LYDIE HAKIZIMANA
Founder: Drakkar Ltd
Country: Rwanda
Sector: Social Entreprenuer
Lydie is committed to building up the
reading culture in Rwanda. She hopes to
develop libraries in schools and hospitals
providing children with free access to books.
Her company, Drakkar Ltd is also involved
in other activities, such as teacher training.
Genocide forced her to spend most of her
early life outside Rwanda, but as a survivor of
that bleak period in the country’s history, she
is now firmly committed to the country and
sees entrepreneurial opportunities at every
turn. She is on a mission to make real change
happen through literacy, ensuring the next
generation can fulfill its potential.
VIA AVIATION
Africa’s woman pioneer in aviation
services
Founder: VIA Aviation
Country: Tanzania
Sector: Aviation Services
Susan Mashibe is founder and executive
director of VIA Aviation, an international
fixed-base aircraft services operation and
the first company of its kind in Tanzania.
She left Tanzania at the age of 19 to learn to
fly jetliners in the United States.
She later returned to Tanzania to help re-
shape African private air travel. Today, VIA
Aviation provides logistical support for cor-
porate, diplomatic and private jets. Her cli-
ents include heads of state, monarchs, For-
43 Dabira Magazine
What Is The Inspiration Behind Drakkar
Ltd?
When Lydie Hakizimana returned to Rwanda
after the genocide as a teenager, she found
that her generation had lost all hope in
the future. But she believed in the power
of stories to provide people with not only
a source of renewed hope and inspiration,
but also escapism. Lydie wanted the next
generation to imagine a happier story — not
easy when painful memories of the genocide
were still very raw. As a child, she vividly
recalls being taught how to read by her
mother and reading her first book L’Enfant
Noir by Camara Laye in French at Les Etoiles
Brilliantes a primary school in Chad.
As a grown lady, Lydie began by selling her
own books from a small store in her spare
time. She and husband, Tunga Kalisa, had
always been avid readers and collected books
from their travels. In 2006, they opened a
small used bookstore in Rwanda and started
to develop relationships with global publish-
ing companies. She struck a deal with UK
publisher’s Pearson Education to resell their
textbooks in Rwanda and Burundi. The deal
was the making of her company. Since that
time, Lydie’s initial bookstore has developed
into a major business, known as Drakkar
Limited. Now her company is helping to
spread English literacy in schools and is
building a culture of reading in Rwanda that
will benefit generations to come What Makes Your Brand Unique From
Other Competing Brand?
Reading skills build the foundation for all
future learning, and it is proven that people
who can read enjoy better health, make more
money, and serve their communities more
effectively. I read a lot and it has inspired me
greatly in knowledge and what I do.
tune 500 executives, celebrities, and military
flights. Susan is the first woman in Tanzania
to hold both a FAA certified commercial pi-
lot and an aircraft maintenance engineering
qualification, and her company VIA was the
first company to offer such services in Tan-
zania and East Africa as a whole. abandoned my efforts to get a U.S. work
permit and returned to Tanzania to build
my aviation career in my home country.
What Is The Inspiration Behind VIA
Aviation?
When I was four years old, standing at the
airport in Kigoma in Tanzania, holding my
grandmother’s hand and watching as my
parent’s plane took off, it was a poignant
moment and one that I remember clearly:
"As the plane carrying my family took off, I
did not cry. Rather, I wished I could fly the
aircraft myself, so that my parents would not
leave me behind ever again."
That key moment was to change her my life
forever as I journeyed to Mwanza and Dar
es Salaam, to studying at Western Michigan
University and qualified to become Tan-
zania’s first female FAA-certified pilot and
mechanic.
In the summer of 2001, I had just received
my pilot's license and was applying at Del-
ta Air Lines Inc. when the terrible events
of September 11th struck. At that point, I
"Genocide forced her to spend
most of her early life outside
Rwanda, but as a survivor
of that bleak period in the
country’s history, she is now
firmly committed to the country
and sees entrepreneurial
opportunities at every turn."
Inspiring Words To Women Entrepreneurs
When you have the interests of people at
heart, you will be able to do anything you are
set out to do.
What Makes Your Brand Unique From
Other Competing Brand?
As a woman in business, and in a male-
dominated field, I have encountered my
share of obstacles; from the male airport
officials who have blocked my entry to the
aircraft I am working on, to clients to whom
I must prove myself. I have also had to deal
with corrupt officials who insist on being
paid bribes for the simplest of tasks. When
faced with these challenges, my approach
has always been the same: to be confident
and honest. I have confidence in my
business, and the benefits we bring to clients
and to the Tanzanian Government.
Inspiring Words To Women Entrepreneurs
As a successful female entrepreneur,
you must recognize that you have a
responsibility to support those following
in your footsteps, and to give back to the
community.
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