the servicemag issue 18
DESCRIPTION
“Commitment means being loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you”.TRANSCRIPT
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ISSUE 18: JUNE - AUGUST 2014
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BANKING SECTOR ANALYSISGrowth Steps in Rwanda’s banking sector
Behind your every electronic transaction
3 ASTUCES POUR SERVIR LOYALEMENT LE CLIENT
WINNING AND KEEPING A MARKET
HATEGANYIJWE IBIHANO BIKOMEYE KU BACURUZI BATARAGURA IMASHINI ZA EBM
smartcash
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FOCUS STORY48. Banking Sector
NEWS08. News Briefs
ADVERTORIAL12.22.28.32.42.
One UNRz MannaRCAARwanda Stock ExchangeUAP Insurance
CUSTOMER SERVICE18.19.20.24.26.
3 astuces pour servir loyalement le clientLes attitudes à developper pour une bonne relation clientLes moyens à mettre en oeuvre pour gérer la relation clientTen commandments of exceptional customer careHonest Communication in Service
SALES AND MARKETING30.
34.40.
Ugomba gusobanura ibyo ucuruza kandi ukabimenyesha abandi Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsWinning and keeping a market
HAVE YOUR SAY60. They wowed us
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT44. U Rwanda rwiteguye kwakira neza abashyitsi bazitabira
inama ya AfDB
ICT31.46.48.
Ibihano kuri EBMUnderstanding Internet-based financingThe Cloud
36. Rswitch-behind your every electronictransactions
COVER STORY
PLUS
16.52.53.56.58.61.62.
Hospitality PerspectiveAsk our LawyerYour well being mattersFashionPictorialTravel reviewAt your service
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6162
3153
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pg54
FOCUS STORY48. Banking Sector
NEWS08. News Briefs
ADVERTORIAL12.22.28.32.42.
One UNRz MannaRCAARwanda Stock ExchangeUAP Insurance
CUSTOMER SERVICE18.19.20.24.26.
3 astuces pour servir loyalement le clientLes attitudes à developper pour une bonne relation clientLes moyens à mettre en oeuvre pour gérer la relation clientTen commandments of exceptional customer careHonest Communication in Service
SALES AND MARKETING30.
34.40.
Ugomba gusobanura ibyo ucuruza kandi ukabimenyesha abandi Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsWinning and keeping a market
HAVE YOUR SAY60. They wowed us
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT44. U Rwanda rwiteguye kwakira neza abashyitsi bazitabira
inama ya AfDB
ICT31.46.48.
Ibihano kuri EBMUnderstanding Internet-based financingThe Cloud
36. Rswitch-behind your every electronictransactions
COVER STORY
PLUS
16.52.53.56.58.61.62.
Hospitality PerspectiveAsk our LawyerYour well being mattersFashionPictorialTravel reviewAt your service
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56
6162
3153
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Publisher's Note
“Commitment means being loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you”.
Recently, I read this quote and found it so profound that I wished I could share it with people I deal with on a daily basis. This is simply because we seem to live in an age where many are not trustworthy any more. Whether in business or in personal matters, many have lost the essence of being reliable.
Do your respect your commitments? Can your word be trusted? Can your clients trust you to keep the promises you make on your advertising outlets?
It is so sad that this trait of trustworthiness is disappearing in our modern times. Many do not understand that making commitments is an act of agreement. When you do not honour the commitments you make to yourself, your friends, family, colleagues, customers or community, you simply destroy your credibility and this generates mistrust.
In my short working experience, keeping commitments, no matter how insig-nificant they are is what allows me to look at myself in the mirror with a certain amount of self-respect every morning.
It is true that sometimes, unforeseen events make it impossible for us to honour all our commitments but when these happen, it is the way we handle those situations that matter. You will also need to be self-disciplined and make sure you try your best to fix things that do not work out properly.
Talking about sticking to commitments, we are very proud to feature RSwitch as our cover story. Their commitment to offer e-payment systems in Rwanda through innovative technology is a national pride. With a young and dynamic team, RSwitch has tremendously improved its services since its rebrand and is effortlessly committed to enable reliable electronic payment solutions.
We are also extremely happy to bring you an issue compiled with our new team and we hope you will appreciate their creativity. Enjoy our 64 pages and kindly share with people around you. We will be very happy to hear from you on this new issue.
As we all strive to improve ourselves, our services and our country, let’s keep in mind that the day we stop being loyal to our own promises; and accept it as nor-mal; that is the day of our downfall.
As Jean-Paul Sartre says, Commitment is an act, not a word.
Enjoy the reading.
PublisherSandra Idossou: [email protected]
Managing EditorMarie-Ange Rukundo: [email protected]
Online Editor:Simon Corden: [email protected]
Design & Layout:Continet Designs Ltd: [email protected]
English Editor:Aryantungyisa Otiti: [email protected]
Kinyarwanda Editor:Gaspard Habarurema: [email protected]
French Editor:Diana Ramarohetra: [email protected]
Marketing Consultants:Bea Umwiza: +250 788 781 562
Eva Gara: +250 782 029 803
Photography:[email protected]
Contributors:Jerry Were, Bonnie Kim, FaustinNiyigena, Gandonou S. Marcelin, GodefroidGatamba, PeninahGathoni, Gloria Iribagiza, Sarah Hall, DrRachnaPande, Efua Hagan, AngeGasangwa, Olivier Biraro, John Kageche, Robert Nsinga, Denise Umunyana, Katia Manirakiza, Simon Corden, Sandra Idossou, Marie-Ange Rukundo.
The following organizations supported us in producing this issue:RSwitch, RwandAir, Mille Collines, AfDB, Nyungwe Forest Lodge, Rwanda Stock Exchange, Rz MANNA, MTN, Bralirwa, Akagera Business Group, AF Link, Living in Kigali, IGIHE, UAP, Akagera Aviation, Airtel, UN Rwanda, Serena Hotels, RDB, Promota Creations, RCAA.
Disclaimer:The opinions, articles and photos in The Servicemag & The Servicemag On-line do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, publishers or their agents.
While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy in preparing this magazine, The ServiceMag assuems no responsibility in effects risen therefrom and cannot accept responsibility for accidental loss of errors in articles and pictures.
The ServiceMag RwandaTel: +250 788 781 562
email: [email protected]@theservicemag.com
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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
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Publisher's Note
Legacy of hospitality
+250 788192000 | [email protected] | www.millecollines.net
European Traditions
Enjoy fascinating views from the top of Kigali and remarkable hospitality at the legendary hotel of Rwanda. Indulge yourself in culinary experiences from casual to fine dining, from international to signature dishes, accompanied by entertaining live music.
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Please submit your comments and suggestions at [email protected] Ese mwakunze inyandiko tubagezaho? Turabasaba ngo muduhe ibitekerezo
kuri [email protected]
As a Kenyan living in Rwanda from 2007 to 2010, I must commend the efforts of Sandra and her team at Service Mag for addressing the very important aspect of service delivery. It is now three years since I was last in Rwanda, I am immensely gratified to see that Sandra and her friends have not only kept at it but
have found new ways to help improve the service stan-dards in the little hilly country that I fell in love with
seven years ago.
Lloyd
J’ai beaucoup aimé le dernier numéro surtout la partie sur le Burundi.
Etant une rwandaise qui n’a jamais visité ce pays voisin, ça m’a vraiment donné l’envie d’y aller et de découvrir Bujumbura. Et j’ai aussi remarqué que le magazine a changé de look ... Cela vous donne une apparence plus
professionnelle.
JanetServiceMag ni kinyamakuru nkunda kandi mpora nifuza
gusoma. Gituma njewe nk’umuguzi menya amakuru y’aba-curuzi hanze aha, ndetse ngikangurira twese nk’abatanga
serivisi Kunoza serivisi dutanga no kunoza umubano n’abandi bantu
badukeneraho service. Icyanshimishije cyane ni urubuga baherutse kuduha ngo dutore abantu batanga serivisi neza
twishimiye n’abandi tunenga. Kuri jye numvise ko ijwi ryanjye ryumvikanye hanze kubantu bose bampa serivisi.
Nizeye ko ingaruka izaba nziza.
Emily
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Please submit your comments and suggestions at [email protected] Ese mwakunze inyandiko tubagezaho? Turabasaba ngo muduhe ibitekerezo
kuri [email protected]
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MTN Rwanda was announced as the winner in the Education Support category as well as the Overall Winner at the Corporate Social Responsibility Awards that took place on March 27th at Kigali Serena Hotel.
MTN Rwanda wins CSR Awards
T he award ceremony, the � rst of its kind in Rwanda, was aimed at recognising and appreciating the voluntary works of private companies working in Rwanda that have shown care and
support to the poor and vulnerable communities.Companies were recognised and awarded based on the areas below;
1. Health care support to the community 2. Education support 3. Poverty Eradication 4. Innovations 5. Environmental Protection 6. Marketplace and Stakeholder relations
Ebenezer Asante, CEO of MTN Rwanda said, “Improving society and the environment is an integral part of good business practices. We are honoured to have been recognised at such a prestigious event for our Corporate Social Responsibility e� orts.”The guest of honour Minister of Natural Resources Stanislas Kamanzi, congratulated MTN on its great achievement and continuous e� orts to enrich the community, especially in the area of Education.
MTN Foundation was established in February 2010 and is managed by an external board who are all Rwandans. The Foundation supports initiatives in Education, Health and Economic Empowerment and has spent close to half a billion Rwandan Francs in CSR activities to-date, with 1 percent of MTN’s annual proceeds going to support the community.
MTN Sta� & CEO at the award ceremony.
Minister Stanislas Kamanzi (Right) handing Overall CSR Winner Award to MTN CEO, Ebenezer Asante.
MTN Foundation Manager, Yvonne Mubiligi with CEO after receiving Best Education Support Award.
The panel of judges look on as companies showcase their CSR activities.
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TSM launched in Bujumbura
March 25, 2014 marked the 4th anniversary of The ServiceMag and it was cele-brated with the launch of The Service Mag Burundi Issue. Our 17th issue with a special Focus on Burundi was unveiled at Roca Golf Hotel at an evening cocktail and warmly received by the 100+ guests in attendance.
Sticking to the traditional TSM style, the evening had an informative segment, audience testimonies + Q&A. Guests had the opportunity to network as they were serenaded by local jazz band Mutcho Trio.
Ms Geek Rwanda Competition
The first of its kind in Rwanda, ICT competition exclusive to ladies took place on International Women’s Day March 8th 2014 at Lemigo Hotel. The event organized by the professional network, Girls in ICT Rwanda, was designed to encourage female university students to consider ICT as a career option. Participants were to submit a project idea in ICT that they would like to see implemented. Submissions were narrowed down to Top 5 and winners were chosen by a panel of judges and revealed at an official ceremony.
Milicom and Tigo present: “ThINK”
On the last day of March, Millicom&Tigo launched “ThINK”, a tech in-cubator whose objective is to stimulate innovation by giving the best possible start to the most innovative entrepreneurs and their businesses. This will be achieved by giving high potential entrepreneurs -selected through a compet-itive process - what Tigo calls “the unfair advantage”, that is seed financing, structured training, coaching programmes and support in tapping into interna-tional markets and investors. Interested applicants can visit www.think.rw for more information.
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WAKA Fitness Opens
Located in the heart of Kimihurura, WAKA Fitness is a bright, open-space con-cept and trendy fitness facility that will make all gym lovers rave. Business partners, Dydbal and Craigwell-Graham, say they have created a space that is a home away from home, with edgy designsbut that people will still be able to relate to. Its chosen name Waka, which means to ignite in Swahili inspires to do just that, instill that fire in members that will encourage them to live with ambition through individualized fitness routines/programs. Waka seeks to become the premier upscale fitness club in Africa with plans to expand business on the continent.
Samsung unveils Galaxy S5
The new Galaxy S5 offering consumers a refined experience through innovation of the essential features: design, camera, connectivity, fitness and protection was official-ly launched by Samsung East Africa Ltd in Nairobi on April 10. “With the Galaxy S5, Samsung is going back to basics to focus on deliveringthe capabilities that matter most to our consumers,” said Mr. Robert Ngeru, VP and COO of Samsung East Africa Ltd. “Consumers are looking for mobile tools that inspire and support them as they improve their everyday lives. The Galaxy S5 represents an iconic design with essential and useful features to focus ondelivering the ultimate Smartphone on the market today through people inspired innovation.” The device is available through Akagera Electronics, the exclusive distributor of Samsung in Rwanda.
Serena Kigali holds Lobster- Ink award ceremony
More than 40 staff of Serena Kigali who completed the first phase of hospitality training were on April 18th awarded certificates by the MD of the hotel Mr. Charles Muia. The training was carried out by South African firm Lobster Ink and English language skills courtesy of British Council and Green Hills Academy. The two-year technical assistance program launched in May 2013 is meant to strengthen the skills of members in the hospitality sector. The awarding ceremony was hosted by HR manager and attended by Serena Hotels Africa delegates as well as Guest of Honor, Mr Bart Gasana, Chairman of Tourism Chamber.
IHS Africa acquires MTN Towers
Following an announcement in December 2013, Telecommunication giant, IHS Group made its partnership with MTN Rwanda official by signing acquisition of MTN towers on 30 April. This strategic move is expected to improve the main-tenance and output of the towers so that MTN can focus on delivering optimal service to its clients. As MTN Acting CEO Patrick Uwizeye informed the guests at the celebratory evening reception, IHS Group is already widely active in many parts of Africa and is expected to be as efficient in Rwanda. This new partnership will be mutually beneficial and should benefit the consumers as well.
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2013 a célébré le cinquantenaire de l'ancêtre de l'Union africaine, l'Organisation de l'unité africaine.
2013 a également vu naître l’ « Agenda 2063 » – une vision de l'Afrique dans 50 ans.
En 2014, au moment où elle célèbre son 50e anni-versaire, la Banque africaine de développement, lorsde ses assemblées annuelles à Kigali, posera à sespays membres une question d’importance :
Comment réaliser la vision de l'Agenda 2063 : « une Afrique intégrée, centrée sur l’humain, prospère,et en paix avec elle-même » ?
D'abord, par la gestion des facteurs de changement –la structure changeante des marchés mondiaux et des flux financiers, les nouvelles technologies, le changement climatique, l'urbanisation, lesmigrations.
Deuxièmement, en mettant l'accent sur le leadership,l'intégration régionale, l'emploi, et les pays touchéspar les conflits.
L’objectif est ambitieux : une croissance soutenue et partagée par tous.
Participez au débat à Kigali du 19 au 23 mai 2014,vous avez votre mot à dire sur la façon d'y parvenir :
facebook.com/AfDBGroup@AfDB_Group – #afdbam2014
« L’Afrique que nous voulons »
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2013 a célébré le cinquantenaire de l'ancêtre de l'Union africaine, l'Organisation de l'unité africaine.
2013 a également vu naître l’ « Agenda 2063 » – une vision de l'Afrique dans 50 ans.
En 2014, au moment où elle célèbre son 50e anni-versaire, la Banque africaine de développement, lorsde ses assemblées annuelles à Kigali, posera à sespays membres une question d’importance :
Comment réaliser la vision de l'Agenda 2063 : « une Afrique intégrée, centrée sur l’humain, prospère,et en paix avec elle-même » ?
D'abord, par la gestion des facteurs de changement –la structure changeante des marchés mondiaux et des flux financiers, les nouvelles technologies, le changement climatique, l'urbanisation, lesmigrations.
Deuxièmement, en mettant l'accent sur le leadership,l'intégration régionale, l'emploi, et les pays touchéspar les conflits.
L’objectif est ambitieux : une croissance soutenue et partagée par tous.
Participez au débat à Kigali du 19 au 23 mai 2014,vous avez votre mot à dire sur la façon d'y parvenir :
facebook.com/AfDBGroup@AfDB_Group – #afdbam2014
« L’Afrique que nous voulons »
www.afdb.org • www.afdb.tv© A
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2013 saw the 50th anniversary of the forerunner of the African Union, the Organisation for AfricanUnity.
It also saw the development of Agenda 2063 – a vision of Africa in 50 years’ time.
As the African Development Bank celebrates its own 50th anniversary in 2014, its AnnualMeetings in Kigali will ask its member countries a big question.
How can it – and they – realise the Agenda 2063 vision of ‘an integrated, people-centered,prosperous Africa, at peace with itself’ ?
First, by managing the drivers of change – the changing structure of global markets andfinancial flows, new technologies, climatechange, ur baniza tion, migration.
Second, by focusing on leadership, regionalintegration, jobs – and countries affected by conflict.
The goal is strong, shared and sustained growth.
Join the debate on Facebook and Twitter in Kigalifrom 19 to 23 May 2014. Have your say.
facebook.com/AfDBGroup@AfDB_Group – #afdbam2014
“The Africa We Want”
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Rwanda is On Track to Meeting AlmostAll the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)Why this has very positive demonstration e�ects for the rest of Africa.
by Lamin M. Manneh(United Nations Resident Coordinator in Rwanda)
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1. Introduction
The deadline agreed upon by the world leaders at the now famous Millennium Summit in September 2000 for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is exactly 18 months away from this month, June 2014. At the incoming Septem-ber 2014 UN General Assembly, the current crop of the world’s leaders, many of whom were present at the 2000 Millennium Summit where the MDGs were adopted, and an army of policy makers, analysts, representatives of the non-governmental organizations,youth and women’s organizations, foundations and the private sector, would be presented with the updated balance scorecard on the progress made globally, regionally and nationally towards the attainment of the MDGs. Rwanda’s leaders at the Summit may be among the few who could hold their heads high when this balance scorecard is presented.All the available statistics on the MDGs indicate that Rwanda is among the very fewcountries in the African continent that are on track to meeting virtually all the MDGs,come end-2015.
Certainly, with its relative paucity of natural resources, combined with the serious development challenges the country faced in the post-Genocide period, it cannot be denied that there is a lot that couldbe learnt from Rwanda’s very positive record with respect to progress towards MDGs.Before proceeding to setting out such lessons, it is useful to address the important question that many people have asked in the past, and continue to ask even today, about all the global focus on the MDGs. Undoubtedly, since the MDGs burst into the international development discourse scene in September 2000, with virtually no prior warning to the majority of the people around the world, it has been among the most widely known and used acronym in development cooperation. Some observers went as far as to dismiss MDGs as another “UN thing” or yet another devel-opment fad that would momentarily fade away, to be replaced by another one.Looking back over the past 14 years at the way MDGs have molded national development policy discussions as well as international development cooperation, it is evident that the Goals signified much more than another passing fad.
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Rwanda is On Track to Meeting AlmostAll the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)Why this has very positive demonstration e�ects for the rest of Africa.
by Lamin M. Manneh(United Nations Resident Coordinator in Rwanda)
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Table 1 Africa’s MDG Performance at a Glance, 2013
Goal Status Best performing countries, selected targets and indicators
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty
and hunger
Off-track
Target 1A: Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Morocco, Tunisia Target 1B: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Togo, Zimbabwe Target 1C: Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, South Africa, Tunisia
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
On-track Indicator 2.1: Algeria, Egypt, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe Indicator 2.2: Ghana, Morocco, Tanzania, Zambia
Goal 3: Promote Gender equality and empower women
On-track Indicator 3.1: The Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe Indicator 3.2: Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa Indicator 3.3: Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Off-track Indicators 4.1 and 4.2: Egypt, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tunisia
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Off-track Target 5A: Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritius, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tunisia Target 5B: Egypt, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Rwanda, SouthAfrica, Swaziland
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases
On-track
Target 6A: Côte d’Ivoire, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe Target 6B: Botswana, Comoros, Namibia, Rwanda Target 6C: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Libya Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan, Tunisia
Goal 7: Ensure environmental
sustainability
Off-track Target 7A: Egypt, Gabon, Morocco, Nigeria Target 7C: Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland, Rwanda
Goal 8: Global partnership for development
Off-track Target 8F: Kenya, Libya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia
Source: Africa MDG Report, 2013, AU, AfDB, UNECA and UNDP
2. Progress Towards MDGs in Rwanda
As it is evident from this Table, Rwanda is on track to meeting almost all the MDGs in 2015. In fact, Rwanda is among only five African countries that are set to achieve this “feat”.The one Goal that is presenting it with challenges is MDG 1. Presently, the country is making concerted efforts to meet that Goal also by 2015. Analysing the factors behind Rwanda’s remarkable success in making rapid progress towards MDGs is useful for the other African countries and for the country itself, especially in the context of the Post-2015 Development agenda formula-tion and implementation.
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FACTORS BEHIND RWANDA’S SUCCESS IN PROGRESSING TOWARDS MDGS
. Taking seriously the commitment made at the September 2000 Millennium Summit: in the immediate post-Millennium Sum-mit, MDGs were seen in most African countries as yet another development fad or another “UN Thing”, leading to insufficient sensitization of the public administrations and populations when the leaders returned home from New York. In contrast, Rwanda took its commitment rather seriously and proceeded immediately towards taking measures for adequate sensitization of the key stakeholders, mass mobilization as important first steps towards putting into effect its commitment at the Summit.
. Integrating the implementation of the MDGs, targets and indicators in its Vision for sustained recovery and long-term devel-opment, accelerated poverty reduction and transformation: not only were a significant number of African countries tentative about owning up to the commitment they made at the Millennium Summit, but they were also very slow in integrating the MDGs in their development and poverty reduction programmes. In the year of the Summit, Rwanda launched its Vision 2020, which set the framework for the country’s transformation into a middle income status by 2020. Since then the translation of the Vision 2020 has been done through a series of medium-term development and poverty reduction programmes: IPRSP, 2000 – 2002; PRSP, 2002 – 2005; EDPRS I, 2008 – 2012; EDPRS II, 2013 – 2018. All of these strategies placed strong emphasis on poverty reduction and increasingly mainstreamed MDGs in their policies and strategies as well as results and resources frameworks.
. Putting in place supporting pro-poor macroeconomic and sectoral policies and the active use of the fiscal space instruments: Rwanda has placed explicit emphasis on the supporting macroeconomic and sectoral policies in its above-cited medium-term economic development and poverty reduction programmes and the active use of the accompanying pro-poor fiscal, monetary and structural instruments for stepping up progress towards the MDGs;
. Expanded use of social protection: The active use of social protection to reinforce poverty and vulnerabilities reduction also contributed to the measurable progress towards MDGs. The social protection schemes focused mainly on cash transfers to the extremely poor households, paid labour- intensive works and facilitation of credit access for the rural poor.
. Active policy innovation and utilization of home-grown solutions:the above conventional pro-poor policy instruments were also actively complemented or substituted by policy innovations based on home-grown solutions, especially for accelerating poverty re-duction and improvement of public health services. Notable among them are Umurenge Programme (VUP), Onecow per family, Cup of milk per child, school feeding programme, mutuelle de santé and extensive use of community health workers.
. Particular emphasis on the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women:Rwanda has made great progress in the promotion of gender equality, economic empowerment of women and combatting gender-based violence. The Constitution was 14
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used for addressing the underlying entrenched disadvantages facing women, through for instance, allocating 30% of the parlia-mentary seats to women, abolishing laws discriminating against women, promoting special programmes for the economic empow-erment of women and bolstering institutions, such as the Gender Monitoring Office, for sustaining advocacy and institutional support for the promotion of the gender equality agenda.
. Active use of modern technologies for addressing child and maternal mortality: the use of rapid SMS, innovative vaccination methods and performance- based financing of health services have made tremendous contributions to the measurable reductions in infant and maternal mortality attained.
. Aid effectiveness and building innovative partnerships with the development partners and concerted reforms in the business environment: policies and reforms in these areas have facilitated the attainment of MDG 8 as are active promotion of ICT for development.
3. Conclusions and Recommendations
Undoubtedly, the 2000 Millennium Summit and the attendant Millennium Declaration and the MDGs did galvanize the world leaders and people in the fight against poverty and the related problems at the outset of the 21st Century. Although MDGs were a modest set of development objectives in the eyes of many observers and analysts, there can be no denying that they have impacted significantly on poverty and human development as well asglobal partnership.
However, the potentially important impact of MDGs has not been fully realised and will not be by the 2015 deadline for meeting them. We do agree with President Kagame when he noted that MDGs should not be seen as the “ceiling”, because indeed they are modest compared to Africa’s levels of poverty and transformational agenda. But if even these modest goals cannot be met by the majority of African countries, there is need for deep soul searching as to why this is the case.
In our view, this is attributable to following factors:
Advocacy for broad national ownership of MDGs was slow to pick momentum in the immediate post-Millennium Sum-mit years, hence absence in most countries of pressure on the executives to maintain high level political commitment to meeting the MDGs.
Up to 2005, both the UN and the Academic Community were also slow in providing a consistent and rigorous analytical framework for MDGs.
Mainstreaming of MDGs that would have promoted their translation from a global agenda into operational national action plans was not consistently and rigorously applied by most countries.
Funding from both domestic and external sources had not been adequate or well targeted.
However, in a few countries like Rwanda,where MDG mainstreaming has been pursued with rigour and consistency and at the earliest possible stages of the post- Millennium Summit period, progress towards MDGs has been remarkable. The valuable lessons that could be drawn from Rwanda’s experience are comprehensively set out above. These lessons are not only relevant to the other African countries but to the on-going formulation processes of the Post-2015 global development agenda and its subsequent implementation.
Despite the country’s impressive MDG performance, Rwan-da’s leaders have cautioned against complacency. Indeed, with its ambitions development and transformational agenda over the next five years, there cannot be any room for complacency. The country should, as it intends to, leverage the strong foun-dations the progress it has made towards MDGs have laid for the transformation of its economy and society. In this regard, it is highly recommended that Rwanda continues to play an active leadership role in the shaping of the Post-2015 glob-al development agenda and what should be its accompanying implementation mechanisms. TSM
“Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the UN.”
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Role of leadersin creating a vision for the teamby Jerry O. Were
HOSPITALITY PERSPECTIVE
Business owners/managers will experience success in team build-ing and in their business to the extent which they have clearly defined and articulated organizational mission and vision.
As the team leader, you must find a way to mesh the business’s mission, vision, values and goals tightly into those of each individual so that in achieving individual goals and vi-sions, business goals and visions are also achieved. Once the mission and the vision has been fully appreciated and owned by the team, the following 8 step approach could have a great impact in helping the team realize its mission and vision.
1. INSTILL THE FOUR Cs
• Commitment: The team leader must live the mission and guide the whole team to do the same.
• Cooperation: The whole must become greater than the sum of the parts.
• Communication: provide all necessary information, and let the team members know
that it is okay to ask for infor-mation and to share data with each other, fellow workers, and sometimes even custom-ers.
• Contribution: participation is not optional in a teamwork situation. You must require and support it.
2. MOTIVATE THE TEAM
People do exactly what you reward them for doing. Reward the individ-ual members and the team for the re-sults you really want.
3. PROVIDE MEANING
Every individual member and the team as a whole, needs to feel that they are making a difference; that their work means something to them and to others. Discover what that meaning is and magnify it. Let them clearly see the value of what they are doing and why it matters.
4. SHOW THE RESULTS
Teams need to feel a sense of accom-plishment; they need to see the end result of a project. Assign your teams whole tasks and let them carry out tasks from start to finish. And make sure others know about the finished product and its importance. That will help team members feel the accom-plishment of completing something significant.
5. TRAIN WITHOUT LIMITS
Training is a necessary ingredient for team success and needs to be provided
for all using videotapes, audiotapes, seminars, books, and professional trainers. Keep everyone engaged in learning. Any voluntary expansion of their abilities is a good thing for your organization.
6. CHALLENGE THEM
Team members need you to challenge them to learn, grow, develop and im-prove and to believe in them. Once you issue the challenge, you must confidently assure them that you have faith in them. But always keep an open door and encourage the team to come to you when they feel ill-equipped to handle a problem.
7. EMPOWER THE TEAM
Give full control to the team— re-sponsibility, authority, and account-ability. This means full delegation. Don’t look over members’ shoulders, and don’t ask them to explain every decision and every action. Outline their boundaries—budget, timetable, scope of responsibility, and authori-ty then let them carry the ball. Meet with them at agreed-upon times, and keep your door open in case they need to call on you. Other than that, get out of the way and let them impress you.
8. GIVE RESPECT
When they rise to the challenge and accomplish something truly outstand-ing, show your appreciation for their efforts, and reward the team accord-ingly. Let them see the respect you have for their significant accomplish-ments, and make certain others see it as well. TSM
The writer works as General Manager, Nyun-gwe Forest Lodge-Rwanda
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Role of leadersin creating a vision for the teamby Jerry O. Were
HOSPITALITY PERSPECTIVE
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Les attitudes à développer pour une bonne relation-client Par Godefroid Gatamba
CUSTOMER SERVICE
3 astuces pour servirroyalement le client
“Seul le client est capable de renvoyer tout le
monde du PDG au planton et aller dépenser tranquillement
son argent ailleurs” Sam WALTON.
Par Marcellin Gandonou
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Il y a une grande différence entre le service à la clientèle et la livraison du produit à la clientèle. La technique n’est pas la première chose dont on a besoin pour faire du service à la clientèle. Les meilleurs n’ont pas forcément besoin de Master. Les chinois disent que celui qui ne sait pas sourire ne doit pas ou-vrir boutique. Par conséquent le service à la clientèle demande une disposition mentale précise, la technicité et la com-pétence viennent ensuite s’ajouter. Voy-ons ensemble les différents aspects d’un service à la clientèle.
1. Aspect émotionnel de l’insatisfactionVous remarquerez que la plupart du temps quand les clients ne sont pas satisfaits ils râlent, ils crient et veulent rallier les autres clients à leur cause. Les clients sont d’abord émotionnel-lement atteints avant de régler leurs problèmes. Je faisais une formation sur ce thème à Etisalat Togo(Moov) et une des participantes à fait un témoignage. Un douanier en poste au Nord du pays voyait ses appels facturés à l’interna-tional. Agacé, il va à l’agence en tenue, avec son arme, en traitant les chargés de clientèles de voleurs. Après enquête, ils se sont rendus compte qu’étant à la frontière, son compte était débité com-me étant en roaming. Quand un client est énervé, il faut d’abord lui donner raison, parce qu’il observe un écart en-tre ce qu’on lui a promis et ce qu’il a effectivement. Vous devez comprendre son sentiment d’insatisfaction sinon vous aurez un dialogue de sourd. C’est la méthode du verre plein. Lorsqu’un verre est plein, une seule goutte le fera déborder. Il faut d’abord vider le verre avant de pouvoir verser quelque chose.
C’est exactement la même chose avec un client énervé. Il a besoin de se vider avant d’entendre vos raisons. Ensuite nous allons à la résolution technique du problème. « Monsieur expliquer moi de quoi il s’agit, et je m’occuperais person-nellement de vous »
2. Aspect technique de l’insatisfactionAprès avoir écouté le client vider son verre il est, à présent, prêt à vous écout-er. Pas besoin de mentir, le client con-naît nos défaillances. Les clients aiment les gens honnêtes. Rappelez- vous que vous-mêmes, en tant que clients ailleurs, vous n’accepteriez pas les mensonges. Vous n’acceptez jamais quand la société d’électricité ou d’eau dit que pour des raisons indépendantes de leur volonté il y aura coupure d’eau ou d’électric-ité et que les services techniques sont à pieds d’œuvre. Les clients aiment sentir qu’on se préoccupe d’eux.
3. N’argumentez pas, vous n’aurez pas raisonLorsqu’un client pose un problème, le pire qu’un chargé de clientèle puisse faire c’est d’argumenter. Vous n’aurez jamais raison donc ne commencez même pas. Ne dites pas qu’il n’est pas le seul dans le cas. Sachez que sur dix clients mécontents, seuls un à deux expriment leur mécontentement. Vous n’êtes pas là pour avoir raison mais pour servir royalement celui qui paie votre salaire, les parlements sont faits pour argumenter.TSM
L’auteur est un Coach & Formateur en optimisa-tion de performance [email protected]’auteur est un Coach, Formateur, Directeur à H&C TOGO www.marcegand.wordpress.com
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Les attitudes à développer pour une bonne relation-client Par Godefroid Gatamba
CUSTOMER SERVICE
3 astuces pour servirroyalement le client
“Seul le client est capable de renvoyer tout le
monde du PDG au planton et aller dépenser tranquillement
son argent ailleurs” Sam WALTON.
Par Marcellin Gandonou
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Pour créer les conditions propices à une bonne rela-tion client, il faut mettre en place les trois préalables suivants :
• l’ouverture de l’entreprise vers les clients : tout le monde sait que le client est roi mais peu d’entreprises respectent cet adage. Vous devez réellement placer les clients au centre de l’entreprise, inscrire cette place au cœur même de la culture de votre entreprise.• l’implication de la direction : vous devez montrer l’exemple et, en permanence, valoriser vos clients.• la formation à l’accueil : la relation client n’est pas innée et de nombreuses techniques existent.
Les attitudes terrain à adopter
Assurez-vous que les principes suivants sont bien respectés dans votre entreprise:• la visibilité de l’orientation client : vos clients doivent la ressentir. Vos équipes doivent être souriantes, accueillantes. Les comportements individuels et collec-tifs doivent être corrects en adéquation avec les clients et le respect à leur témoigner.• l’anticipation des besoins du client : allez toujours au devant du client, au propre comme au figuré. Ne laissez jamais un client attendre sans lui dire
bonjour et vous occuper de lui. Ne laissez jamais une insatisfaction s’installer sans essayer d’y apporter une réponse. Ecoutez, anticipez et vous pourrez nouer de bonnesrelations.• l’aménagement de l’attente : que ce soit dans une salle d’attente, dans votre boutique, au téléphone, l’attente a un effet négatif sur les clients. Travaillez sur l’attente et réduisez-la au maximum. Quand elle est inévitable, aménagez-la pour qu’elle soit profitable au client.• les petites attentions : vos clients doivent se sentir chez eux dans votre entreprise. Réfléchissez et vous trouverez des solutions pour parvenir à ce senti-ment: une boisson offerte, des journaux à disposition, la prise de nouvelles de personnes de la famille...• la personnalisation de l’accueil et de la relation : rien n’est plus agréable pourun client que de voir qu’il est reconnu et que vous vous souvenez de lui. Intéressez-vous à vos clients, con-sidérez-les comme des personnes à part entière et non pas uniquement comme des acheteurs de vos produits et/ou services.TSM
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Par Godefroid Gatamba
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Vous avez mis en place les préalables à une bonne relation client dans votre entreprise. Vous devez ensuite définir les moyens nécessaires et les mettre en œuvre.
Les moyens nécessaires à une bonne relation client Le cadre d’accueil: boutique, hall d’exposition, salle d’attente, bureau. Prenez soin que ces lieux soient engageants pour le client. Veillez à la propreté des lieux, à l’ordre et au rangement, à l’harmonie des couleurs, à la mise en avant des produits. N’oubliez pas l’accueil téléphonique : répondez rapidement et personnalisez la musique ou le message d’attente.Les outils de gestion de la relation client : vous devez personnaliser le plus possible votre relation client et mettre les outils nécessaires en place. Par exemple:• le paramétrage de votre standard téléphonique avec les liens entre numéros detéléphone entrants et noms des clients, • des fichiers clients précis et complets, récapitulant l’historique et les habitudesde consommation de vos clients.
Depuis plusieurs années, les entreprises travaillent sur cette personnalisation de la relation client. Ces tech-niques sont appelées CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
La mesure de satisfactionCette mesure de satisfaction se réalise a posteriori, après un premier acte d’achat. Elle est souvent mise en pratique via des enquêtes de satisfaction, sous forme de questionnaire, menées par des équipes internes de l’entreprise ou des sociétés spécialisées.
La communication des résultats : une enquête de satisfaction doit déboucher, si nécessaire, sur des corrections des pratiques commerciales et des produits et/ou services offerts. Dans un premier temps, anal-ysez bien les résultats et prenez les éventuelles mesures correctives nécessaires.Ensuite, communiquez sur les résultats obtenus:
• en interne pour que vos salariés puissent savoir comment leur travail est perçu, • en externe pour prouver aux clients que vous êtes réellement à leur écoute et que vous utilisez les réponses apportées.
La relation client est la résultante d’un ensemble homogène de dé-cisions et moyens mis en œuvre au sein de votre entreprise. Soyez cohérent et gardez toujours le client au cœur de votre quotidien. TSM [email protected]
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Par Godefroid Gatamba
CUSTOMER SERVICE
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by Gloria Iribagiza
Rz MannaADVERTORIAL
Customer awareness has grown over the past few years. As a re-sult, customers expect restaurant owners to provide all inclusive excellent customer care, quality products, and all for a reason-able price. With high customer satisfaction, restaurants can de-pend more on marketing their brands through loyal customers.
Rz MANNA Bakery and Coffee Shop recently won the overall Customer Care Award through customers’ votes from a survey conducted by The Service Mag.
Here are four outstanding lessons to be learned from Rz MANNA:
Employee Attitude towards Consumers:
Service providers providing good customer care carry a friendly attitude and star smile when meeting clients; this will wreck any spending barriers and melt the resolve of the most annoying customers. Rz MANNA is known for its ever-smiling employ-ees who meet and guide customers through their display of as-sorted pastries, wedding cakes and when providing information about their catering services.
Shalom Lee is one of the six South Korean founders of Rz MANNA and is the Head of Accounting, Procurement and Logistics. She says a lot of investment had to be made in train-ings and creating a family friendly work attitude among col-leagues.
“If employers treat employees as family, where responsibility, hard work and empathy are emphasized, they will in-turn re-spond to clients the same way,” Shalom explains.
Shalom says Rz MANNA’s vision “Bear good fruits with hon-esty and excellence and share these fruits to the world with a warm heart,” is the core of their business.
Available Quality Products:
Thousands of foodies and casual diners alike have illustrated genuine consumer goodwill by sharing their best and worst eating experiences. Restaurants need regular critiquing to un-derstand their audiences better, if no one is talking about your product; it has no impact.
The worst thing a restaurant can do is tell its customers, who have intentions of spending, that the items they ordered are not available only to discover that ¾ of the menu is all words and no food—this is a culinary miss that will send customers packing.
Shalom Lee adds, “Rz MANNA is expanding and is opening a new branch in the city center in August to meet the demands of their customers and bring their services closer to the people.”
The consistent availability of a product is paramount to custom-er satisfaction.
Adventurous Menu:
Foodies are easily bored by routine menu items, yet they also expect consistency in quality. A catchy menu with varietyis key to customer retention, customers need to explore the sea of op-tions.
“Customers enjoy our variety of more than 50 kinds of tasty breads and pastries which are well-displayed, in addition to the best Rz MANNA coffees and smoothies,” Shalom Lee asserts.
Creative Space with Wi-Fi:
When all has been ordered and the wait is on, restaurants need to find ways of drawing in clients outside the breakfast, lunch and dinner hours. A creative, comfortable, relaxing and well-lit space topped off with fast running free Wi-Fi allows clients the freedom to work, eat and relax at your restaurant. Rz MANNA has 4G LTE ORN Wi-Fi that runs at the speed of a stallion—this is a clear culinary hit.
By challenging mediocre service at restaurants, more Rwandans can tap into the endless resource of foodies spreading the good word and in turn helping consumers discover the best eater-ies that aim for excellence and are worth their Rwandan franc. TSM
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by Gloria Iribagiza
Rz MannaADVERTORIAL
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By Bonnie Kim10of exceptional customer service Commandments10of exceptional customer service CommandmentsCUSTOMER SERVICE
People don’t care how much they spend as long as they receive the best service. Business today is not just about location but about exceptional customer service. I have seen business growing from the countryside to capital city. With exceptional customer service you can command customers from any part of country, world to come to your business and without it you can lose them even in the best location in the world.
Laws are there to give us guidelines but in business, laws are there to help us reach profit margin every year and have repeated business from satisfied customers who bring more customers through word of mouth.
These commandments will help you see how you can develop relationships before and after closing the deal. Customers today are more knowledgeable about what they want. The only thing that can sustain exceptional customer service is the human touch. These ten commandments are not there to bind you but to help you be more creative so as to ignite the human touch within you when serving customers.
There is no greater fulfillment than serving people with a heart; because you can feel their heartbeat, you can ignite their joy, you can rekindle their smile in the midst of frustration. Being served by someone who cares, someone who is there not just physically but also emotionally, mentally and spiritually is also very gratifying. Emotionally enough to be able to smile at you and feel you. Mentally enough to find something nice to say to you, appreciate you and make you feel at home when you are at their business. Spiritually enough to realize that despite the physical differences we are all made in the image of creator; to see God in you and serve you to the best of their ability.
Read these commandments, live them and above all put them into practice every day to all the customers you encounter. Remember we are all born to serve but only the successful admit it. Today, make a difference to the people you will serve. TSM
The writer Bonnie Kim is CEO & Lead Trainer, Bonnie Kim [email protected] Twitter: @BonnieKimAuthor
10 COMMANDMENTS FOR EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
1. Thou shall serve with Smile, Energy and Passion
2. Thou shall actively listen to what the customer says and understand what they want.
3. Thou shall take ownership.
4. Thou shall be empathetic.
5. Thou shall clarify with the customer by probing.
6. Thou shall tell the customers of the benefits and not just the features.
7. Thou shall take objectives only as challenges to overcome on the way to success.
8. Thou shall actively drive the communication towards resolution.
9. Thou shall be proactive and think out of the box.
10. Thou shall know how to say, “I don’t know.”
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By Bonnie Kim10of exceptional customer service Commandments10of exceptional customer service CommandmentsCUSTOMER SERVICE
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by Marie-Ange Rukundo
CUSTOMER SERVICE
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I received a frenzied call from a friend. Before I could ask what was going on, she had started recounting her horrible customer experience with an otherwise well reputed hotel in Rwanda. In short, my friend’s meltdown was caused by a hotel staff fibbing the estimated preparation time of an important lunch order, by well over an hour plus the run around that ensued.
The moment a client asks you how long their order will take, you can usually imply that they are on a time crunch. People on a time crunch are usually the least patient of all. Also, if the order placed is sizable, it is safe to assume that the person ordering is accountable for multiple hun-gry mouths. The point I am trying to make is simple; in one instance the white lie told by the hotel staff to the per-son ordering had spread to a larger number of people (the hungry mouths), in turn, seriously jeopardizing the trust relationship between the business and these clients.
A simple and better way to handle such situation is to use honesty with your customers. When asked for a time esti-mate on an order, the waiting staff should consult with the kitchen staff so that they can give an accurate answer. Ad-ditionally, one should not assume that a high preparation time will deter a customer from placing an order. Instead, an employee should confidently assume the customer will appreciate the honesty and be flexible enough to accept a given time estimate and plan accordingly. Honesty should be a pillar in the exchange between a business and its cli-ents.
Following this incident, the fate of the relationship be-tween this hotel and my friend lies in the realm of uncer-tainty. Lest they provide her with a sincere apology, she’ll be placing her sizable lunch orders elsewhere. TSM
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by Marie-Ange Rukundo
CUSTOMER SERVICE
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Kigali International Airportranked
ADVERTORIAL
Spacious and naturally lit departure lounge.
ADVERTORIAL
Seamless Security Check In
Spacious and naturally lit departure lounge.
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Kigali International Airportranked
ADVERTORIAL
Spacious and naturally lit departure lounge.
ADVERTORIAL
Seamless Security Check In
Spacious and naturally lit departure lounge.
Kigali International Airport has been ranked 7th under the category of best regional airports in Africa in an annual survey carried out by Skytrax, a renowned United Kingdom based consultancy that operates an airline and airport review and ranking site. Skytrax conducts rankings and reviews on a total of 681 airlines and 728 airports worldwide every year.
Kigali international Airport is under the management of Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA). This ranking validates human resource efforts directed at service improvement and the enormous investments by the government of Rwanda to ensure that Rwanda’s aviation sector gradually achieves the ultimate target of an aviation hub in Africa and across the globe.
The ranking depicted the detailed undertakings at Kigali International Airport that include, security personnel that ensure expeditious and convenient scanning of passengers and luggage at various points in the terminal building. Since its installation last year, the new e-immigration technology removed queues for citizens and provided for quick service at the desks. Also, the flawless air traffic management and proactive safety team that carries out thorough and systematic checks that ensure that pilots are professional and aircrafts transporting the passenger and luggage are efficiently maintained to avoid accidents.
Since 2008 Rwanda’s airports have been experiencing a consistent increase in activity. This is evidenced by international and domestic passenger numbers that have tremendously increased from 263, 264 in 2008 and is currently edging 600, 000 with flight frequencies jumping from 60 to 700 weekly.
This significant increase is attributed to the steady economic development of the country and Rwanda’s increasing endeavors to address the landlocked nature and develop alternative and low cost modes of transport to boost economic activity.
To comfortably contain the current and future swelling figures of passengers, flights and cargo volumes, the government of Rwanda through RCAA is carrying out $17.8m state of the art upgrade to expand all-round capacities of Kigali International Airport and completion is expected mid this year.
A feasibility study was completed last year in preparation for the upgrade works of terminal buildings and runways at Kamembe and Gisenyi airports in the Southwest and Northwest respectively. The latter is in relation to the annual domestic passenger numbers that have more than tripled since 2009.
In the next issue: We will reveal the new look of The Kigali International Airport TSM
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Hateganyijwe ibihano bikomeye ku bacuruzi bataragura imashini za EBM byanditswe na Faustin Niyigena
ICT
kandi ukabimenyesha abandi
Ugomba gusobanura
byanditswe na Peninnah Gathoni
SALES AND MARKETING
Buri muntu wese afite icyamuvugwaho twabishaka tutabishaka buri wese yabyivumburira. Ibyo batuvugaho bishingira ku myitwarire, ku myambarire, ku myambarire , cyangwa se ibyo duhitamo. Iyo uhuye n’umuntu bwa mbere tugerageza kureba uko ateye. Bivugwa ko kubaka umubano bitangira iyo abantu bahuye bwa mbere. Noneho ibiganiro bikurikira no guhura kenshi ni byo bikomeza uwo mubano ukaramba. Gukomeza kuba indahemuka bituma du-komeza kugaragaza uko turi no kuvuguruza ibyo umuntu yaba yaragutekerejeho bitari byiza ubwo mwamenyanaga bwa mbere.Kubaka izina ry’ibicuruzwa ni kimwe no kubaka ubucuti cyangwa umubano. Buri zina ry’ig-icuruzwa riba rifite icyo rishaka kuvuga, hari icyo abantu barivugaho bashingiye ku mateka, imiterere yacyo n’uko cyagiye gitera imbere.
kugera ku baguzi. Mu minsi yashize ikigo cyacu cy’ubucuruzi cyatangaje ibintu byatumye twumirwa. Ni ikigo gicuruza imashini zikurururana cy-ashakaga gutangiza imirimo yacyo, birumvikana ko cyashakaga kugeza ubutumwa ku bantu n’ahantu runaka. Maze gusoma inyandiko ibamamaza bashaka gusohora sinigeze mbonamo icyo izo mashini rukururana zikora ndetse nta n’ubwo igaragaza abashob-ora kuba abaguzi bazo. Narumiwe numva sinashyira inkuru ku itangiz-wa ryazo mu itangazamakuru kuko numvaga ntabyumva. Icyo banyeretse ni ibiciro by’izo mashini zifite im-baraga nk’iza horse power. Ukwezi gukurikira nakumaze nsura abahinzi ndetse n’ishami rishinzwe ibya te-kiniki by’izo mashini rukururana kugira ngo nzimenye byisumbuye. Nyuma yahoo numvaga nakwandika neza inkuru yo guha abanyamaku-ru ku buryo umuntu uteri enjeniyeri yayumva ku buryo bworoshye. Ubu buryo bw’imikorerere bwakwirakwi-
Abakiriya bacu n’abafatanyabikor-wa bacu n’abandi dukorana ni bo baba bafite icyo bavuga ku gicuruz-wa runaka kuva bakimenya kugeza ubwo bahuye n’abagihagarariye. Ni byiza rero gufata igihe tukavuga igi-curuzwa cyacu tukakivuga neza uko kiri aho turi hose. Ibigo by’ubucuruzi bikunze gutanga amakuru avugu-ruzanya ku bicuruzwa byayo kuko aba atarigeze afata igihe ngo amenye neza igice cy’ibyo bacuruza gihagaze neza kurusha ibindi kugira ngo abe ari cyo yamamaza. Ibi bitera uruji-jo abakiriya. Bumwe mu butumwa bugera ku baguzi buba bufite ibyo bubasezeranya, ubwo butumwa bu-gomba kuba bwuzuye. Mu butum-wa mugeza ku baguzi ni ngombwa kubagaragariza uruhande ruhagaze neza ku gicuruzwa cyawe noneho bikaba bijyanye n’ibyo abaguzi bak-eneye. Uko wagaragaje imiterere y’ig-icuruzwa cyawe n’uko werekana ko kizabakemurira ibibazo, ibyo byose ni byo bigize ubutumwa bugomba
jwe mu bakozi bacu bose bashinzwe itumanaho. Twumvise neza imashini zacu bityo dushobora kumenya aka-maro kayo bityo dutangira kuvuga no gushakisha amasoko y’izo mashini.Gusobanura neza igicuruzwa cyawe bituma kirushaho kugaragara. Bi-nagaragaza imiterere yacyo mu buryo bwagutse. Abakiriya bakunda kum-va izina ry’igicuruzwa kugira ngo barihuze n’imiterere yacyo. Ako ni ko kazi k’ushinzwe itumanaho mu kigo agaragaza imiterere n’akamaro k’igicuruzwa. Ubwo butumwa rero bugezwa ku baguzi buciye mu nzira z’itumanaho zitandukanye, mu bin-yamakuru byandikwa, mu byo kuri interineti, ku mbuga nkoranyambaga ndetse no mu biganiro abantu bari hamwe barebana. Ibyo bituma umen-ya icyo abaguzi batekereza ku gi-curuzwa noneho ugakora ubutumwa bukibumvisha neza bityo bakitabira kukigura.TSM
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Hateganyijwe ibihano bikomeye ku bacuruzi bataragura imashini za EBM byanditswe na Faustin Niyigena
ICT
Nubwo ikigo cy’igihugu cy’imisoro (RRA) gishimira abacuruzi bamaze kugura imashini zitanga inyemezabuguzi mu buryo bw’ikoranabuhanga (EBM – electronic billing machines); kinavuga ko abatarazigura bazahanwa bikomeye.
Abasora bakaba bari barahawe italiki ya 31 Werurwe 2014 ko ariyo tariki ntaregwa yo kuba buri mucuruzi afite imashini itanga inyemezabuguzi ariko iyo taliki ikaba yarageze abasora 4000 aribo bonyine bamaze kuzigura mu bacuruzi hafi ibihumbi 7500 barebwa n’icyo gikorwa.
Iteka rya Minisitiri rishyiraho kugura izi mashini nyemezabuguzi rivuga ko bireba abacuruzi bose banditse ku musoro w’inyongeragaciro uzwi nka VAT cyangwa TVA bakorera ku butaka bw’u Rwanda nk’uko biteganywa n’Iteka rya Minisitiri Nº 002/13/10/TC ryo kuwa 31 Nyakanga 2013 ryerekeye imikoreshereze y’imashini y’ikoranabuhanga itanga inyemezabuguzi.
Iri teka rivuga ko umusoreshwa munini usabwa gukoresha imashini y’ikoranabuhanga mu gutanga inyemezabuguzi (EBM) ntayikoreshe ahanishwa ihazabu ingana na miliyoni 20 y’amafaranga y’u Rwanda, naho uwisumbuye we ahanishwa miliyoni 10, uciriritse ahanishwa miliyoni 5 mu gihe umuto ahanishwa ihazabu ya miliyoni 1
y’amafaranga y’u Rwanda.
Nubwo abatarazigura hafi ya bose bahuriza ku kuba ari uko zifite igiciro kiri hejuru, Komiseri Mukuru wa RRA Tusabe Richard avuga ko akenshi usanga baba bashaka kunyereza imisoro, abandi ugasanga bataramenyera neza uburyo izo mashini zikoreshwa ndetse ibyo ngo bikaba biri mu byatumye batabona umubare w’abakagombye kuba bafite izo mashine ku munsi ntarengwa.
Yagize ati: “hari abantu benshi badatanga za “fagitire” ku baguzi kandi ibyo binyereza imisoro buri gihe ndetse hari n’abandi bagerageza guhisha inyemezabuguzi ku byacurujwe ibi byose ni byo byatumye guverinoma ifatanyije na RRA bafashe ingamba zo gukumira ibibazo byagaragaraga ku misoro yinjiraga mu isanduku ya Leta”.
Gusa ngo mu rwego rwo kugira ngo iyo ngeso icike bafite gahunda y’igihe kingana n’amezi 3 bakora igenzura kugira ngo babe bashaka ibisubizo by’ibyo bibazo.
kandi ukabimenyesha abandi
Ugomba gusobanura
byanditswe na Peninnah Gathoni
SALES AND MARKETING
Ese ubundi izi mashini zimaze iki?
Ikigo cy’igihugu cy’imisoro (RRA) cyerekana ko gukoresha izi mashini nyemezabuguzi zikoresha ikoranabuhanga bifasha umucuruzi ku giti cye mu bijyanye n’ibaruramari ry’ibicuruzwa bye ariko bikanafasha Guverinoma mu rwego rwo guca umuco wo kwiba imisoro.
Komiseri Mukuru wa RRA, Tusabe Richard asobanura ko izi mashini zigabanya ikiguzi ndetse n’ibikenerwa mu kubika ibitabo kuko ari yo itanga raporo y’umunsi, ukwezi ndetse n’umwaka haba ku mucuruzi cyangwa umukozi wa RRA ubishinzwe kuko zisangiza amakuru umucuruzi na RRA ajyanye n’ubucuruzi ku buryo birinda ibibazo byajyaga bibaho
by’inyerezwa ry’umusoro.
Ikindi ni uko izi mashini zoroshya uburyo igenzura ryakorwaga, ndetse bikoroshya no kuvumbura abasora badakora imenyekanisha
ku buryo bunoze kuko RRA yahuraga n’imbogamizi zitandukanye mu gutanga
inyemezabuguzi aho bamwe banyerezaga imisoro ntiberekane inyemezabuguzi zakoreshejwe mu gihe
cy’igenzura (audit).
RRA ivuga ko iyi mpamvu itangwa n’abacuruzi y’uko izo mashini zihenda idafite inshingano kuko akenshi baba bashaka
kunyereza imisoro bityo ikaba isaba buri wese bireba kuyigura mbere y’uko itangira gushyira mu bikorwa ibihano biteganywa n’iteka rya Minisitiri.
Twibuke ko mu Kinyarwanda dufite umugani uvuga ngo “itegeko rirusha ibuye kuremera”, ni byiza rero ko abo bireba bose bagura izi mashini kugira ngo batavaho bafatwa nk’abigometse kuri Guverinoma banga kubahiriza amategeko ishyiraho mu nyungu z’abaturage n’iterambere ry’igihugu muri rusange. TSM
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RWANDASTOCKEXCHANGE (RSE)Your ideal investor guide
ADVERTORIAL
Did you know that you could save and earn a profit by buying shares in a company?
Do you know that you can lend to government or a private company at an interest?
The Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) exists to guide investors on when and where they can place their investments.
“It is one of the best platforms to save for your future,” says Celestin Rwabukumba, the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Stock Exchange.
“Our laws and practices are in line with the required global stock market standards and we work together every day with policy makers, advisers and you, our customers to ensure that we come up with the best ways to serve,” he explains.
Figures from RSE indicate that from July to December last year, the Rwanda Stock Exchange recorded a total turnover of Rwf 53.9 billion from 108.4 million shares in
1,750 deals compared to the same period the previous year where the market recorded a total turnover of Rwf 18.1 billion from 103.4 million shares in 1,563 deals. This is an increase of 197.80% in turnover, 4.83% in volumes and 11.96% in number of transactions respectively over the same period. The most active counters were those of Bank of Kigali and Bralirwa.
The RSE also added a new listing in October last year from Uchumi Supermarkets, a company primarily listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. This brought the total number of cross-listed companies at the exchange to three, joining Kenya Commercial Bank and Nation Media Group and two domestic companies, the Bank of Kigali and Bralirwa.
“We are getting up there fast. Investors are showing confidence in our market considering we have only been operational for a few years,” said Rwabukumba with a lot of optimism.
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RWANDASTOCKEXCHANGE (RSE)Your ideal investor guide
ADVERTORIAL
RWANDASTOCKEXCHANGE (RSE)ADVERTORIAL
Indeed, the exchange closed last year as the best performing bourse in East Africa with the Rwanda Stock Exchange Share Index (RSI) and Rwanda Stock Exchange All Share Index (ALSI) going up by 43.93 %and 23.89 % per cent respectively from January to December 2013. This capped what has been a rewarding year for investors in Rwanda and across the region.
The CEO added that the purpose of establishing the stock exchange was to facilitate businesses to raise capital for expansion through selling shares to the investing public.
“When people draw their savings and invest in shares, it leads to a more rational allocation of resources because funds, which could have been consumed, or kept lying
idle are well utilised. The funds are instead mobilized and redirected to promote business activity by the company which has listed its shares, resulting in stronger growth and higher productivity levels,” he explains.
He adds that the exchange also provides opportunity for small investors because a person buys a number of shares he or she can afford.
“Many Rwandans aren’t aware that this is the best platform for saving while at the same time investing. That’s why we go door to door, to the media and organize promotional events aimed at mass sensitization,” he said.
Last year, the Rwanda Stock Exchange opened up to receiving applications from small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) intending to list on the bourse. “We eased the requirements in order to enable small and medium enterprises to raise funds through capital market and list,” he adds.
Unlike the Rwf500m capital required for any company to register on the main boards of RSE, small and medium enterprises have no minimum capital requirement.
“If say you own a small bakery and want to expand it and even go regional, the stock exchange can be the most ideal place to raise that capital affordably,” he explains.
And speaking of going regional, soon, the Rwanda Stock Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, Nairobi Securities Exchange and Dar Es Salaam Stock Exchange will be marketed as one regional market, thus giving better and more investment opportunities for all.
“We are working on harmonizing the laws governing the exchanges and also automating and linking the trading
platforms in order to allow Rwandans together with other East Africans participate more actively in the markets,” Rwabukumba says.
Once completed, a Rwandan would be able to easily participate in the equity and bond market anywhere in East Africa and vice versa
“Instead of being limited to buying or selling shares in the five companies listed here, you’ll be able to invest in any of the 86 listed companies in the region,” he said.
That’s how lucrative the future looks for the stock exchange, go invest! TSM
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by John Kageche
SALES AND MARKETING
The Chairman of a renowned multinational manufacturer once startled his staff when he said, “Anyone can make what we make. We are not in the business of manufacturing; we are in the business of marketing. ” I cannot agree with him more.
Selling purely on the features of a product invites the client to compare apples for apples- a debate which the salesperson will most probably lose. He makes it difficult to lose however when he makes the prospect perceive his apples as oranges. To do this he must make the discussion not about the lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs but the levels above it. And the levels above it are all emotional. The progressive salesperson plays in this emotional space.
First a quick reminder from Google: Maslow’s pyramidal hierarchy . progresses from basic, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualization needs. Unless you are a hunger victim awaiting relief food, you don’t eat because you are hungry; it may feel that way but it’s not-if it were true you wouldn’t be choosing what food to eat and where to eat it and with whom you do so. It follows therefore that the food establishment does not sell food-it sells the service, the ambience, the extras. Food is a basic need that is no longer a motivating factor to buy. So profound is the need to employ Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in selling that institutions whose salespeople must be technically competent (e.g. those in agribusiness selling beneficial insects or chemicals to large scale farmers), are quickly finding themselves in need of
training them to have a sales orientation. Now that the farmer concedes the demo has worked, it does not follow he will keel over and ask to be shown where to sign. The salesperson, after having established all the facts, must still play in the emotional space if he is to make a sale. He must remove his technical cap and don the salesperson one.
When the salesperson rattles off the features of his service or product that he is selling, he is doing little more than verbalizing the brochure which in itself is an inanimate basic on Maslow’s hierarchy. Consider the saleslady selling credit cards who says: “this card has chip and PIN functionality; and the interest is only 3% per month; the Card enables the Cardholder to obtain the Funds in cash by withdrawal from ATMs and/or ascertain information as to the balance on the Card at ATMs or Points of Sale terminals or make payments at Merchant Establishments through Points of Sale terminals.” All that is good to know madam but, hey, which credit card doesn’t do all that? TSM
Kageche is Lead Facilitator Lend Me Your Ears- A Sales and Speech Training Firm; Email:[email protected] www.lendmeyourears.co.ke
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by John Kageche
SALES AND MARKETING AKAGERA
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COVER STORY
Behind your everyelectronic transactions
COVER STORY
Word from the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Konde Bugingo:
“RSwitch has come a long way, from a troubled past to a more sustainable and stable company ready to serve the Rwandan and E African Market. There has been major changes in the last 3 years including implementation of State of Art Switch-ing/Value ADD Platforms, comprehensive Restructuring, and launch of Smartcash Network Brand to Breaking -even in 10 Years. We remain modestly profitable yet we serve only 15% of the Banked population with a set of only 7 products and services provided. With more than 40 projects underway, we are slated to become the biggest Epayments Switch East Africa.”
INTRODUCING RSWITCH, RWANDA’S SOLE ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS FACILITATOR
Formerly known as Simtel, RSwitch is the country’s sole local electronic transactions facilitator.
The company was started in Rwanda in 2002 and was restructured and rebranded in 2010 after African Develop-ment Corporation (ADC) acquired a majority stake in it from Rwanda Government.
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“RSwitch is the 1st Switch in E/Central Africa to attain In-teroperability but also 1 of 3 Switches about to attain PCI DSS International Certification in the E/Central Africa Region. We remain committed to providing the best of qual-ity in switching services including introduction of Union Pay membership/card issuing, Regional integration, Mobile Fi-nancial Services to Visa/Mastercard card issuing.”
According to David Karuletwa, the firm’s Chief Operations Officer, ADC came in with new energy, strategies and ideas that enabled the business concept execution to be at par with the current market needs.
“It also enabled us to re-build the business to business rela-tionships with our clients especially the banks,” he said.
Karuletwa said the company is well in schedule to enable Rwanda attain cash-less economy status together with finan-cial inclusion for all.
He said that through their products like the Points Of Sale (POS) devices, both customers and merchants were able to transact more and increase the value of transactions.
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COVER STORY
Behind your everyelectronic transactions
COVER STORY
“If I go to the market with Rwf 10,000 to buy cooking gas with my debit card, chances are high I also going to buy some bread and milk. Therefore, my spending power increases, whenever I use my card, I buy more from the market.”
He added that financial inclusion for all was facilitated with the use of the POS devices by banks to implement their agen-cy banking concept.
“It allows banking services to become more propagated be-cause with more POS devices rolled out in the market, bank-ing clients can easily withdraw, deposit or send money any-where in the country.”
The experts say that as the population continues to adapt themselves with electronic platforms; they will start saving more which in the long run means the banks will be keeping more money, savers earning more interest and the banks offer-ing affordable lending rates.
Electronic commerce platforms such as Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are fast becoming a part of many in Rwan-da as the country races towards attaining financial services access for all and cash-less economy status by the year 2018.
David Karuletwa, RSwitch Chief Operating Officer gave TSM a brief overview of the companyand what they have been doing over the years to enable Rwanda attain this goal.
TSM: What is RSwitch’s business concept?
Karuletwa: Today, the Rwandan market is using electron-ic payments platforms in the form of ATMs, mobile money and Points of Sale (POS) devices.We allow banks and tele-communication companies to use these platforms together to give customers access to more distribution points based on affordability and ease of access.We facilitate the use of these platforms in order to reduce unnecessary costs that come with the use of hard cash.
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TSM: What are some of the projects RSwitch is working on to see Rwanda attain a cash-less economy together with financial inclusion for all?
Karuletwa: We have over 40 projects aimed at attaining regional integration, and anything in the electronic payment schemes through different channels like ATMs, Mobile and POS devices.SmartCash® cards are one among the many things that we do. There’s nearly half a million ATM cards in the country and between 60 to 70 per cent of them are smart cash cards which enable the card holders to transact at any ATM regardless of the bank which the customers have ac-counts in.They are like international cards but suited to the affordability of the daily Rwandan.What we are trying to do is not only promote our own card but also promote the industry electronic payments.
Soon, we shall embark on major Joint marketing campaign where theSmartCash® cards will be accepted at all POS de-vices, starting with Ecobank, Equity and Bank of Kigali.
We are doing this based on the current distribution of ATMs versus POS in Rwanda.
POS devices are about six to seven times more than the num-ber of ATMs, so you have six to seven higher chance of a customer using a POS as compared to an ATM.
There are about 380 ATMs in the country compared to more than 2,000 POS devices. In the next month or so we want
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COVER STORYCOVER STORY
er.Our regulators work very closely with us to the extent we don’t see them as regulators but as partners of industry. We all acknowledge the need to attain that one goal of a cash-free economy.
In Kenya, almost every financial institution is doing its own switching which only helps in the short term but not in the long term.Total interoperability being one of the long term items currently being hindered today due to their approach.
TSM: What then can Rwanda’s RSwitch benefit as a member state of the East African Community?
Karuletwa: Now we have the Rwandan market and the East African market which puts Rwanda’s vision of being an ICT andFinancial hub on track because we get to engage with over 90 million people in East Africa rather than the 11 million people in Rwanda which is a huge spread.Information Com-munication Technology (ICT) services are easier to export.The fact that we can communicate to Singapore today in less than a second attests to this.
ICT allows you to provide for functionality in the Financial Services industry. Rswitch uses ICT to facilitate banking and financial services. So I think the stars are aligned for us where you have the regulations and governments approach working perfectly for us which now allowsmore investors interested in Rwanda because of what Rwanda is doing with ICT.The lib-eral financial regulations that we currently have here also play a big role.
TSM: Has any competition from other switches and schemes like world re-known VISA been of any advantage or disadvantage?
Karuletwa: Before ADC took over, RSwitch lost its exclu-sivity rights hence allowing VISA to come into the market as a switch. It is healthy competition in my view. At the same time we develop partnerships because they are a switch and a scheme and we are a switch and have a scheme which is a domestic solution called Smart Cash, hence offering both
people to utilize more in hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, agents among others.
Bank of Kigali has been the major acquirer of POS de-vices followed by Equity and Ecobank.We have been working with them to develop acceptance of Smart-Cash® bank cards on their POS devices and the ATMs and have had some “user comfort tests” going on with the banks on making them more secure. Hopefully, all banks will be on board before this year’s third quarter.
We have also given non-card holders access to their electronic wallet through the ATMs.Currently, I&M bank ATMs sup-port the service together with Airtel Rwanda’s mobile money platform, Airtel money.Such a facility that allows mobile mon-ey to accessed from a bank ATM (Cardless- cash out) Soon we shall have money transfers via ATM’s hence allows banks to offerdifferent products to people based on their needs but enables people to access money at any time of the day.
Today, it is hard for one to transfer money from one electronic wallet to a bank account or vice versa. We are offering to pro-vide that service such that there is complete interoperability for e-payments and transfers. We can do this by compounding the cost to one central point, allowing better compliance, over sight, risk mitigation atthe lowest cost for the end-user.
If you provide these services in one entity, then you allow the banks to customize based on their market; in the long run, both players and the end users will be happy and all at a lower cost because you are using one single asset for everybody. That also mitigates fraud better. This is the essence at RSwitch ex-istence.
In a nutshell, we always make sure bank ATMs are up and running all the time and try to create more distribution points by allowing clients to use their bank Debit cards in any of the banks ATM’s and POS devices since we are integrated to all the banks and telecoms, total interoperability.
TSM: Rwanda is the only country in East Africa whose switch has integrated with all financial sector players; in other countries each bank has its own switch. What has this led to apart from interoperability? Wouldn’t it be better if every financial services provider had its own switch?
Karuletwa: Currently, we are the most efficient &profitable switch in East, Central and Southern Africa and this has to do largely with the private and public sector working togeth-
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COVER STORYCOVER STORY
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BANKS COMMEND RSWITCH’S STRIDES
Trends have remarkably changed thanks to RSwitch. A few years ago, banking halls were full of clients, all in long unend-ing queues.
There was need for more people to use electronic platforms to transact.Then came the use debit and credit cards that enabled people carry out the transactions at ease at the Automated Tell-er Machines (ATMs) and Points Of Sale (POS) devices.
Innocent Muhizi, head of IT at I&M Bank, in an interview with the ServiceMag said RSwitch’s services have substan-tially improved since they re-branded and that the new set of services suited the bank’s needs.
“The up time of the ATMs is great and they have relationship managers for their clients in that we easily reach them in case of anything,” he said.
He also commended the new leadership ofRSwitch.
“They give us reports every time, are approachable and moni-tor our ATMs for us even during weekends to make sure they are up and running,” said Grace Irihose, electronic banking officer at Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD).
Domestic and International scheme services, offering choice to the marketplace.
We provide affordable products based on international stan-dards mimicking the same infrastructure and security precau-tions. In this area, it’s more of a “copy and paste” of tech-nology but it’s the policies that change based on the market.We learn from the best technology and come up with similar but affordable products for the Rwandan market to allow fi-nancial inclusion. A certain tier of the market may prefer to use Visa while another may prefer the Smartcash. We provide facilitation for both based on affordability. That said, we pride ourselves in offering best price for value.
TSM: Lastly, what are some of the challenges you have faced in reaching out to the market and what are the recommendations to solve them?
Karuletwa: As an industry, we need to educate people on the benefits of these services. Till this day, we have people calling cards “the devil,” linking them to the chip talked about in the Bible. This is a serious challenge for the banks and we need to reach out to the churches and communities with the correct information.
We also need to reach out to the universities because the stu-dents are our next working class. These are the people who understand the benefits through education and use it to foster a cashless society in the country. As for connectivity, the tele-coms have done a great job in ensuring there is connectivity all over the country but there is still need to have more of it to help propagate financial services throughout the nation.TSM
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by Olivier BIRARO
SALES AND MARKETING
There is a legend about a great Japa-nese warrior, Miyamoto Musashi. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnum-bered his own. He loaded his samu-rais (medieval Japanese soldiers) into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment and then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them.
Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, ‘You see the boats go-ing up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice: we win or we perish” --- They won. Thus a precedent was set in the Japa-nese military: victory or death. In case of a defeat, suicide (hara-kiri) ensued.
Whilst I am far from endorsing sui-cide, I would like to point out the secret behind Japan’s winning and keeping the car market. That secret left to Japan by the Samurai warriors is simple: consider any undertaking as warfare and do not consider fail-ure an option.
When the Japanese manufacture a car and sell it, they keep assessing cus-tomer satisfaction through research and surveys, and keep improving, changing, innovating, and making their products and services better, even when customer satisfaction is at its best. That culture is called Kaizen in Japan.
As long as they keep it, Japan will remain the number one car dealer worldwide. Japan has understood that customer satisfaction is the ox-ygen of their economy, and that cus-tomer dissatisfaction equals their inevitable demise. It is a mat-ter of life and death, since they have no natural re-sources, like Rwanda. My question: have we Rwan-dans understood that our economy’s survival will depend on customer satis-faction if we are to migrate from agriculture-based to service-based economy?
Just as the roots of Kai-zen stem from martial arts, the art of Japanese selling relies on the same martial principles: win the market or perish. Winning the market is not a game; it is warfare, since the market is like a jungle: either you are a gazelle or a lion. In order to survive, a gazelle must be faster than the lion. To survive hunger, a lion must kill a gazelle, and that means it has got to be faster than its prey.
In a jungle, a chameleon uses stealth and changes skin color in order to survive. In business, adapting to change and being innovative deter-mine the survival of an emerging company, which cannot run as fast as the big businesses (lions).
John Sculley, one time Apple CEO, compared the American economy to Kaizen-based economy, “In America, projects have a beginning, middle, and an end. In Japan, projects have direction, so that what you’re push-ing for is heading further and further out.”
The symbol of KAIZEN is a riv-er: heading further and further out, ever-flowing, never stagnating to stink. It is the same water, but it is new every second.TSM
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Par Jean-Pierre Lauzier
Votre offre représente-t-elle untrop grand risque pour votreclient?
CUSTOMER SERVICE
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by Olivier BIRARO
SALES AND MARKETING
Par Jean-Pierre Lauzier
Votre offre représente-t-elle untrop grand risque pour votreclient?
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Chaque fois que vous prenez une décision, vous vous exposez à un risque. Chaque personne évalue subjectivement son facteur de risque et possède son propre niveau de tolérance. Lorsque vous décidez, vous le faites en évitant au maximum les risques. Il en va de même dans vos décisions d’achat. Vos clients font de même. Voici trois éléments parmi les plus impor-tants sur lesquels se basent les ache-teurs pour évaluer le niveau de risque lié à l’acquisition :
1. Le prix : plus le prix du pro-duit est élevé, plus le risque peut être perçu comme important par le client. Souvent un vendeur baisse son prix parce qu’il n’a pas été capable de diminuer suffisamment le facteur de risques pour ce client.
2. Les préoccupations/besoins : plus le posi-tionnement du produit répond à un besoin ou à une préoccupation dominante de l’acheteur, plus le risque diminue.
3. La confiance : quand le climat de confiance est établi, les risques diminuent. On peut in-clure dans cette catégorie l’honnêteté, l’in-tégrité et la réputation du vendeur et de l’entreprise.
En tant qu’entrepreneur ou vendeur, si vous désirez une crois-sance importante et soutenue de vos ventes, vous devez dimi-nuer le facteur de risques. Voici quelques actions qui vous permettront de diminuer ce facteur de risques :
1. Établissez un climat de confiance. Faites res-sortir votre honnêteté et votre intégrité, écoutez toujours avec vos oreilles et vos yeux. Souvenez-vous que le client se dit toujours inconsciemment : « Si j’ai un ou des pro-blèmes avec cet achat, est-ce que ce vendeur ou cette en-treprise agira de façon responsable et me supportera? »
2. Élevez votre niveau de compréhension des préoccupations et des besoins de votre client. Vous devez comprendre en profondeur les préoccupations fonction-nelles et personnelles de vos clients. Plus votre compréhension sera juste, plus la solution proposée répondra à ces préoccu-pations et plus le facteur de risques diminuera pour le client.
3. Dégagez un sentiment sincère d’aider. Du-rant votre conversation avec votre client, ce dernier fait une évaluation de votre capacité et de votre sincé-
rité à l’aider à effectuer le meilleur choix pour lui. Votre objectif principal consiste à l’aider. En agis-
sant avec cet état d’esprit, votre client se sen-tira à l’aise : le facteur de risques diminuera.
4. Mettez en valeur votre expertise en la reliant aux besoins du client. Personne n’aime être utilisé comme cobaye. Si le client a cette impression, cette acqui-sition représente alors, pour lui, un risque plus élevé et il n’y adhèrera pas. Dévelop-pez votre expertise, présentez votre solu-tion/service en fonction de l’amélioration
de ses attentes. Apportez-lui une valeur réelle. Alors, le facteur de risques diminuera.
Il arrive souvent que, dans les PME en forte croissance, le pré-sident s’implique activement dans le cycle de vente parce que son intervention permet de diminuer le facteur de risques pour le client.
Posez-vous la question suivante dans chacune de vos situations de vente : est-ce que la solution que j’offre à ce client est celle qui est la moins risquée pour lui sur le marché? Si la réponse est positive, vous aurez plusieurs nouveaux clients. Mais si la réponse est négative, vous devrez vous appliquer à diminuer ce facteur de risques afin d’obtenir le succès que vous désirez.TSM
L’auteur est un conférencier, formateur, expert-conseil JPL Commu-nications. www.jeanpierrelauzier.com
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byanditswe na Faustin Niyigena
U Rwanda rwiteguye kwakira neza abashyitsi bazitabira inama ya AfDB
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
ya 19 kugeza ku ya 23 aho izahuriramo abantu bari hagati y’ibihumbi 2 na magana atanu n’ibihumbi 3 (2,500-3,000).
Ubuyobozi bw’iyi Banki buvuga ko muri iyi minsi 5, abazaba bari muri iyi nama bazakorana ibiganiro ku ntego igira iti: “Afurika dukeneye mu myaka 50 iri imbere.”
Kimwe mu bikenewe na Afurika ni ugutanga serivisi neza kandi n’u Rwanda ni kimwe mu bihugu bikinengwa imitangire ya serivisi mu nzego zakira abantu ariko kuri iyi nshuro abatanga serivisi bavuga ko bazakira ababagana neza ndetse ku rwego mpuzamahanga nkuko babisabwa n’ikigo cy’igihugu gishinzwe iterambere (RDB).
Umuyobozi w’ishami ry’ubukerarugendo mu Rwanda (tourism chamber), Bart Gasana avuga ko imyiteguro yo kwakira abo bashyitsi irimbanyije kandi ko ibintu byose birimo bigenda neza.
Uko kwakira abantu bizakorwa
Mu bijyane n’amafunguro ndetse no guhaha utuntu dutandukanye, urwego rw’ubukerarugendo rutangaza ko kubera iyi nama ya 49 ya AfDB hateguwe ahantu hagari hazaba harimo resitora na za butike abo bashyitsi bashobora kwifashisha mu gihe bari mu biganiro cyangwa bari mu karuhuko.
Aho hantu hatunganyijwe ni ahazwi ku izina rya Camp Kigali, hakaba haratoranijwe kuko ari hagari kandi hegeranye na hoteli Serena izaba iri kuberamo ibiganiro.
Gasana ati “Camp Kigali ni nka
conference village kuko hazaba hari urukurikirane rw’amaresitora atandukanye ushobora gusangamo ibyo kurya by’ubwoko bwose byaba ibyo muri Afurika, u Bushinwa, Amerika, Aziya n’ahandi ndetse hakazaba harimo n’aho kugurira ikawa n’icyayi by’u Rwanda hamwe n’amaduka azaba acuruza ibintu bitandukanye cyane ibikoresho by’ubugeni (object d’art).”
Umuyobozi wa Serena Hotels mu Rwanda akaba na visi perezida w’ishyirahamwe ry’abanyamahoteli, Charles Muia yemeza ko urwego rw’amahoteli ruzaba ruri gutanga serivisi ziri ku rwego rukenewe.
Ubu buryo bwo gukoresha Camp Kigali buzatuma hatabaho akajagari ko gushaka kujya kurira muri hoteli ucumbitsemo cyangwa ujya gushakisha ibyo ugura mu masoko atandukanye yo mu mujyi wa Kigali kuko ibyo byose bizaba biri hamwe kandi hafi yawe.
Kubijyane n’amacumbi yo kuraramo, amahoteli yatoranijwe n’itsinda ryishyiriweho na Banki ubwayo ko azakira abo bashyitsi, ubu yatangiye kumenyeshwa abashyitsi izakira n’icyumba buri wese azararamo.
Bart Gasana ati: “kugeza ku itariki ya 12, buri hoteli iri kugenda ihabwa izina ry’umuntu, igihugu aturutsemo, umwirondoro we nkuko uri kuri credit card ye n’ibindi.”
Gasana avuga ko ubu buryo nabwo buzaca akajagari muri za hoteli kuko banasaba abari barakoze reservations (abishyuye mbere) ko iyo myanya yabo ariyo bazashyirwamo mu buryo buzwi n’urwego rw’ubukerarugendo na
Abananyarwanda n’abanyamahanga bakora akazi ko guha serivisi ababagana biteguye kwakira neza abashyitsi . bazitabira inama ngarukamwaka ya Banki Nyafurika Itsura Amajyambere (AfDB).
Iyi nama igiye kuba ku nshuro ya 49 izabera i Kigali mu Rwanda kuva tariki
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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
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byanditswe na Faustin Niyigena
U Rwanda rwiteguye kwakira neza abashyitsi bazitabira inama ya AfDB
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
AfDB ku buryo nta cyumba uzasanga cyateganyirijwe (reserved) inshuro 2 n’umuntu 1 cyangwa abantu 2 batandukanye.
Iri tsinda rya AfDB n’urwego rw’ubukerarugendo biri kuyoborwa na Minisiteri y’imari n’igenamigambi (MINECOFIN).
Usibye iyi nama mpuzamahanga ya 49 yateguwe na AfDB, u Rwanda muri Nzeri nabwo ruzanakira inama ya 14 yiga ku iterambere n’ubucuruzi nayo iri ku rwego mpuzamahanga. Iyo nama yitwa International Trade World Centre ifatanywa n’indi yitwa International Trade Centre’s Women Vendors Exhibition and Forum.
Usibye izi nama zose ziteganyijwe kubera mu Rwanda muri uyu mwaka, u Rwanda ruherutse no kwakira izindi nama 2 mpuzamahanga; imwe ikaba yaritwaga Transform Africa yakurikiwe
n’iyitwa ICT for Agriculture kandi izi zose bazakiriye neza.
Umuyobozi ushinzwe ubuziranenge muri RDB, Emmanuel Werabee avuga ko urwego ayoboye ruri gukorana n’inzego (sectors) zose bireba kugira ngo buri kimwe cyose kizabe kiri mu buryo bwiza mu gihe cyo kwakira ibi bihumbi by’abashyitsi.
Zimwe muri izo nzego harimo urwego rwo gutwara abantu n’ibintu hakoreshejwe imodaka cyangwa indege, inzego z’umutekano n’abandi bose bireba barimo n’abikorera.
U Rwanda kuba rutoranywa kwakira izi nama nini zihuriramo ibihumbi by’abanyacyubahiro biba bigaragaza ishema u Rwanda rufite mu ruhando rw’amahanga kuko izi nama ikintu cya mbere gisabwa kugira ngo zizanwe mu gihugu runaka ari umutekano. TSM
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Promotional Items, Banners, Teardrops,Branding, Printing, Billboard advertisement
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BrandingContact us at;Plot KN14 AV 46,Tel: +250 788 307 047, 0787 399 828, Email: [email protected],Kimihurura, Kabindi-cardilac Stoney Road.
;:
by Robert Nsinga
Understanding
based �nancial services
ICT
There has been a considerable buzz on the internet around a new “transmittable” thing: money in virtual currency. The most commonly known transmittable items so far are voice, video, image, and text. Well, a sizeable number of people are now accustomed to buying and selling online, with such giants in the game as Amazon, PayPal, and other e-commerce giants. But such platforms have received wide spread adoption only in countries where credit cards and mobile phone usage has matured.
Fundamentally the credit card scheme was invented by banks to ensure that cash flow remains an inter-bank ac-tivity while creating a new form of equity: debt itself. The scheme relies on a central authority (in this case VISA or MasterCard) to regulate all transactions and monitor participating banks. It is a scheme based on trust. Bank A, B, and C trust credit card company X and vice-versa. Unfortunately, many banks in developed countries score poorly on trust due to political instability or high poverty rates. That is largely why credit card companies are still not common in Africa.
PayPal and Google introduced new features allowing cus-tomers to store multiple card schemes or electronic pay-ment options under a unique account by basically keeping
the same inter-bank arrangement under the novel idea of a virtual wallet. You can, for example, email money to a friend. Bitcoin and Dogecoin, the new kids on the block, take it further by converting real-life currency into virtual currency, totally drifting away from any central financial authority. Looking closely you will find that these new schemes are trying to enable payment without relying much on banks or trust-based systems. Bitcoin for ex-ample has replaced trust with a collective participation to solve computer-generated puzzles tied to each transaction for authentication. That is virtual currency. It has no exis-tence outside of the Internet.
But since trust is the biggest issue standing between us, Africans, and the existing card schemes maybe we have a better chance with schemes that are not based on trust like Bitcoin. By increasing our knowledge in technology we can do away with situations that have kept us out of the global electronic financial streams by providing new leverage for consideration. And by the way, Facebook may soon introduce e-money services in Ireland. With its mas-sive users I believe they have what it takes to give VISA or MasterCard a run for their money. TSM
The publisher is the founder of Ceable, a software development startup with operations in Rwanda and the EAC. He is also a consultant on financial services and e-commerce. Contact: [email protected].
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Other services offered:Stitching, Security kit, Heat Press
Promotional Items, Banners, Teardrops,Branding, Printing, Billboard advertisement
;:
BrandingContact us at;Plot KN14 AV 46,Tel: +250 788 307 047, 0787 399 828, Email: [email protected],Kimihurura, Kabindi-cardilac Stoney Road.
;:
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by Simon Corden
TheICT
Tech lovers across the world are celebrating! 70 years ago the pioneering Colossus computer started to crack Ger-man codes during World War Two. It is recognised as the world’s first digital programmable electronic computer. Built in 1944 it crunched data at a blazing 5.8Mhz but filled an entire room. In comparison, an iPhone 5 runs at 1.2Ghz that’s 1000 times faster and fits in your pocket.
The pace of change in IT is relentless. In the 1980s, people argued about CPU clock speeds, Megs of RAM and of course, as size matters: ‘How big is your hard drive?’ Some people still do, yet they are unlikely to be ordinary PC own-ers, bank tellers, magazine publishers or even gamers; but they will be CIOs, CFOs, enterprise architects and data centre managers. Why? Because as a worldwide commu-nity of data users, owners, hoarders and sharers, e-mailers, bloggers, v-loggers, Facebookers and Tweeps we are most-ly global and not local. In other words all our data is being stored, processed and managed in The Cloud.
What’s The Cloud? Actually, just another name for the Internet probably dreamt up by a cunning marketer. It is however, a massive network of smaller networks made up of billions of devices all ‘singing and dancing’ with each other. But there are some VERY BIG chunks of this net of nets that make Colossus look like an abacus that after all was only connected to a power supply and not other computers. Google’s 8 data centres are so big that their engineers are given bicycles to get around them. Some say they power the world; it’s where the Internet lives.
Ok, what does life in The Cloud mean for you and me? Well there’s good news and some bad news.
The Good news
• Using a smart phone we can access information from anywhere on any subject, fast
• Because I don’t need a hard drive and fan-cooled CPU, hardware costs are cheaper and most prob-lems are fixed by switching off and on again
• All my data is stored online, Skydrive offers a whopping 7Gb free
• All that data can be synchronised to multiple de-vices
• Online Apps like Google Docs and others mean we can always use the latest software and the pro-cessing power of a global corporation
• Family, friends, work colleagues and customers are seconds away from us through a myriad of channels from Hotmail to Snapchat from Face-book to Skype from Evernote to Twitter and one can work, study and socialise anywhere.
The Bad news
• Distraction! Every rude intrusive beep, buzz, whistle, chirp and ding takes our attention away from real life and real people – the irony is that social media can make us anti-social!
• Lack of Internet connection will make one feel like a nobody, with nothing
• Slow connections annoy and frustrate us
• The big problem is that identity, personal details and information security are constantly at risk of theft, hacking or exploitation as global me-dia reports about Edward Snowden confirm. It has been said that from the security of my home my online communications are like standing in a crowded market and shouting them out through a megaphone.
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by Simon Corden
TheICT
Every Cloud has a Silver Lining
No one can switch The Cloud off, it’s here to stay. With a feeling of great optimism I am in awe at the opportuni-ties it presents for education, healthcare, public services, retail, media, trade and industry.
Cloud stats
2 billion people use the web every week; half of them live in Asia
255,000,000,000 emails were sent today
2,700,000,000 Google searches were made today (27 were mine)
5 billion gigabytes of data are stored online
155 million websites are up and running
Facebook is 10 years old; the founder is only 25 and worth around $4billion
Google data centres consume 1000 times more electricity than some small countries. TSM
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by TSM Reporterin Rwanda’s banking sectorin Rwanda’s banking sector
FOCUS STORY
The banking sector in Rwanda is making huge strides thanks to the use of electronic methods. The need to open more branches is minimized since clients can do everything with a simple push of a button at the Automated Teller Ma-chines (ATMs), Points of Sale (POS) devices or from one’s laptop anywhere. This techno-logical evolution has led the banking industry to become more innovative and introduce new more sophisticated products through the elec-tronic platforms.
It has also led to a reduction in the loan default rates which was a huge challenge a few years ago. “We were able to reduce the non-perform-ing loans ratio from double digit figures a few years ago to the seven per cent we recorded last year,” Aimable Nkuranga, Rwanda Country Manager of Credit Reference Bureau Africa says.
Nkuranga explained that back then, a client would go from bank to bank accessing differ-ent credit facilities and then disappear without paying back. “This was all because the banks used to record customer information and didn’t share the information on clients, making it easy for defaulters to get more loans. However, since we entered the market in 2010, banks can now access each of their client’s credit history from our system in order to assess their credit
worthiness before granting them loans.”
Using Information Communication Technol-ogy (ICT) services has not only streamlined the working efficiencies of banks but it has also made them more buoyant. Today Rwan-da boasts of a total of 10 commercial banks, four microfinance banks, one development bank and a cooperative bank. As a result of the sector’s rapid transformation through ICT, more sector players have entered the market with Ugandan brand Crane Bank and German microfinance bank AB Bank being the latest.
Last year, the sector’s total assets grew by 21 per cent, from Rwf 1.25 trillion ($1.85bn) in 2012 to Rwf 1.5 trillion ($2.2bn) end last year. According to the central bank, this growth was mainly driven by the gross loans issued to the private sector that increased by 12.9 per cent from Rwf 747bn ($1.1 million) in 2012 to Rwf 844bn ($1.25 million) last year while custom-er deposits grew by 20.6 per cent from Rwf 844bn to Rwf 1.018 trillion in the same period in question.
The sector however recorded a 17 per cent dip in total profits, to Rwf 22.6bn last year from Rwf 27.3bn in 2012 mainly due to the sus-pension of donor funding in 2012 that led to a reduction in private sector lending.
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FOCUS STORY
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by TSM Reporterin Rwanda’s banking sectorin Rwanda’s banking sector
FOCUS STORY FOCUS STORY
Rao Balivada, Managing Director of GT Bank Rwanda said with the resumption in donor funding last year, they were now more focused on enabling the entire community to become familiar with electronic banking methods in order to ensure financial inclusion for all while at the same time creating a cash-less economy. He added that the use of ICT enabled them to increase out there to the unbanked population.
Most of the banks have their ATM machines that accept Smart cash, VISA, Master Card, Diner, American Express, China Union Pay, Discover and Pulse cards.
February’s central bank monetary policy and financial stability statement indicates that last year, the number of Automated Teller Machines increased by 14 per cent from 292 ATMs in 2012 to 333 as of end of December 2013. The machines’ transaction values also went up by
44 per cent, from Rwf 180.6bn in 2012 to Rwf 260.6bn in 2013.
Meanwhile, telecoms’ mobile money platforms, the main challenger to the banks’ electronic platforms on the other hand had Rwf 330bn pushed through them last year, a 105 per cent increase from Rwf 161bn recorded in 2012.
Sector analysts are positive that the competition will either steer the banks to introduce more innovative and customer cost saving products in order to out-compete the telecoms or make the two key players work together to achieve the goal. Kenya Commercial Bank’s Rwanda subsidiary, KCB Bank is working with telecom giant MTN in order to spread out its agency banking concept. TSM
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(Question)
Turashaka gushinga sosiyete y’ubucuruzi dufatanyije n’abandibenshi, mushobora kunsobanurira itandukaniroriri hagati y’inama y’ubutegetsi n’intekorusange ?
ASK OUR LAWYER
Katia ManirakizaConsultante Légale Envoyez-nous vos questions légales à : [email protected]
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Sosiyete y’ubucuruzi aho iva ikagera igira abanyamigabane benshi kandi ikaba igomba gukora inama ihuza abagize inteko rusange. Iyo nteko rusange iterana rimwe mu mezi atandatu nyuma yo gusoza umwaka w’ibikorwa byayo. Abanyamigabane bose bashobora kuyitabira cyangwa ntibabikore ariko bose bafite uburenganzira bwo kuyijyamo. Buri munyamigabane aba afite uburenganzira bwo gutora amajwi ye akajyana n’umubare w’imigabane ye, bityo akagira uruhare rwo gufata ibyemezo bireba zosiyete ye. Muri iyo nama iterana buri mwaka ni ho bagabana inyungu babonye. Kuri buri cyemezo buri munyamigabane atora ashyira urutoki hejuru. Umunyamigabane ashobora gutora yanga icyemezo cyangwa agishyigikira, yifata se cyangwa akanga gutora.
Muri iyo nama y’inteko rusange ni ho basuzumira raporo y’imari y’umwaka barangije. Buri munyamigabane ashobora gufata ijambo, akabaza ibibazo ku ngingo runaka. Ni wo mwaka wonyine mu mwaka aho buri muyobozi w’ikigo cy’ubucuruzi asobanurira abanyamigabane ibikorwa byakozwe anagaragaza ko ikigo cyacunzwe neza.
Iyo nama iba buri mwaka ni yo yitwa inteko rusange isanzwe, ariko hari ubundi bwoko bw’inteko rusange bita inteko rusange idasanzwe. Nkuko izina
ribigaragaza iyo nteko ntiterana ku gihe kizwi gihoraho ahubwo iterana kubera ikibazo runaka kiba cyavutse kidasanzwe. Iyo nteko rusange idasanzwe ishobora guterana igamije guhindura amategeko ngenga y’ikigo, kongera imari, guhuza inzego, kuzana imigabane, gusenyuka, gutangaza imigabane bifuza kugurisha. Muri rusange, inteko rusange ni ahantu abanyamigabane bateranira kugira ngo bafate ibyemezo. Naho inama y’ubutegetsi ni itsinda ry’abantu cyangwa amashyirahamwe cyangwa abantu ku giti cyabo bashinzwe kuyobora ikigo. Iyo nama y’ubutegetsi igizwe n’abantu batandukanye ari bo perezida ushobora kuba yaratowe cyangwa yarashyizweho n’umunyamabanga. Niba ari ishyirahamwe rifite uwo mwanya rishyiraho umuntu urihagararira muri iyo nama y’ubutegetsi. Ese abagize inama y’ubutegetsi batoranywa bate ? Mugomba abantu bafite ubumenyi n’ubushobozi bwihariye, bazwi cyane cyangwa bafite ikindi bamarira ubucuruzi bwanyu.
Icyo ugomba kwitondera ni umubare usabwa kugira ngo inama ifate ibyemezo n’igihe inama itumirizwa, ugomba kuba ufite ikaye nini ukoresha igihe hateranye inteko rusange n’indi ukoresha igihe hateranye inama y’ubutegetsi n’indi yandikwamo abitabiriye inama. TSM
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(Question)
Turashaka gushinga sosiyete y’ubucuruzi dufatanyije n’abandibenshi, mushobora kunsobanurira itandukaniroriri hagati y’inama y’ubutegetsi n’intekorusange ?
ASK OUR LAWYER
Katia ManirakizaConsultante Légale Envoyez-nous vos questions légales à : [email protected]
by Dr. Rachna Pande
YOUR WELL BEING MATTERS
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a chronic condition where the individual’s blood pressure (pressure against which the blood flows in blood vessels) is higher than normal. A person may have headache, restlessness or there may be no complaint at all. It may be detected while doing a physical examination for some other problem or prior to a surgical intervention.
Once detected, hypertension needs dietary restrictions to keep it under control. Most of the people need medication to maintain a normal blood pressure. Higher doses of drugs or more drugs may be needed after a period to keep it controlled. Untreated hypertension damages organs in the body like kidneys, eyes, heart, and brain. Therefore it is important to keep it within normal range, i.e. 140/ 80 mm.Hg., or less.
It is important for one to know the risk factors causing high blood pressure and so prevent its development from a young age.
Large quantities of saturated fats in the diet increase lipid levels in the blood, a risk factor for both hypertension and heart problems. Therefore it is important for an individual to reduce intake of food substances containing saturated fats like cheese, butter, margarine, cream, eggs and meat products. Consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grain, e.t.c., vegetable products and lean meat like fish, is healthy.
Doing physical exercise daily is vital in avoiding hypertension. It also prevents obesity. Exercises like brisk walking, swimming, light jogging and yoga are ideal for prevention of hypertension and its related problems. They also help in treating hypertension with minimum amount of drugs. Breathing exercises of yoga if done regularly are very useful in this regard, scientific studies have shown.
A word of caution here, any exercise done should not be strenuous or exhausting for the patient, otherwise it will be more harmful than beneficial. Exercises like weight lifting or muscle
building should be avoided. These kinds of exercises release adrenalin in the body and augment blood pressure.
Alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking are other risk factors for developing hypertension. Hence it is better to quit them before damage occurs to the body.
Physical and mental strain also leads to hypertension. One should learn to work within limits of his endurance. It is important to work hard in life but it is equally important to maintain good health. Hence it is desirable that one increases the amount of work done gradually and keeps regular hours of eating and sleeping. Mental stress should also be avoided. A person can achieve mental relaxation by means of yoga, sufficient rest periods, meditation, reading good literature, e.t.c. Charity, generosity, friendly and cooperative attitudes are other traits which help a person feel happy and mentally relaxed.
Advancing age and hereditary are two other factors responsible for hypertension which cannot be avoided totally. But it should be known that brittleness of blood vessels occurring with advancing age causes only systolic hypertension (increased upper level of blood pressure) which does not affect an individual with no other risk factors. Similarly one can have hypertension if there is a strong family history with it but one can delay its development and keep it controlled by diet and exercise.TSM
The author is a Specialist in internal medicine- Ruhengeri Hospital
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by Gloria Iribagiza
Dr. Landry Ndriko MayiganeYouth movements that build Green Economies
YOUTH TALK
At 32, Dr. Landry Ndriko Mayigane has, for the past de-cade, been building youth movements across Africa and the world to address environment issues. Among them are; Af-rican Youth Initiative on Climate Change, Youth 4 Results, Rwanda #YACA (Youth Alliance for Climate Actions) as well as working as Coordinator of the National Poultry Pro-gram (MINAGI).
He spoke to The Service Mag (TSM) about his leader-ship role as a social entrepreneurwho mobilizes youth to engage and contribute to Rwanda’s development.
TSM: How do you influence change within your community?
MAyIGANE: I am a social entrepreneur and one of the founding members of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), the biggest youth move-ment in the continent promoting youth leadership in creating awareness for climate change and in advancing locally made solutions for adaptation. The network is 42 countries strong with over 10,000 members.
I also co-founded the Youth 4 Results network in col-laboration with the African Development Bank Group working on youth mainstreaming in the Management for Development results across Africa and promoting agendas for regional integration.
Additionally, I am the Founder and Chairman of the Rwanda #YACA (Youth Alliance for Climate Actions) aka RYACA which is a promising and inspiring local youth network of doers and makers, and active contrib-utors to the green economy of Rwanda.
I have also been working as the Coordinator of the Na-tional Poultry Program under the Ministry of Agricul-ture and Animal Resources’ (MINAGRI) Rwanda Ag-riculture Board to promote food security and improve rural households’ economy through sustainable and safe poultry farming systems.
TSM: Why are the above roles important?
Youth are the leaders of today and tomorrow. We cannot talk about sustainability without involving youth in the processes, from their inception to finalization.
TSM: What do you consider the biggest challenge in your field?
It is not always easy to find the right incentives to keep the fire burning for youth especially when building a network that is volunteer-based. As a civil servant, it is difficult to make enough time for my youth networks, yet I love my job at MINAGRI and owe my profession-al development so far to it.
TSM: What is your biggest success story as a youth leader?
Actually not mine but our biggest success, with some colleagues who worked hard alongside with me for RYACA, is seeing this network taking shape little by little. RYACA in partnership with Miss Rwanda 2014, Akiwacu Colombe and others, have made a music vid-eo that highlights the need and benefits of protecting the environment. With RYACA, I feel like everything is possible with the right attitude and determination but most importantly the right team at your side that shares your vision. Everything is possible if you just dare to dare.
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by Gloria Iribagiza
Dr. Landry Ndriko MayiganeYouth movements that build Green Economies
YOUTH TALK
UpCloseUpClose
YOUTH TALK
TSM: Where do you derive your motivation?
My passion for youth and Africa is my motivation. In light of this, RYACA has recently been selected by the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth Office to join the Global Partnership for Youth in the Post-2015 De-velopment Agenda. This partnership aims at ensuring that young people are actively participating in setting, implementing, and evaluating the new development agenda due to replace the MDGs in 2015.
TSM: What are your aspirations?
Inspire a generation of youth who act as Youthpreneurs and Enviropreneurs in Rwanda. This means youth who are proactive and aggressive entrepreneurs in creating green jobs and opportunities for themselves and their peers in their communities, while being responsible and active global citizens.
TSM: What is your take on service delivery in the environment sector?
Rwanda is doing great in this area as manifested by the ban on plastic bags, beauty and cleanliness of Kigali. However, we still have a lot of work to do to reduce our individual carbon footprint which means simply reducing the impact of our personal behavior and acts on global warming. Let our daily actions and services always respond to the ‘3R attitude call’ which is to “Re-duce, Re-use and Recycle”.
TSM: What is your message for the Rwandan youth?
‘The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.’
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Happiest when: I am listening to my favorite music, which is Gregorian Chants.
Inspired most when: Looking at the blue sky and the full moon.
Saddest moment: When I repeat the same mistake.
Favorite hangout spot in Rwanda: Carrefour des Artistes at UTC.
Favorite dish: Isombe.
The gadget you can’t possibly do without: My smart phone—of course when internet is working.
If you had one wish, which celebrity, famous or influential person would you like to meet in person?: Jesus.
Current relationship status: I have a girl friend.
The most daring or craziest thing you’ve done:Flying a small wagon plane as a co-pilot. TSM
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FashionFashionFashion
by Efua Hagan, founder of IOLA [email protected]
Confidence and style go hand in hand; one can’t exist without the other. One way to exude confidence is by getting the colours and patterns and textures you wear right.
RADIATE CONFIDENCE IN JEWELRY OF COLOURA world without colour would be dull. A bold necklace is a practical and easy way to add a pop of colour and visual interest to your look. Use a bold necklace to: Complete a look
Display self-confidenceTransform a simple or monotonous outfit into something a little more interesting.
Exude confidence in jewelry by KANYANA
BASIC STYLE TIPS TO KEEP YOU LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BESTGents, for the work place, consider branching away from the usual black suit. Navy blue and grey especially are far more versatile and offer a more understated yet formal, business appropriate look. Black is less suitable for business or the day time but can look very modern and stylish when worn in the evening.
Ladies, add a single bright element to any outfit and make it look instantly updated. You can keep the rest of the outfit neutral or mix in a contrasting bright for a balanced look. However keep in mind that bright colours highlight and draw attention to whatever area you wear them on.
Website: www.kanyana.rw, www.facebook.com/Kanyana-Rwanda , Tel: +250 784080164
Necklace by KANYANA Model: Rachel Uwineza�e price for jewelry at KANYANA ranges between: 5,000 RWF and 45,000 RWF
Neck
laces
by K
ANYA
NA
Mod
els: le
ft: K
alisa
Vesti
na R
ight
: Rac
hel U
win
eza
Cocktail ring made of Pure Amber By KANYANAN
eckla
ce by
KAN
YAN
AN
eckla
ces ar
e mad
e of b
eads
and b
rass.
FASHION PAGE
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A PLAYFUL TOUCH OF TEXTURE Add a playful touch of colour and texture to your look for the day or evening with a clutch bag. Clutch bags are perfect for evening dates and fancy occasions. If you are a bride-to-be organizing your big day, consider clutch bags for your bridesmaids as a unique alternative to flowers.
Custom made fashion clutch bags by IOLA Designs combine a trendy mix of heritage and modern style and are set to provide a unique and enjoyable handbag experience. All designs are African inspired and made in Rwanda.
KEEP IT CLASSY WITH MODERATE PATTERNSThe safest way to wear pattern is in moderation. A classic approach would be to Mix a patterned item with a plain one. For example a patterned shirt can be matched with a plain silk neck tie, or a print blouse with a plain skirt. A more daring approach would require mixing patterns together (try not to exceed two). This works best when each pattern is of a different size. Generally, the rule here is not to clash.
Enjoy a trendy fashion experience with RWANDA CLOTHING. The following items can be found at the RWANDA CLOTHING STORE.
BASIC STYLE TIPS TO KEEP YOU LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BESTGents, for the work place, consider branching away from the usual black suit. Navy blue and grey especially are far more versatile and offer a more understated yet formal, business appropriate look. Black is less suitable for business or the day time but can look very modern and stylish when worn in the evening.
Ladies, add a single bright element to any outfit and make it look instantly updated. You can keep the rest of the outfit neutral or mix in a contrasting bright for a balanced look. However keep in mind that bright colours highlight and draw attention to whatever area you wear them on.
RWANDA CLOTHING is designed by Joselyne Umutoniwase (Creative Director)RWANDA CLOTHING is available at the RWANDA CLOTHING STORE Kigali (Nyarugenge, Gitega, Avenue de la Justice (KN 2 Ave) 86, at Sky Hotel) Open from Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 07:30 pmwww.facebook.com/RWANDACLOTHINGSTORETel: 0786 134 128
E-mail: [email protected], Tel: +250 786015629, https://www.facebook.com/ioladesigns.pfa
Fabric Play Clutch bag by IOLA Designs 25,000RWF
Romper by RWANDA CLOTHING range from 49.000 RWF to 69.000 RFWJumper by RWANDA
CLOTHING 49,000 RWF
Upgrade your out�t with scarves, which are always in style.Scarves by RWANDA CLOTHING 29,000 RWF
Laptop cases by RWANDA CLOTHING 19.000 RWF to 29.000 RFW (with leather)
Boxer shorts by RWANDA CLOTHING 9.000 RFW
Jackets by RWANDA CLOTHING range from 49.000 RWF to 59.000 RFW
Double bow Clutch Bag by IOLA Designs 20,000 RWF
Rose Clutch Bag by IOLA Designs 20,000 RWF
FASHION PAGE
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FashionFashionFashion
by Efua Hagan, founder of IOLA [email protected]
Confidence and style go hand in hand; one can’t exist without the other. One way to exude confidence is by getting the colours and patterns and textures you wear right.
RADIATE CONFIDENCE IN JEWELRY OF COLOURA world without colour would be dull. A bold necklace is a practical and easy way to add a pop of colour and visual interest to your look. Use a bold necklace to: Complete a look
Display self-confidenceTransform a simple or monotonous outfit into something a little more interesting.
Exude confidence in jewelry by KANYANA
BASIC STYLE TIPS TO KEEP YOU LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BESTGents, for the work place, consider branching away from the usual black suit. Navy blue and grey especially are far more versatile and offer a more understated yet formal, business appropriate look. Black is less suitable for business or the day time but can look very modern and stylish when worn in the evening.
Ladies, add a single bright element to any outfit and make it look instantly updated. You can keep the rest of the outfit neutral or mix in a contrasting bright for a balanced look. However keep in mind that bright colours highlight and draw attention to whatever area you wear them on.
Website: www.kanyana.rw, www.facebook.com/Kanyana-Rwanda , Tel: +250 784080164
Necklace by KANYANA Model: Rachel Uwineza�e price for jewelry at KANYANA ranges between: 5,000 RWF and 45,000 RWF
Neck
laces
by K
ANYA
NA
Mod
els: le
ft: K
alisa
Vesti
na R
ight
: Rac
hel U
win
eza
Cocktail ring made of Pure Amber By KANYANAN
eckla
ce by
KAN
YAN
AN
eckla
ces ar
e mad
e of b
eads
and b
rass.
FASHION PAGE
A PLAYFUL TOUCH OF TEXTURE Add a playful touch of colour and texture to your look for the day or evening with a clutch bag. Clutch bags are perfect for evening dates and fancy occasions. If you are a bride-to-be organizing your big day, consider clutch bags for your bridesmaids as a unique alternative to flowers.
Custom made fashion clutch bags by IOLA Designs combine a trendy mix of heritage and modern style and are set to provide a unique and enjoyable handbag experience. All designs are African inspired and made in Rwanda.
KEEP IT CLASSY WITH MODERATE PATTERNSThe safest way to wear pattern is in moderation. A classic approach would be to Mix a patterned item with a plain one. For example a patterned shirt can be matched with a plain silk neck tie, or a print blouse with a plain skirt. A more daring approach would require mixing patterns together (try not to exceed two). This works best when each pattern is of a different size. Generally, the rule here is not to clash.
Enjoy a trendy fashion experience with RWANDA CLOTHING. The following items can be found at the RWANDA CLOTHING STORE.
BASIC STYLE TIPS TO KEEP YOU LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BESTGents, for the work place, consider branching away from the usual black suit. Navy blue and grey especially are far more versatile and offer a more understated yet formal, business appropriate look. Black is less suitable for business or the day time but can look very modern and stylish when worn in the evening.
Ladies, add a single bright element to any outfit and make it look instantly updated. You can keep the rest of the outfit neutral or mix in a contrasting bright for a balanced look. However keep in mind that bright colours highlight and draw attention to whatever area you wear them on.
RWANDA CLOTHING is designed by Joselyne Umutoniwase (Creative Director)RWANDA CLOTHING is available at the RWANDA CLOTHING STORE Kigali (Nyarugenge, Gitega, Avenue de la Justice (KN 2 Ave) 86, at Sky Hotel) Open from Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 07:30 pmwww.facebook.com/RWANDACLOTHINGSTORETel: 0786 134 128
E-mail: [email protected], Tel: +250 786015629, https://www.facebook.com/ioladesigns.pfa
Fabric Play Clutch bag by IOLA Designs 25,000RWF
Romper by RWANDA CLOTHING range from 49.000 RWF to 69.000 RFWJumper by RWANDA
CLOTHING 49,000 RWF
Upgrade your out�t with scarves, which are always in style.Scarves by RWANDA CLOTHING 29,000 RWF
Laptop cases by RWANDA CLOTHING 19.000 RWF to 29.000 RFW (with leather)
Boxer shorts by RWANDA CLOTHING 9.000 RFW
Jackets by RWANDA CLOTHING range from 49.000 RWF to 59.000 RFW
Double bow Clutch Bag by IOLA Designs 20,000 RWF
Rose Clutch Bag by IOLA Designs 20,000 RWF
FASHION PAGE
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N� 5 �u� 50 st�r� f�� Rw�nd� R������ Au�h��i�� f�� ����� ����i��, ���� t� ���l��� ,���es�i�n��i��, c���e��, ��n��es�. I ���� ���� g��n� ba�� ����� t�m��r��. Ge�r�e�.
Urban Bistro (City Blue Hotels) gets a 4/5 for overall experience in hosting a birthdaydinner for my friend. From the booking/planning phase to the service delivery at the event, I was very impressed. These guys know what they are doing and Joseph, the restaurant supervisor owns and wears his title with pride. Kudos!!!
I tweeted EWSA for the �rst time and was very pleased with their response, speed and the information they provided. However, how do they provide information to customers who do not have access to twitter (ie water rationing schedule, works on the electricity grid)? No wonder people are complaining if no one tells them about these things! What do you guys think?Oriane.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Since I came to Rwanda 1.5 year ago, I have found the service at Select Restaurant perfect and they are always trying to go beyond my expectations. The waiters keep eye-contact so you don’t have to call them; they are polite, speak Kinyarwanda, English and French perfectly. It is the best place to bring family members or important customers for a meal. I haven’t been disappointed so far...” Nelly.
When you get outstanding customer care and you feel a simple thank you is just not enough: KIPHARMA, REMERA BRANCH! Keep it Up!
I always have the best customer service experience with Shima Travel Agency. They are located on the �rst �oor of the Bonne Adresse building. It is 2 ladies who might have a total cumulative experience of 60 years in travel agency businesses. They have the energy of young graduates combined with the wisdom of grandmothers...JUST PERFECT!” Betty.
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N� 5 �u� 50 st�r� f�� Rw�nd� R������ Au�h��i�� f�� ����� ����i��, ���� t� ���l��� ,���es�i�n��i��, c���e��, ��n��es�. I ���� ���� g��n� ba�� ����� t�m��r��. Ge�r�e�.
Urban Bistro (City Blue Hotels) gets a 4/5 for overall experience in hosting a birthdaydinner for my friend. From the booking/planning phase to the service delivery at the event, I was very impressed. These guys know what they are doing and Joseph, the restaurant supervisor owns and wears his title with pride. Kudos!!!
I tweeted EWSA for the �rst time and was very pleased with their response, speed and the information they provided. However, how do they provide information to customers who do not have access to twitter (ie water rationing schedule, works on the electricity grid)? No wonder people are complaining if no one tells them about these things! What do you guys think?Oriane.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Since I came to Rwanda 1.5 year ago, I have found the service at Select Restaurant perfect and they are always trying to go beyond my expectations. The waiters keep eye-contact so you don’t have to call them; they are polite, speak Kinyarwanda, English and French perfectly. It is the best place to bring family members or important customers for a meal. I haven’t been disappointed so far...” Nelly.
When you get outstanding customer care and you feel a simple thank you is just not enough: KIPHARMA, REMERA BRANCH! Keep it Up!
I always have the best customer service experience with Shima Travel Agency. They are located on the �rst �oor of the Bonne Adresse building. It is 2 ladies who might have a total cumulative experience of 60 years in travel agency businesses. They have the energy of young graduates combined with the wisdom of grandmothers...JUST PERFECT!” Betty.
Ruzizi Tented Lodge is a new kid on the block, opened just over a year ago, in Akagera National Park. And new it may be, but it is already making its mark among Rwan-da’s tourist offerings and has become a hotspot for week-end get aways. Designed, built, and now operated by park staff, Ruzizi started out as a simple concept on a simple budget. The lodge has exceeded expectations over the past year, reaching 60% occupancy at the height of the tourism season, and has received rave reviews on popular travel sites and local print media along the way. So, what is the secret to Ruzizi’s success? It’s not much of a secret if you’ve vis-ited…
Location, location, location! Found deep in the riverine for-est, nestled on the edge of Lake Ihema, in one of Africa’s most scenic parks – Ruzizi is fairly unbeatable in this de-partment.
Innovation; Ruzizi is the first of its kind in Rwanda, al-though a well proven concept elsewhere in Africa. Its eco-conscious design through a comprehensive system of solar power, use of local materials and raised boardwalks to leave a ‘light footprint’ coupled with the lodge’s unique construction features (including a tree growing through the building) make this an undeniable contender in the ‘inno-vation’ category.
Value for money; Ruzizi is a mid-range facility with daily rates including a three course dinner followed by tea and coffee and a scrumptious breakfast with eggs made to order, homemade breads and muffins and freshly squeezed juice.
But perhaps more significantly – because Ruzizi is operated by the park, 100% of the profits from every stay go towards the long-term sustainability of Akagera. You can enjoy your stay even more knowing you are directly contributing to the protection and conservation of Rwanda’s only savannah park, funding law enforcement activities and community development in areas surrounding the park.
Last but not least, customer service; it goes without saying that this can make or break an experience. Lodge Manager, Ian Munyankindi, stresses that a good team is essential to successful service delivery and small things can make a big difference; “It’s about creating an entire experience for our visitors from the moment they make a booking enquiry, to even after they have left”.
Visitors had this to say, “When we walked in, we felt like they knew us… The whole experience and lodge was so beautiful and special we just stayed there for the rest of the day. The perfect combination of rustic and luxury… The service and food are excellent.”
Ruzizi Tented Lodge must be on the right track... So come and meet the new kid, you might just make a new friend! TSM
For bookings or more information, please contact Ruzizi Tented Lodge: +250 (0) 787 11 33 00 or [email protected]
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Benson Wamwea is a flight attendant, aviation enthusiast, motivational speaker, farmer, poet and social entrepreneur.
“I got into aviation in September 2006. I did my initial training with East African Safari Air Express Ltd, based in Nairobi. In January 2007, two of the company partners broke away to form Jetlink Express Ltd, and I joined Jetlink. In September 2009, I joined fly 540 aviation until March 2012 when I joined my current employer, ALS limited, an aircraft leasing company that mostly operates humanitarian flights for the UN, flying to war zones and hardship areas to provide humanitarian support.”
Since he was 5, Benson wanted to fly. “I grew up next to a military airbase, and was always fascinated by the aircraft flying overhead” he says. His greatest inspiration was Captain Peter Maranga, now with Kenya Airways. “When I was 12 years old, I read two of Captain Maranga’s books: ‘A little boy’s dream’ and ‘License to Fly’. The story of how he transitioned from a village herdsboy to now flying some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world is truly inspirational to me. When I became a flight attendant, I kept the passion to fly and I am currently studying for my pilot license.”
It pays to follow your dream and Benson admits he is love with practically everything about his job. “Everything! The planes. The crew. The passengers. The destinations. The view from the sky. The freedom in being in a different part of the world every time.” He enjoys meeting people and tries to start a conversation with as many passengers as he can. “Apart from the fact that it creates a relaxed flying experience for them and an easy working environment for me, people are a bank of knowledge. They inspire
me. I learn a lot on a daily basis. I have grown lasting friendships and business relationships through talking to people I meet. I have found mentors who have coached me about life. I can say I am truly blessed to have the chance to meet these people.”
Does Benson face any challenges? “Going to war torn areas is a challenge in itself. The suffering you see on the ground, the sense of imminent danger and lack of normal comforts of life. However, the realization that just by flying to this place, somebody’s life is being saved, gives us the courage to keep going. The knowledge that somebody somewhere depends on the passengers or the cargo that we are delivering gives real meaning to what we do.”
Benson advises young people who desire to become flight attendants to keep dreaming because your dreams are valid. Although it may take a while to land a job as a flight attendant, he says anyone with that desire should keep applying and not give up.
Be prepared to work long hours, however, he warns. One needs to be patient, have a pleasant personality, love people and be interested in them. “Irritable people would struggle in this job,” he adds.
Apart from being up in the air, Benson recently founded a company, Blockworld limited, that provides low cost housing through the use of interlocking stabilized soil blocks. He is also a motivational speaker, and speaks to teenagers in high schools on self esteem, goal setting, attitude and belief systems. He is interested in farming and keeps chicken and grows vegetables in a small greenhouse. TSM
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