd was crowned Best Overall Exhibitor.

The winners 1. Retail and distribution a. 2nd Best Exhibitor : SIMBA SUPER MARKET b. Best Exhibitor : MOVIT 2. Handcraft a. 2nd Best Exhibitor : CELINO LTD b. Best Exhibitor : TWIFATANYE DECOR

L-R PSF Chairman Faustin Mbundu, PSF CEO Hannington Namara

3. Agri-business a. 2nd Best Exhibitor : SORWATHE b. Best Exhibitor : INYANGE INDUSTRIES 4. Hospitality a. 2nd Best Exhibitor : KARISIMBI RESTAURANT b. Best Exhibitor : BRASSERIE DES MILLE COLLINES 5. Financial Services a. 3rd Best Exhibitor: BANK OF KIGALI b. 2nd Best Exhibitor : ECOBANK RWANDA c. Best Exhibitor : EQUITY BANK RWANDA 6. ICT a. 2nd Best Exhibitor : SECURITY WORLD TECHNOLOGY b. Best Exhibitor : TIGO RWANDA 7. Manufacturing and Equipment a. 2nd Best Exhibitor : RAINBOW INTERNATIONAL b. Best Exhibitor : SULFO RWANDA INDUSTRIES 8. Best foreign exhibitor a. 4th Foreign Exhibitor : MADHVANI Group b. 3rd Foreign Exhibitor : FUBISUN c. 2nd Foreign Exhibitor : YVONNE EXCLUSIVE DESIGN d. Best Foreign Exhibitor : EISENKRAFTT 9. Best Foreign Country Exhibitor a. 5th Foreign Country Exhibitor :

MALAYSIA b. 4th Foreign Country Exhibitor : KENYA c. 3rd Foreign Country Exhibitor : GHANA d. 2nd Foreign Country Exhibitor : UGANDA e. Best Foreign Country Exhibitor : PAKISTAN 10. Best innovative Exhibitor

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Private Sector Federation

15th Expo most successful ever, more exhibition space needed a. 2nd Innovative Exhibitor : SAHSRA ELECTRONICS b. Best Innovative Exhibitor : EAST AFRICAN GRANITE INDUSTRIES 11. Customer Care Excellence awards a. 3rd runners up: RSSB b. 2nd runners up: UNILEVER c. Overall Winner: RBC 12. Best overall exhibitor a. 3rd Overall Exhibitor : RWANDAIR b. 2nd Overall Exhibitor : MTN RWANDACELL c. Best overall Exhibitor : BRALIRWA

Minister Kanimba hands over a trophy to MTN CEO Khaled Mikkawi good and from our side we surpassed I. STAKHOLDERS our targets. We had a special promo1. Rwanda National Police tion on handsets. We had on offer a 2. MINISTRY OF HEALTH special handset going for Rwf5000, 3. RRA we exceeded our targets, we actually doubled our sales. We will extend this Exhibitors speak promotion to our service centers. It is important to note that the exhibition Juliana Ruta from Tanzania space is becoming too small, we need Rwandans now understand the value bigger space. of the trade fair, there is a spirit of the EAC building, people appreciate the quality of our products but they are not willing to pay high prices, they want to buy on the cheap but on a whole we are comfortable with the way the fair went.

Local artiste King James entertains the guests

This year we brought in an aspect of Indian magic. People think that magic is bad which is not true. Indian magic is a game of the mind and trick of hands.

Allan Numa: MTN official in-charge of sponsorship and promotion This year’s trade fair was better than those held in the previous years, the organization and attendance was

We taught about 500people on these tricks with our stand attracting hunMunir Gagnani NM Marketing for- dreds of people not only for magic but merly known as FIDODIDO (Indi- also for ice cream. We plan to open up an exhibitors) an ice cream parlor in the city centre because of the interest we got from We are pioneers in the ice cream in- the public at the trade fair. dustry. I have participated in virtually all trade fairs in Rwanda and I can say Yusuf Beraguma, marketing reprethe level of security has always been sentative Bakhresa grain milling high and there was a marked improvement in the organization of the trade Our products were well received on fair. We are grateful to the Rwanda the market; our main objective was to National Police. showcase our products. We also made

good sales of our products especially our malt drinks which are new on the Rwanda market. We have plans to manufacture these products here in Rwanda.

SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS, SORWATHE LTD, BPR, EQUITY BANK RWANDA, SORAS GROUP SA, SONARWA SA , AMEKI COLOR, BANK OF KIGALI, RURA, MADHVANI GROUP, SULFO, RWANDAIR LIMITED, CAPITAL MARKET AUTHORITY, TIGO RWANDA, BCR, KOBIL , GOLD SPONSORS, EWSA, RBC, RSSB, NYIRANGARAMA, BRALIRWA, ECOBANK, PLATINUM& PARTNERS, MINICOM, RDB, MTN, MINEAC, ORINFOR, TMEA

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NEW SECTION

ICT

SOCIAL MEDIA to improve service delivery Kezio-Musoke David

... social media gets your brand name all over networks and creates a company image online. but can also, pitch products in a more human, interactive way. Since people visit social media sites to get personal rather than be bombarded with ads, companies can discuss businesses in a fun way and engage their customers with questions, opinions and entice them to respond. This way you’re making a valuable connection that will help grow your number of return customers.

The most important role of social media is increasing customer loyalty and trust. Not very many of Rwanda’s companies have utilized Facebook and Twitter to speak to customers. But using these avenues creates something personal

and makes clients feel like they are talking to a friend, not a company. This helps build their trust in you, which will make them do business with you rather than your competition.

So social media gets your brand name all over networks and creates a company image online.You can also feature your products.

Offer a promotion along with it for your online community members and you will probably watch your sales skyrocket.

The issue here is… one can’t really benefit from the advent of using Facebook and Twitter unless one has garnered enough numbers.

To create a fun online community that your customers will want to visit and boost brand loyalty is more than just registering an account on Facebook and Twitter, it more to do with attracting numbers. Companies need to invest in innovative minds, creativity and probably a dedicated human resource to achieve this. TSM The author is a Managing Partner with BeehiveRwanda a Corporate Communications firm.

His personal blog is www.kezio-musoke.com

ILLUSTRATION: Edward Merik Matovu

“I

n Rwanda we have registered almost over 700,000 on mobile Internet,” says the market regulator Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Agency (RURA). Despite this figure we are still yet to know the number of Rwandans using smart phones and those who simply use low-end phones with mobile data capabilities.

MTN Rwanda officials say that at least by July 2012, the company had recorded some 6,000 subscribers on Blackberry services alone.

This means that these are capable of downloading and carrying high-end social media plug-ins directly on their phones.

With readily available apps like Facebook and Twitter SMS, offered exclusively by some telecom players, Rwandan subscribers are no longer required to purchase specialized smart phones to access and utilize the social media, “on-the-go.”

Despite the staggering figures from RURA, ‘Socialbakers’, the most credible provider of daily updated Facebook statistics says Rwanda had attracted at least more than 148,000 Rwandans netizens on Facebook by last month.

This also means that probably some 600,000 who have access to mobile Internet are not yet been attracted or impressed to keep up with trends on social media, and yet Facebook and Twitter are just a click away. The question is: How much are Rwandan enterprises, corporate bodies and government institutions, et al leveraging on social media to improve service delivery?

Rwandan companies should not only follow their competitors on Twitter and Facebook

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ASK OUR LAWYER JOE NSANO:

Legal and Financial Consultant.

Further questions can be sent via email to: askourlawyer@theservicemag.com

Right of first refusal in real estate An international corporation has offered to rent some of my properties located in Kigali City, for a long term lease. Among the conditions they imposed me is to include a RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL in the lease agreement,

the landlord, you will not have the right to sell your properties to a third party without FIRST offering the tenant the opportunity to purchase them.

Recommended clauses to include in the lease agreement

clauses can I include to protect my owner’s rights?

We recommend you include the following clauses in the section related to the First Right of Refusal in long term lease agreement: You should determine a limitation in time for the Right of First Refusal after which the right expires and the landlord has no further obligation to the tenant.

You should not allow the right to be transferable, unless it benefits you to secure the lease contract.

In the case you propose to the tenant to exercise his Right of First Refusal, but is unable to

Right of First Refusal in Real Estate is a contractual right that gives to the tenant the option to purchase the building or shares in the ownership of the building, according to specified terms, before the landlord is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party.

As your potential tenant is proposing to include the Right of First Refusal in the lease agreement, it is indeed in most cases a contract right. As

complete the transaction, the right should be extinguished.You will then be free to sell to someone else.

Make sure you clearly specify deadlines, procedures and forms under which the offer and the acceptance will be made. Such as the notice of sale and the notice of acceptance should specify the content and periodicity.

This list of clauses is not exhaustive and given the long term relationship that you will have with the tenant, we recommend that you consult a business transaction lawyer for thorough analysis of your particular case, as most of First Right of Refusal suffer a high risk of dispute and litigation because they are anticipating future transactions and contingencies that are unknowable at the time of signing the lease agreement. TSM

PHOTO: www.gettyimages.com

Statut juridique des coopératives

Bonjour, nous sommes un groupe d´amis souhaitant développer un projet immobilier et nous avons entendu que la coopérative est le meilleur outil juridique pour ce type de projet.

Pourriez-vous développer cela ?

Le but des coopératives est d’aider les gens à travailler ensemble pour combiner leurs besoins et leurs aspirations communes.

Une coopérative est une entreprise fondée par un regroupement de personnes qui souhaitent satisfaire leurs besoins communs. Elle est détenue par ses membres qui en assument le contrôle démocratique

et utilisent ses services. Les coopératives naissent d’un principe commun selon lequel les personnes savent ce qui leur conviennent le mieux et peuvent collaborer ensemble à l’atteinte de leurs objectifs.

Il existe différents types de coopératives tels que le prescrit la loi : les sociétés coopératives de production, les sociétés coopératives de commercialisation et de consommation, les sociétés coopératives de services et les sociétés coopératives multifonctionnelles ou mixtes.

La principale information à retenir est que les coopératives sont des organisations fondées sur le volontariat et ouvertes à toutes les personnes aptes à utiliser leurs services. Il faut minimum 7 personnes pour fonder une coopérative.

Il existe toute une procédure administrative à suivre pour créer la personnalité juridique de la coopérative. Concernant l´organisation d´une société coopérative, elle requiert une Assemblée Générale, un Conseil d´Administration et un Conseil de Surveillance. Le fonctionnement de ces organes est repris dans les Statuts de la coopérative.

Selon la loi sur les coopératives « le capital

social d’une société coopérative est constitué de parts sociales souscrites et libérées par chacun des membres. Les statuts d’une société coopérative doivent indiquer le montant du Capital Social qui est déterminé par l’Assemblée Générale en fonction de l’objet de la coopérative » (loi n° 50/2007 du 18/09/2007).

Les membres contribuent de manière équitable au capital de leurs coopératives et en ont le contrôle.

Une partie au moins de ce capital est habituellement la propriété commune de la coopérative. Les membres ne bénéficient habituellement que d’une rémunération limitée du capital souscrit comme condition de leur adhésion. Les membres affectent les excédents à toute ou une partie des objectifs suivants: le développement de leur coopérative, éventuellement par la dotation de réserves dont une partie, au moins, est impartageable et le soutien d’autres activités approuvées par les membres.

Pour plus d´information, vous pouvez vous rendre au Rwanda Cooperative Agency ( R.C.A.), c´est le guichet central d’information et de service conseil pour les coopératives. TSM

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WHERE WE HAVE ASK OUR BEEN LAWYER KATIA MANIRAKIZA: Consultante Légale

Envoyez-nous vos questions légales à: askourlawyer@theservicemag.com

PHOTO: Sean Jones - www.thejonesexperience.com

Ni gute wamenya ko imibare y’isangiramutungo ku nyubako ibaze neza? Ninde uyikora?

A street in Kigali

Uburyo bwo kwishyuramo akenshi bibyara amakimbirane mw’isaranganyamutungo ku nyubako. Mu by’ukuri, biragoye kumenya niba agaciro k’umutungo karabazwe neza. Ariko ukurikije itegeko ku isaranganyamutungo ku nyubako, buri mufatanyabikorwa afite inshingano zo kugira icyo atanga ku mafaranga asabwa yakoreshejwe ku bice rusange, ibyasanwe, imiyoborere yabyo n’itunganywa ryabyo.

Ayo mafaranga asaranganywa mu bice bitatu: Amafaranga akenerwa ako kanya, amafaranga adasanzwe, amafaranga nkenerwa mu mirimo yihutirwa.

Amafaranga akenerwa ako kanya ni ayanditse ku ngengo y’imari y’agateganyo.

Agendana n’isana, n’imicungire y’ibikoresho: koza inzu, kwita ku busitani, imishahara y’abayitaho, amafaranga yo gutegura inama rusange,...

Aya mafaranga ava kuyo bashyingura buri gihembwe ku ngengo y’imari y’agateganyo iba yatowe Naho ku mafaranga adasanzwe, ntajya mu ngengo y’imari y’agateganyo.Yemezwa uko akenewe mu nama rusange, uko bibaye ngombwa.

Arebana n’imirimo irenze kwita ku nzu : Kuyishyiramo asanseri no kuyitaho, kuyishyiraho antene ya televiziyo…

Naho mu gihe cyihutirwa, ikigo gishinzwe gucunga isangiramutungo ku nyubako gishobora, gutangira, ntawe kigishije inama, gushyira mu bikorwa bijyanye no kurinda inyubako. Icyo gihe gishobora kubaza ba nyir’inyubako bagatanga amafaranga kugira ngo ibikorwa bikorwe, nta guhura kw’inama rusange.

Inshingano nyamukuru, zo gukurikirana amafaranga abasangiramutungo w’inyubako bagomba gutanga, zigaruka kuri cya kigo gishinzwe gucunga

inyubako. Uburangare ubwo aribwo bwose bw’iki kigo barabuhanirwa. Iki kigo gishyira mu bikorwa uburyo bwose bwemewe n’amategeko mu kwishyuza aya mafaranga.

Nyuma yo kwegera abasangiramutungo w’inyubako batujuje inshingano zabo, ikigo gishinzwe gucunga inyubako kiboherereza inyandiko yabugenewe.

Ikigo gicunga inyubako gisaba urukiko ngo rutegeke habeho kwishyura amafaranga aba yabaye itegeko, rwemeza, iyo bibaye ngombwa gufatira ku bwishyu bw’inyubako iyo ari inzu ikodeshwa.

Umusangiramutungo w’inyubako wahanwe aba ashobora gusaba kwishyura mu gihe runaka cyigiye inyuma ariko akazishyura inyungu k’ubw’ubukererwe. TSM

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PHOTOS: www.istockphoto.com

WHERE WE HAVE BEEN

If you have seen, imagine the number of people that have also been attracted to this space.

Think what it could bring to your business, institution if you used this space to draw attention to your products and services.

The Highs and Lows of Customer Service with EWSA my water supplier

By Simon Corden

We are the only business magazine in Rwanda published in 3 languages, with 5000 copies with an online issue, distributed throughtout the country .

Isn’t it worth advertising here?

I’ve had no mains water since moving house on 2 May (a month).

Occasionally, supply is available at 4am, which is inconvenient to say the least, but I have filled jerry cans at this hour in desperation.

I gave up calling the contact centre as I could never get an answer so resorted to Twitter to raise any queries! On several occasions I did get a response, asking me to be patient and call a range of mobile numbers to no avail. This morning - enough was enough.

I rang the mobile number given in a Tweet. I was greeted with “Hello”, and after a difficult conversation about where I lived was given another mobile number as “It’s not my area.” I rang it and got the same dull and uninterested response.

Why are these guys not required to at least say “Hello, good morning, EWSA how can I help you?”? And better still, take responsibility for any EWSA call regardless of their designated zone? After all they are the face of EWSA. While explaining my difficulties, I was interrupted in mid flow and told I would get a call back in 30 minutes. (This never happened by the way.)

Not good enough, so I called 3535 and had the ‘best’ customer experiences of all. After pressing 1 for English, I heard the voice of a desperately depressed, bored or tired operator who again managed to just about say “Hello”. Again I asked if I was speaking to EWSA, and the response was “I am fine.” Despite not answering my question, this was obviously so far from the truth I nearly laughed out loud.

Sadly, she could not help me at all and passed me to the supervisor.

Just what I wanted. A simple explanation of the problem affecting supply and a promise that the problem would be fixed later that day. I thanked the guy for his help, the information he had provided and the way he did it.

Perfect. Now train others Mr Supervisor! TSM simoncorden@me.com

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WHERE WE’VE BEEN

Gorillas Golf Hotel

Un coup de cœur nommé

A

vez-vous déjà été dans un endroit si joli qu’il aurait été égoïste de le savourer seule?

C’est exactement ce qui m’est arrivée cette semaine à Kigali. Et pourtant rien ne laissait présager d’une aussi heureuse découverte.

En ce mardi ensoleillé, mes copines et moi cherchions un endroit sympa pour nous retrouver.

Vient alors cette question classique, « qu’est-ce qu’il y a de nouveau à Kigali ? ». Dans le passé, la réponse à cette phrase me hantait car trop souvent j’en revenais désespérée par la qualité de service.

Tellement de déceptions qui m’ont conduite à y aller avec des pincettes quand il fallait découvrir le «neuf» de Kigali.

Après quelques discussions, direction le Gorilla Golf Hotel. Nous étions toutes curiosité de le

visiter et d’essayer son restaurant, avec toutefois une petite réserve. Mais cette appréhension s’envola bien vite car l’endroit est tout simplement magnifique!

Un cadre idyllique composé de couleurs sobres.

Dehors, le jardin appelle à un farniente au bord de la piscine.

Mais ce qui frappe le plus au Gorilla Golf Hotel, c’est ce petit souci du détail. On est bien loin du «à peu près » typiquement africain. Tout y est bien réfléchi : de l’agencement aux services offerts en passant par l’uniforme du personnel. Des détails pour certains mais une marque de l’esthétique pour d’autres.

Après avoir fait le tour du propriétaire, notre choix se porta sur une table à la terrasse et on décida de commander une bonne bouteille de vin.

Connaisseur ou pas, le serveur sût nous décrire chaque cru et nous conseilla sans aucune difficulté.

Curieuses comme nous sommes, on demanda si il était possible que le cuisinier vienne lui-même décrire sa carte et nous concocter ses meilleurs plats … Un vrai régal ! Le repas fût tout simplement somptueux.

Satisfaites à souhait, on était toutes d’avis à dire que, après le Serena Hotel, le Gorilla Golf Hotel est sans contexte le 2ème meilleur hôtel de Kigali. Surtout qu’il fait partie d’un groupe de quatre hôtels appartenant à un promoteur rwandais très reconnu dans le métier. Idéalement situé à Nyarutarama, le Gorilla Golf Hotel en séduira plus d’uns. Mais chut… je vous laisse le découvrir par vous-mêmes. TSM

PHOTOS: Gorillas Golf Hotel

Par Sandra Idossou

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RESTAURANT REVIEW

Lava Café, Ruhengeri

3.8/5

Shivani Suresh

W

hat better place is there to catch up with an old friend (whom you haven’t seen in more than 3 months) than a cosy coffee shop?

Lava Cafe is a stylish little coffee bar, attractively located, set amidst lush greenery in the Musanze district of Ruhengeri. It is just right off the beaten track, but within a walkable distance from the town’s commercial centre.

The grounds boast a large garden and a partially-covered airy patio. The interior scenery has a very earthy and homely feel to it due to its dark brick walls, soft lighting, mellow background music, cushy sofas and wooden tables – essentially putting you in your comfort groove. The decor is very tasteful and inspired by African retro and ‘avant garde’ colours.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for us), we went at a very unusual time, so there weren’t many diners in the house – just us and a jolly old British couple. Barely had we settled down on the plush maroon futons than we had our menus brought. As we were caught up in old time memories, we took long to order but the waiter was very patient and offered to come back in ‘5 minutes’ at least twice.

But ultimately, our parched throats put a temporary halt on those stories and made us turn to those menus. The options on the menu were decently diverse, with a variety of coffees, cakes and small snacks. Unfortunately, they do not seem to have everything on the menu. My friend’s initial request for hot ginger-lemon-honey tea had to be cancelled since they did not have any ginger in stock. We then requested the waiter to suggest a couple more hot-drink options, for which he consulted the menu and recommended the Espresso in the house. We then placed our orders: A White Chocolate Kawacchino, an Espresso and a plate of French fries.

We found that Lava Café did not have wi-fi running that day so this deterred this American couple who had come particularly for that. They turned around, disappointed, and went to look for it elsewhere. Lava Café, however, boasts an impressive, elegant, and well-stocked bar. The café counter also displays a wide range of breads and cakes that cause your mouth to water just by eye contact (oh well, maybe again we were just very hungry then!).

Our orders soon arrived. The French Fries were incredible - crunchy, perfectly browned,

impeccably salted and piping hot. They were accompanied by mayonnaise, chili sauce and a fresh salad dressing on the side. However, our coffees were just decent - slightly too watery for our liking, but I know some prefer their coffee that way so I guess it depends on your taste. Apart from that, it was made with freshly ground coffee, sugared just right and topped with liberal amounts of thick whipped cream - yum! The waiter kindly obliged to my friend’s request and generously added more whipped cream to her hot Espresso.

The bill arrived once we had finished our fries and coffee. The prices at Lava Café range from modest to quite high, but not expensive.

I would rate this experience a respectable 3.8/5 due to the good food, quick service and great ambiance at Lava Café, but we were still a little disappointed due to the lack of wi-fi that day and the fact that not everything on the menu was available. Lava café is an excellent option for small get-togethers between long lost friends, semicasual office party and the like, as well as candle-lit date nights. I plan to go back the next time I stop over at Musanze, Ruhengeri. TSM

PHOTOS: Shivani Suresh

good food quick servic e great ambia nce

shivanisuresh@yahoo.co.in

Look out for Shivani’s restaurant reviews in upcoming issues of The ServiceMag. 58 | The SERVICEMAG Sept - Nov 2012

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HARADEPOZA UWO MPAYE UBURENGANZIRA

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PICTORIAL

BCR Embarks On Regional Presence

O

n Sept 6th 2012, BCR celebrated becoming part of a regional conglomerate thereby gaining access to the markets within the East African Community and beyond. This has been made possible through an 80% equity buy out from Actis, of the Bank’s shareholding, by a consortium comprising I&M Bank - a Kenyan based bank, and 2 European Development Financial Institutions – DEG and Proparco

Corporate and Strategy Planning

Kalisa Armani

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PICTORIAL

BRD at 45!

B

RD celebrated its 45 years of its existence on 5th August 2012.

Over these years, the bank has impacted people in different ways and it has been on the cornerstone of the country’s growth and development. As part of the celebrations, BRD held a customer cocktail on the 24th August 2012 in appreciating them and celebrating this important milestone while building on its brand presence.”

Mboka par Ishyo Arts Centre

Q

ui suis-je, d’où je viens? Des questions du quotidien que Mboka aborde avec brio grâce à un jeu d’acteurs et de musique sans précédent à Kigali.

Accueilli par des applaudissements et quelques larmes, Mboka a fait le plein au cours de ses 3 jours de représentation. Pour Ishyo Arts Centre, c’est une réussite: parler du passé, vivre le présent et maintenant, envisager l’avenir aussi incertain soit-il.

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A VOTRE SERVICE

combattant pour la

CULTURE

Par Diana RAMAROHETRA

S

on nom fait référence à un sport de combat.

Mais même loin, très loin, des tatamis, Judo (de son vrai nom Kanobana Roman Judo) n’en est pas moins un combattant. A chaque jour, son combat mais toujours pour un but précis: celui de la promotion de l’art et de la culture au Rwanda.

Car si pour la majorité, art rime avec divertissement, il est avant tout une passion.

Passionné, Judo l’est sans aucun doute. « Au secondaire déjà, je participais aux rencontres de jeunes en aidant au niveau technique. Puis, au fur et à mesure, j’y ai pris goût et de formation en formation, je suis devenu Directeur technique du Centre d’échanges culturels franco-rwandais de l’époque. Puis, en 2008, avec des amis de la place, j’ai décidé de ré-ouvrir ma société d’événementiels spécialisée dans la promotion de la culture.»

Chaque visage que l’on touche, chaque étranger sur la route ...

Aujourd’hui, à la tête de Positive Productions, il lutte contre vents et marées, parfois même vers sa propre perte mais il garde espoir. «C’est souvent très difficile de se faire entendre en tant qu’opérateur culturel. C’est un domaine peu connu et qui ne répond pas aux normes budgétaires des entreprises privées et institutions publiques. Quand on est un artiste, les gens pensent que tout est forcément gratuit. Que ce

n’est que de l’amusement, sans se rendre compte de tout l’investissement personnel et financier qu’il y a derrière.»

Mais loin de se laisser impressionner, Judo, toujours souriant, continue inlassablement. « Il est vrai que nous avons plusieurs contraintes et les défis me permettent d’avancer. Mais j’aime l’adrénaline qui monte durant l’organisation des manifestations.

Pour être franc, lorsque je vois les spectateurs et les artistes ravis emportant avec eux une part de rêve, je suis tout simplement le plus heureux des hommes. » J’irai au bout de mes rêves ...

Car Judo, c’est aussi cela, un homme avec des rêves d’enfant plein les yeux. Aujourd’hui, ses rêves sont devenus réalité, à l’image de Kigali Up. « Comme le dit Popo Murigande, de qui est venue l’idée, tout est parti d’un rêve. Et même moi, je n’aurais jamais imaginé voir un Ismaël Lo venir à Kigali pour notre festival, ou la prestation du tout jeune Babou et Ikobe. Et pourtant … cela s’est concrétisé. » Et même si ses succès inspirent bon nombre de jeunes, les journées d’un opérateur culturel sont très loin d’être celles d’un guichetier de banque. « L’avantage dans ce métier c’est que les jours se suivent mais ne se ressemblent guère. Aujourd’hui n’est jamais hier et très souvent, on se retrouve à minuit à monter une scène quand il s’agit de gros concerts. Car, à part la scène, il faut faire le son, la lumière. Rien que pour monter une sonorisation professionnelle pour un spectacle de 200 personnes, il faut 3 heures pour des équipes rodées, c’est-à-dire un machino/ électro, un technicien son, un technicien plateau et un ingénieur.»

Un métier très technique et aussi très prenant où les nuits se transforment facilement en jour. Mais avec Judo aux commandes, tout se fait dans la joie et la bonne humeur. « Mes journées sont finalement chouettes car mes collègues, amis, famille et partenaires comme Minispoc, UNR, Ishyo, IFR, Kigaliup, Goethe, Isaano, Moriah, etc. me comprennent et m’aident beaucoup. »

Faut pas oublier, resté positif dans nos têtes Car c’est aussi ce qui prévaut dans les métiers de l’art et de la culture, la solidarité et la compréhension. Et même si parfois, ce monde reste incompris, il persiste des combattants comme Judo qui permettent à ces artistes musiciens, danseurs, chanteurs, slameurs, comédiens, stylistes, et bien, d’autres d’exister.

Et à tous ceux qui veulent suivre sa voie, il répond tout simplement : « Beaucoup observer, beaucoup rêver, risquer, travailler, lire et voyager.

Savoir écouter, aimer ce qu’on fait et le faire avec passion. Et surtout beaucoup prier. » Ainsi se termine cette rencontre avec un jeune homme incontournable. Car Judo c’est surtout deux simples syllabes qui aujourd’hui résonnent comme un écho d’espoir pour la culture au Rwanda. TSM diana@theservicemag.com

PHOTOS: Timothy Kisambira

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Time is money

Take initiative to give a prompt service.

Akirana urugwiro abakugana

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