There is this element of success that is mentioned over and over again in the stories of successful startups in Rwanda. It is the factor of luck. Luck is a form of leverage and it is part of every great success. Fortunately, luck is largely predictable and happens to people and even startups for specific reasons. In many respects, startups in Rwanda actually create their own luck by the things they do, or neglect to do.

This topic of luck has been so clamorous and made me think deep into it and search about it broadly referring to startups in Rwanda. I approached different 15 startups founders and co-founders in Rwanda that have at least made some good deals and eventually happen to make serious money compared to others.

I happened to meet Jean Niyotwagira, the CEO of TORQUE LTD, in recent years that has made a big deal by having BRALIRWA as a customer of the company software products. Is not this a big deal? I think every startup would be tremendously happy to have BRALIRWA as one of the startup customer. “Was there any luck factor for TORQUE LTD to get this big customer?” I curiously asked Jean Niyotwagira! “Okay, I do not simply call it lack but may be opportunities.”He replied me confidently. “What if your startup was not ready for those opportunities because we have been having so many opportunities for startups around this nation but not many were able to grab them readily?” I again asked Jean Niyotwagira.

“Everything is a startup not only in business but also in actual real life. For example when you are a new married person, your new family is a startup. When you deliver a new baby born, that is a startup but of course you must have the vision, clear goals, and inspiration at the beginning of every startup. What do I mean? You must prepare for everything such that in case opportunities are around, you are ready to get them. This is done by may be working hard, acquiring skills needed for those opportunities and so many other things accordingly. We knew what BRALIRWA problems were, and TORQUE LTD was ready to solve them. So there is no such thing as luck” Jean Niyotwagira replied.

Luck is largely a matter of probabilities. There is a probability that virtually anything can happen, and these probabilities can be calculated with considerable accuracy. In almost every case, you can increase or decrease the likelihood of something happening or not happening.

For example, there is a certain probability that you will be killed in a traffic accident. But you can reduce this probability by driving sober, more carefully, and wearing seatbelts. Some people drive all their lives and never have an accident or a speeding ticket.

One thing all startups that I asked agreed on is that luck is a function of activity. The more things a startups try, and the faster they try them, the more likely it is that they will try the right thing at the right time that will bring them the success they desire. The fact is that most things do not work the first time, and often, they do not work the first ten times. Nonetheless, if startups keep trying new things, and learning from every setback, they will inevitable develop the skills and experience they need to succeed in our Rwandan market even the foreign market.

There is a saying that, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”What does this mean to startups in Rwanda? The more time they take to learn, study and prepare themselves in their chosen fields, the more luck they will seem to have. The better prepared they are, the more often they will both recognize and be prepared enough to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

Most importantly, luck seems to happen to startups with clear solutions for customers’ problems and detailed value proposition to customers. When startups know exactly what are people’s needs and problems and are working diligently to achieve people’s solutions for their problems and fulfill their needs every day, all kinds of wonderful things happen to startups to move them more rapidly toward their financial success beyond reasonable understanding.

Written by Hallellua Pacifique