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Gaius Kayiranga (22 years old) and Jean Bosco Nganizi (23 years old) are the brains behind “Kicksman”, a digital marketing platform that currently offers various services and offers various items to the local community.

Nganizi did business in Kigali which led him to realize that many people across the country had to move to the capital to get some of their favorite and quality products. This led him to consider the idea of ​​bringing his company into the digital world.

That inspired him to implement an idea that he had had since his school days: to distribute high-quality shoes, clothing and accessories on a platform that is accessible to all Rwandans.

The Chief Executive and Founder of Kickman has developed an online platform that serves over 600 sellers across the country.

Currently, the platform only sells shoes for both men and women. Nganizi said there are plans to add other products, including Made in Rwanda products, and look into ways to ship their products outside of the country as they have started receiving orders from overseas.

While in secondary school, Nganizi became interested in business and entrepreneurship courses. He later started trading in 2019 before moving to an online platform would help many solve various challenges in local markets.

“This is a solution for all buyers across the country, but especially for the people outside the capital who used to come to Kigali to get their items, but through our platform. It’s easy to click order and meet your needs. ”Says.

He added that this is an ideal way to step into the digital world during this difficult time fighting the spread of Covid-19.

How it started

Jean Bosco Nganizi says he always struggled to find some of his favorite and trending styles, such as clothes, bags, and other various accessories, but especially shoes, in the local markets. He often bought some of the online platforms that he felt would often have to wait a long time and could sometimes be of poor quality.

“A lot of my favorite shoes (sneakers) were rarely found in local markets and when I found them the prices doubled and I couldn’t afford them, as did the online shipping that would take forever and sometimes they couldn’t fit and there are a lot of criteria missing that I would look for, “he says.

Nganizi revealed that in just a year after graduating from secondary school in 2018, he was driven by his love of entrepreneurship skills that were part of his combination in secondary school.

He started selling various items such as shoes, clothes, bags and accessories in the city of Kigali, but also thought about how to move his business to digital platforms.

“I was glad my childhood dreams of becoming an entrepreneur came true, but then I wanted to bring my business to digital form as the world we live in today is also going digital and helping people become online too – Establish a shopping mall that will meet all of their needs at an affordable price and on time, “he says.

In 2020, amid the coronavirus outbreak, in which the government imposed a series of bans and consequently the closure of businesses, he decided to develop a platform that would allow his company to continue its activities and give its customers access to products made possible without having to switch to the physical markets.

With the help of his friend Kayiranga who is a professional web designer. They implemented the project and he designed the platform and their project was officially launched in August 2021.

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When asked about her specialty, Kayiranga, the co-founder of Kicksman, said that their platforms aim to sell quality products at affordable prices. In addition, shipping only takes 24 hours.

“Some people don’t know their foot sizes. In that case, we would give the customer three different sizes so they could pick the perfect size for them and bring the other two pairs,” he says.

He added that they also carry out special orders that they call “express shipping” in case the customer needs the products urgently.

The platform currently sells shoes for both sexes including children, but its goal is to make all clothing, shoes and other accessories available to all local communities and shipping to other different countries around the world.