Building a Business from a Bike Up

Name: Vincent Habyarimana
Age: 31
Hometown: Kinigi, Rwanda (Northern Province)
Dependents: Wife, newborn son (7 months)
Income before cargo bike: $360 per year
Income after using cargo bike: $1930 (5x previous per year)
Target income: $ 3,900 in 2010

With a young wife, newborn son, and a meager income, Vincent struggled to feed and care for his growing family, much less save for the future. A local potato farmer, Vincent spent his days tending his fields and selling his crop at the market. Fortunate to also own a cow, he sells the milk to his neighbors as a second source of income.

Through the Field Farmer's Association - a local agricultural vocational institute - Vincent joined a cooperative to benefit from shared knowledge and resources with fellow farmers. Not only did he learn about the Project Rwanda cargo bikes but, as a member of the cooperative, was able to receive a micro loan through Urwego Bank to purchase a bike.

Owning the bike has enable Vincent to increase his earnings five-fold in less than a year. With greater carrying capacity, Vincent transports larger loads of potatoes to market, and hauls 35% more milk on each trip. More efficiency means greater income and more time with his family – and the ability to rent the bike to others to explore new income sources for their families.

Vincent’s goal is to double his income again in the next year to better feed his family, buy needed clothing for his family and begin saving for his son’s school fees. He dreams of seeing his son off to school as an important step out of poverty. Owning a simple home now becomes a possibility as well.

Purchasing another Project Rwanda cargo bike is part of the plan, using one for the farm and the second to launch a milk delivery business. Vincent, a young man of passion and persistence, has been encouraging his neighbors to join the cooperative to “help them get bikes to improve their lives.”