After losing his job and feeling the weight of dependence on his parents, this 27-year-old from Rubavu District found inspiration in the most unlikely of places—scrap metal. What others saw as waste, he transformed into a thriving business, crafting saucepans, gate decorations, and stoves out of discarded metal.
Niyomugabo Jean De Dieu is a young man who turns scrap metal into functional items like saucepans, gate decorations, and other metal products. He hails from Rubavu District, Bugeshi Sector, Kabumba Cell.
In 2019, Niyomugabo ventured into the trade of making various items, including saucepans, gate decorations, metal stoves, and other metal-based products, using discarded scrap metal. He chose this trade as a last resort.
Describing his entrepreneurial journey, he explains that he tried different trades without success and even attempted acting in films, but after a short period, he quit. At 27 years old, he sat on a bench, contemplating a project that would allow him to stop being a burden on his parents, who were still providing for him, even though he was already grown.
This skilled recycler of scrap metal grew up in a modest farming family. Undoubtedly, his parents and other relatives had high expectations for him as a child who had attended school, yet he faced an uncertain future due to unemployment after finishing high school in 2015.
He initially started by repairing broken appliances like televisions, phones, and other electrical equipment but wasn’t satisfied with the earnings. When he traveled to neighboring Congo, he came across a place where they made items from scrap metal, and he asked to be trained. It took him seven months to learn.
He did not take long on this path, as he says. He began collecting scrap metal and started making these items, earning praise from people in the trade. However, the financial means to purchase scrap metal presented a challenge, and there was also the difficulty of gaining trust from buyers who doubted the viability of products made from discarded metal.
Through self-confidence, he persevered, working with traditional tools as he couldn’t afford modern machinery. Due to his efforts, he managed to buy a power machine and a hand-operated machine.
In an extensive interview with KURA, Niyomugabo Jean de Dieu explained that in his operations, he uses the land, hand-operated machines, electric machines, wooden frames, and other simple tools.
He has already achieved several milestones, including buying a plot of land with a house, purchasing a motorbike that he now rents out daily, and establishing a depot that distributes BRALIRWA products.
He dreams of expanding his business to an international level and becoming a bridge for other youth by creating jobs once he has sufficient machinery.
The benefits he has gained from self-employment and daring to try have motivated him to offer advice to young people who are still afraid to venture into entrepreneurship.
He said, “To the youth who are still hesitant, I advise you to stop idling and start working, and believe in your abilities. Put your ideas into action, even if they fail, but at least try. After all, you are the strength of the nation and the family.”