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8 REASONS WHY I MOVED TO KIGALI RWANDA
August 24, 2021
8 REASONS WHY I MOVED TO KIGALI RWANDA
1. The sun
This might sound superficial, but to me it was one of the main reasons to move to Rwanda. After living in a cold country like the Netherlands for about 20 years you really learn to appreciate the sun. My family in Rwanda doesn’t understand how I enjoy the sun, but they just don’t know how it is to live in a really cold country.
2. Stagnant life
After living in the Netherlands for 20 years, I had built up a pretty good life considering where I came from. I had been working since I was 12, there was money in the bank, I had free healthcare, good education, and a good passport. But, for some reason, it was not that great. There was no real meaning or sense of purpose to my life other than work until retirement. But I always had bigger dreams and ambitions of helping people, achieving success and greatness, and the Netherlands just felt like a misfit. Plus, I realized that all the successful people from the Netherlands lived outside the Netherlands. So I knew I had to move.
3. Unlimited business opportunities
As a child, I used to say that I wanted to be a doctor, like my father. My father was a doctor who was well known and respected in our community and we were not poor. The idea of helping people and being financially well-off was all I ever wanted.
However, I did not make it into medical school but luckily I found out that I could help even more people and be financially well-off through business. So I searched far and wide for people to help and what kind of business to start. It was not until I did an internship in Kigali that I realized that Rwanda has more people that need more help than the Netherlands.
And the business opportunities are endless here. Just come to Rwanda and see for yourself. For me, I have always had a passion for sports and a lifelong dream of having my gym someday. During my internship, I saw that there was a 100% possibility that I could turn my passion into a business here in Kigali. So I moved here to make that a reality.
4. Inequality
There is a lot of inequality in the world, particularly between Europe and Africa. This is causing many Africans to risk their life for a so-called better future in Europe.
As someone who feels like he’s from both worlds, this touched me a lot. It’s like having a poor father and a rich mother, it doesn’t make sense.
Me moving to Rwanda, with my education, my knowledge, and money, is my way of reducing that inequality.
5. Racism
The Netherlands has a deep, and institutionalized racism society. That means the white people you meet or work with are not racist per se, but the system you both live in has a bias against you or anyone who is not white. Won’t see it at first, but you will definitely feel it when you live there long enough.
I felt it most when I advanced in life by getting a higher education, getting a far better paying job, or by moving into a nicer neighborhood. The more I realized that there were fewer and fewer people who looked like me in these places. I have since learned that institutionalized racism exists in almost all white countries.
Over the years it has gotten much better, but there are still some big signs that there is still a long way to go.
For someone like me, who just came from a genocide torn country, who has lived in multiple countries and continents and is super motivated to make it live, Racism was not going to stop me.
But there comes a time when you have to ask yourself: Is this the battle I want to fight? Is this the life I want to live for the rest of my life? Is this the world I would want to raise future kids in? NO.
No country is perfect of course, but you know where you won’t find institutionalized racism? In Rwanda!
6. Family
Family is very important in our culture, but I grew up without knowing 90% of my extended family of cousins, aunties, and uncles. And I have A LOT of them.
Moving to Rwanda has brought me so much closer to my family. Even though we were not part of each other’s lives growing up, we are now together in our new lives as adults, uncles, and parents as we continue to grow our family tree.
7. Not being a minority
All my life I have lived as a minority, always adjusting to the majority. As a teenager, it was cool to be different. But in adulthood, it just makes life so much harder.
In Rwanda, I am part of the majority. I can sit on the bus and not get noticed by every passenger who steps in. 99% of the rich people in Rwanda look like me. Restaurants serve food that I grew up eating and I NEVER have to check what kind of music is going to be played when I go out. And I love it.
What I do miss about being a minority in the Netherlands, is always being one of the best dancers at every house party I went to.
8. Build Wealth
There I said it, I want to be rich. I want to be rich in Rwanda and Africa though. According to all the rich people I follow, getting rich is highly correlated to how many people you help through your product or service. If it is up to me, I will help every single Rwandan here in Rwanda.
Western countries have had their run. Now it's Africa’s turn to prosper. And by the looks of how so many people are now immigrating back to the continent, I believe it’s only a matter of time. All that is needed are enough people like you, to start investing in Africa right now.
9. Bonus
One more bonus reason why I moved to Rwanda. To be honest, this was not one of my top reasons prior to moving here. It kind of grew on me.
But it has become my number 1 reason why I am staying in Rwanda. It has become my new world I can’t live without. And that:
LIVING IN A BLACK SOCIETY
Shortly after I moved to Rwanda, I discovered that I have a deep and profound love for black people and everything involving black people. Whether it is their business, skin color, values, intelligence, dancing skills, or humor, I simply love IT. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up around them, but living in this black country called Rwanda has made me so PROUD and SO HAPPY to be a black African man that it has made me love and understand myself so much more.
Do you know how it feels to wake and realize that:
my president is black,
my neighbor is black,
my barber is black,
the police is black,
my doctor is black,
my lawyer is black, my clients are black,
my moto driver is black,
my landlord is black,
my business partner is black,
my girlfriend is black,
my bus driver is black,
my friends are black,
my money is black,
the news anchor is black,
the radio host is black,
the music in the club is black,
you are black,
It’s simple Rwandaful.
Thank you very much for reading.
Muramuke!
How to Enter Rwanda. 3 things needed
Working in Rwanda - 5 things you should know about working a professional job in Rwanda I recently started working a job, at a desk with a manager, colleagues, and stuff. It has been a real eye-opening experience working for someone again and having Rwandan colleagues who are young, very talented, and solving some of Rwanda’s biggest societal issues & challenges. So in this new blog post, I want to share with you; 5 things you should know about working a professional job in Rwanda. I’ll be talking about work benefits, colleagues, and work culture. And at the end, I’ll be sharing tips on how you can get a professional job in Rwanda as well. I moved to Rwanda to start my own business, a gym. The pandemic hit my business sector hard and I got in a position where I had lots of the time leftover because the gyms were closed. Around the same time, I was made aware of this unique job opportunity. I had time to kill and I could use some extra money, so I applied and got. That’s how I started working part-time as a Content Creator Consultant at a Rwandan tech company called Irembo. A few months after landing this job, I got a second part-time job. This one was for Media Marketing and Communications. Even though I really pursued a job in Rwanda, I have learned something new. Now that I am working these jobs, I realized it’s actually not that bad to work a job in Rwanda. Well, let’s say it’s pretty good. I have learned so many things I didn't know before. And for those of you who are also interested in working in Rwanda, here are 5 things I have learned about working a job, in Rwanda 1. Salary is variable You can negotiate a lot, especially if you are bringing unique skills or experience to the Rwandan job market. The salaries are quite competitive… if you don’t compare them to salaries in western countries. You can live very comfortably here in Rwanda if you are getting about $1000 a month after taxes. Whereas you might need $3000 to live a comfortable life in Europe or $4000 dollar in the United States. Also, you can get paid in foreign currency like the Dollar or Euro, if you are working for a foreign company. This is particularly handy because the Rwandan franc has a high inflation rate. 2. Time is somewhat flexible We all know about the cliché ‘African Time’. I thought that it would not exist in a professional context, but it does. Of course not in an exaggerated manner. For example, the hours people start working are very vague… sometimes they start at 8, sometimes at 9 or 10. And people still tend to be late for meetings. Not very much but still it is rare that physical meetings start at the exact time. Virtual meetings, on the other hand, do start on time. 3. Working benefits Work benefits vary tremendously depending on the company and your position. There is variation in allowances, retirement accounts, 13th month, and travel and home office expenses getting paid. Because I am not full-time employed, I don’t get all the benefits. But after I read them, I was definitely enticed to consider a full-time position 4. Multilingual colleagues In most professional high-paying jobs, everyone speaks at least 2-3 languages. So this is great for foreigners, you won’t feel left out because most of the people are not speaking their native language. Especially at my tech job, there is so much talent from different African countries. 5. There are a lot of job openings! This is the thing that surprised me the most because I hear so many people say they can’t find a job in Rwanda. Now that I’m actually working for a company, I’m realizing how many job opportunities there are here in Rwanda. Basically, every company is always in need of new fresh talent in all positions of the company. The problem is, many of the new jobs that become available within a company never get published outside the company. There is also a lot of job-hopping being done inside companies. Not only directors but also entry-level employees get promoted. Because of this, there are constant shifts being made in companies and a constant flow of job openings. This does not only happen in Rwanda I have been told, but it means that if you are really looking for a job, there are many jobs available. You might be wondering. How can I get a job in Rwanda? Honestly, I don’t know enough yet. But can maybe tell you how I got my 2 jobs, and who knows, this might help you. I got my first job about a year ago at the beginning of 2021. I was made aware of this job opening at a Rwandan tech company called Irembo. How? You ask? Well, because of my videos on youtube. Apparently, one of the recruiters got wind of my videos, checked my other social media platforms like LinkedIn, and got my number through a mutual friend. The job offered was a was not full-time and the salary was seemed oké for Rwandan standards. I don’t know if I am allowed to discuss the exact amount I am getting. According to my contract, I am not allowed to discuss the contract details elsewhere, without written consent. What I can say is that it’s above the typical average Rwandan salary. I didn’t negotiate much because this looked like an exciting job opportunity that came at the right time. For my second job, I got approached by a Moroccan French guy, who was working on a project to establish the e-commerce sector in Rwanda. He saw my videos when he was looking up information about Rwanda. He got in contact with me and educated me about the project. It was a very interesting project so I helped out a bit for free with some content creation. I was planning on making a youtube video about it after it was launched. But then a job position became available, to work as a media marketing and communication expert, so I applied and got the position. This project is more like a start-up and is funded by the Rwandan government and the German giant company GIZ. They pay very well and the challenge here is even greater as I get to lead a small team. In conclusion, I got both my jobs through my social media presents. And that is really what I would advise anyone to do if they are seriously looking for a job in Rwanda. You don’t have to have a youtube channel like me, but you can at least open or update your LinkedIn and Twitter account regularly. Then comes the next question; WHY!? You might be wondering why an entrepreneur like me, who vowed to work for himself to have the freedom to do what he wanted, when he wanted, is now going to work for someone else. Well, I have 4 short & key reasons why. 1. Time To be clear, my first priority and first love here in Rwanda is my gym business. These jobs are both not part-time and they allow me to have the time to operate my other businesses like personal training, youtube, and online consultancies on the side. 2. Money This is, I think, the main reason why everybody gets a job right? This was a great way to earn money, while my gyms business was running slow due to the pandemic restrictions. 3. Connections Having colleagues and meeting new people is something that will benefit me and my business in the long run. As an entrepreneur, I normally don’t have a lot of time to meet other people outside my industry. 4. The Challenge I like challenging myself in the gym and outside the gym as well. Thus working 2 part-time jobs and running my business is one of the greatest challenges I have ever faced in my life. And I like to think that I can do this. I’m multi-talented, I’m good at learning new skills, leading people, and solving problems. And I get to contribute to Rwanda’s development from a different angle. I must say I do have less freedom at the moment. I am working 12-14 hours a day and I have less time for youtube, unfortunately. That’s the price to pay I guess. If you are interested in getting a job in Rwanda, especially a skilled job, I have link-up some job openings in the description of the YouTube video below. Who knows, we might be working together someday. Thank you for reading. Muramuke!
The pandemic is not over yet. Things to do in Kigali during a pandemic are far & few. But going quad riding is a guaranteed fun one! We did this activity before the 3rd lockdown. We went quad riding in Nyamirambo at Fazenda Sengha. You can visit their website www.senga.com for information on the activities and prices. We took the 15min trip. I must say that we had so much fun that we regretted not booking the 30 minute trip. Thanks for reading. Muramuke !
14 Things I wish I knew before moving to Rwanda
Getting Rwandan citizenship is not easy but it’s definitely worth it. Especially if you are of African descent or Rwandan diaspora. In this blogpost, I share with you the 5 ways you can become an African citizen, by getting Rwandan Citizenship. By territory If you’re born in Rwanda to non-Rwandan parents, you can apply for citizenship once you turn 18. Before that you carry your parent’s nationality. By origin By marriage By recovery Naturalization Bonus Ready to apply for your Rwandan citizenship? Follow the steps here www.migration.gov.rw
There are a lot of things to do in and around Kigali, but it’s never enough. In this video we visit Umusambi Village. Located 20 minutes outside Kigali. It’s brand new, they opened up mid 2020. In the middle of a pandemic. AL Umusambi village they rescue, protect and take care of endangered grey crowned crane birds who were saved from illegal domestication and/or abuse. Many of these birds cannot fly anymore. Umusambi village is a beautiful 21 hectare nature reserve and a great touristic activity not far from Kigali. Just a nice place to visit and get educated about Rwanda’s wildlife conservation efforts. If you’d like to visit Umusambi Village, this is their official website www.umusambivillage.org Watch the video for some fun vlogging and a lot of info on the crane birds. Thank you for reading. Muramuke !