LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Dokmai Rwanda Ltd, a manufacturing business creating proudly Made in Rwanda accessories.
Bernadette Umunyana is founder and CEO of Dokmai Rwanda Ltd, a private, family owned, and women managed manufacturing company in Rwanda, producing since December 2014 leather handcrafted fashion accessories like handbags, backpacks, wallets and belts for women and men. The company currently employs 21 people of whom 70% are women. Bernadette is a very active and creative female entrepreneur, consequently she was looking to diversify her activities through a horizontal expansion with potential synergetic impact, and noticing the growing demand for wooden and upholstery furniture in the local market she decided to acquire in 2019 an existing carpentry workshop, INWOOD, Ltd.
Lioness Weekender spoke to Bernadette Umunyana about her entrepreneurial journey, her passion for creating Proudly Made in Rwanda products, and her vision for the future.
What does your company do?
Dokmai Rwanda produces a variety of leather accessories for women and men such as handbags, backpack, laptop bags and sleeves, cosmetic bags, wallets, belts but also credit card holders, passport holders, luggage tags and desktop organizers. Many of these items can also be made from PINATEX™, a vegan leather alternative
What inspired you to start your company?
I owned and managed during my stay in Laos a small company named DOKMAI Export Ltd, which produced and exported hand-woven silk fashion and home decoration products. When returning to my home country, I was looking for a similar activity and decided – after a SWOT analysis of the Rwandan market, its opportunities, and challenges – to found a new handicraft enterprise with the focus on developing fashion products made from leather (and now also vegan Pinatex™ leather alternative) with a touch of colorful African pattern (kitenge)
Why should anyone use your service or product?
DOKMAI Rwanda objective is focused on customer satisfaction with regard to quality, options for customization and timeliness through an environmentally sound production, avoiding or reducing waste through a thorough product development. Leather scraps are reused or recycled into a line of small items as Christmas deco, keys holders, bracelets, etc.…,
Tell us a little about your team:
Our products are handmade with passion in Rwanda by skilled and highly motivated female and male leather craftspeople, most of whom trained in-house on the job. We encourage them to come up with their own new designs and ideas, and to improve the quality of the products they make.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I am a teacher by profession and working with young children I quickly realized that art is a very powerful way of reaching shy children to integrate them into the social life of the class; from there I realized that art and design are also for me ways to thrive myself. I started to take courses in all kinds of art and design from tie and dye technique, to tailoring, silk weaving, leather goods making and finally I decided to move from being a teacher to make art and design my profession. I quickly realized however that being good in developing products does not make you a successful entrepreneur and that I also had to acquire a solid knowledge in management, to be able to turn my hobby into a small enterprise.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To contribute with our products “handcrafted with passion in the country of the thousand hills” to establish “Made in Rwanda” as an internationally recognized label for high quality standards and value for money. Boost our e-commerce activities combined with strict quality control for customer satisfaction are integral parts of this vision. To intensify our waste recycling system and provide long-term work opportunities for women and girls.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The recognition by my customers of whom the majority are now long-lasting buyers of my products and the fact that my products can compete with any imported products in quality and price.
To be able to contribute to Rwanda’s economic development and the promotion of women by creating employment opportunities.
To protect the environment by striving for an environmentally sound production, e,g avoid, reduced the waste, reuse and recycle the leather scraps into a product.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
I encourage every woman and girl who feel ready to spread their wings and to prove themselves by taking opportunities which lie ahead. In Rwanda there is no glass ceiling for women, everything is possible.
To learn more about the work of Dokmai Rwanda and its products, send an email to: info@dokmairwanda.com or visit the company’s website and social media pages.
Website: http://dokmairwanda.com
Facebook: http://facebook.dokmairwanda
Instagram: http://instagram.dokmairwanda
