Jean Bosco Nzeyimana is a Rwandan businessman and the founder and CEO of Habona Ltd.
Habona now offers three renewable energy products: briquettes, biogas, and bio-fertilizer. Briquettes are a high-efficiency, clean-burning fuel that can be used in place of charcoal.
Jean Bosco Nzeyimana: Early Life
He was born on November 1st in Kitabi, Rwanda, in the Nyamagabe area. Kitabi lies close to the Nyungwe forest, where most of the children obtained firewood. The youngsters missed school because they were out gathering firewood.
Jean Bosco Nzeyimana grew up in an impoverished, rural village with little in terms of infrastructure or even basics. Housing was substandard, clean water was scarce, and power was a luxury most locals preferred not to consider – primarily because it was non-existent rather than unreliable.
Jean Bosco Nzeyimana: Education
Jean had the notion to create a clean and renewable energy source when he was 19 years old. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Rwanda and is currently working for his CPA license.
Jean Bosco Nzeyimana: Career (Habona Ltd)
Their biogas system is more expensive and requires two cows’ worth of manure on a regular basis. This system converts organic waste into biogas.
Their ultimate output is bio-fertilizer, a freshly created fertilizer that benefits local farms. Because the local soil is quite acidic, the soil increases crop output while also providing ideal soil for local farmers to cultivate on. Habona also collects local rubbish and operates a waste treatment plant. Habona’s goal is to scale down their method so that it may be expanded to other parts of Rwanda and possibly the world.
He has been with his company for over two years and has so far established more than 20 permanent positions (and 40 temporary ones). He is the head of the capacity building department of his local community’s Cooperative for Environment and Biodiversity Conservation.
Since piloting his idea, Jean Bosco’s stock has skyrocketed. In 2014, he was voted Rwanda’s Top Young Entrepreneur, and he also won the African Innovation Prize.
At the Global Innovation Summit in California in 2016, he shared the stage with former US President Barack Obama and Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg, both of whom were thrilled with the progress he has made in his town.
Jean Bosco, now 25, appears to be hungry for even more success and shows no signs of slowing down. In the near future, he hopes to expand his concept to other parts of Rwanda and beyond.
