In 2010, I joined the University of Rwanda on a prestigious scholarship from an American organisation, Generation Rwanda, now known as Kepler. I arrived with dreams, expectations, and a carefully chosen path: Quantity Surveying. I was convinced it was right for me.
After one year, I realised something that would change the course of my life forever. Quantity Surveying was not my calling.
It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. Walking away meant losing an entire year of study, disappointing people who believed in me, and starting over from scratch. Yet deep inside I knew the choice: continue down a path that felt safe but empty, or take a risk and pursue something I truly loved.
I chose courage.
I enrolled in Communication Design, a four-year degree focused on creativity, design and visual communication. Looking back, that decision was the first real investment I ever made in myself.
While many students waited until graduation to gain experience, I completed three internships in my first year alone. By my second year I was competing in design competitions, challenging myself to think bigger. Every competition taught me that creativity is not a gift reserved for a few people, it is a skill that grows through practice, discipline and persistence.
The dream, and the reality
In my third year, together with university colleagues, I co-founded Gravity Rwanda. We were young, ambitious, and convinced that creativity could become a business. In 2014, we graduated, and reality hit quickly. The business was not making money.
One by one, my partners lost faith. Eventually they all walked away, taking everything we had built together and leaving me with very little. Except for one thing: the name. Gravity Rwanda. And my determination to make it work.
Many people would have given up. To be honest, there were days when giving up seemed like the most logical option, no resources, no office, no clear future. But I refused to quit. I moved operations to my mother's backyard kitchen and started again.
That kitchen became my office, my classroom, my boardroom and my innovation hub.
It was there I learned one of the most important lessons of my life: passion alone is not enough. I loved creativity, design and storytelling, but loving what you do does not automatically make it profitable. If I wanted Gravity Rwanda to survive, I needed to become more than a creative. I needed to become an entrepreneur.
So I committed myself to learning. I joined The Business Accelerator Academy, the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, the Business Development Center and Business Professionals Network (BPN). I studied business models, sales, finance, leadership and strategy. Every training taught me something new. Every mentor expanded my thinking. Every mistake became a lesson.
Slowly, things began to change
Clients started trusting us.
Projects became larger.
Revenue became more predictable.
I moved out of my mother's kitchen into a larger workspace. Then came another milestone, hiring employees. First one. Then two. Then four. Today, Gravity Rwanda has grown into a company serving organisations, brands, entrepreneurs and NGOs across Rwanda and beyond.
Yet the business is only part of the story. The greatest blessing has been building a life alongside my wife and raising our two incredible children. They remind me every day why perseverance matters, that dreams are not only about personal success, but about creating opportunity, stability and inspiration for those we love.
When people see where I am today, they focus on the company, the team, the accomplishments. What they don't always see is the year I lost, the scholarship risk, the failed partnerships, the uncertainty, the backyard kitchen, the countless moments when quitting would have been easier. But success is rarely built in the spotlight. It is built in the moments when nobody is watching.
If I could speak to young people
If there is one lesson I hope you take from my journey, it is this: do not be afraid to pursue what truly speaks to your heart. The safest path is not always the right path. Sometimes success begins when you have the courage to walk away from what is expected and move toward what is meaningful.
Doing what you love does not guarantee an easy life. It does not remove obstacles or eliminate failure. But it gives you something powerful enough to keep going when everything else tells you to stop.
Passion gives you purpose.
Purpose gives you resilience.
And resilience, over time, creates success.
You do not need perfect conditions to start. You do not need a fancy office, wealthy investors, or certainty about the future. Sometimes all you need is the courage to begin again, even if that beginning happens in your mother's backyard kitchen.
"Trust the process. Keep creating. Keep learning. Keep believing. One day, the struggle will become the story that inspires others."To my younger self
Chasing something of your own?
