Kabisa is a convenience store located in Rwanda. The owner believes that getting something you need when you need it makes you happy, that’s why his goal is to offer the best quality products for his customers and contribute to their happiness. Mr. DeBarego shares his story of how he started his entrepreneurial journey and how Loyverse helped on the way. 

Can you briefly describe your business?

I have a convenience store. I started this business 2 years ago. We live in a rural area in Rwanda. There were very few convenience stores in the area and even the existing ones were not meeting the market requirements. We wanted to create something new where people could conveniently get what they wanted. We offer groceries, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, and other products. When we started, we were really small that’s why we found Loyverse very convenient for us, especially on the pricing aspect. Now our business is growing. We started with only one employee and now we have five. At the time I started, in July 2022, I did much research on the internet and ended up trying out so many popular POSs that are known. I found Loyverse to have all the functionalities I wanted at the beginning and be cost-effective as well. These two characteristics made me decide to start using Loyverse at the beginning. 

Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?

I am grown in a business environment. When I was in graduate school, I was more interested in business. It was the time to take an adventure and see how it would go and how it would contribute to my life. It was a risk. I was not expecting it to be successful, but it was part of the vision that I had for my life. 

What was your most challenging situation as a business owner so far?

Challenges happen all the time. I had issues with space, for example. Because of the limited space, I could not put all the products I wanted in the store. It can become really frustrating sometimes. The other challenge is managing the staff. It is hard when you train people for three months, and then they decide to quit. But when you see the business growing, and then when you discuss it with your people, friends, and colleagues and you understand this is the normal journey a business goes through it is kind of comforting. In addition, when you see the profit curve go up over the year, it is kind of promising, and you get motivated to go on. When the business started, I used to use my own car to get the products but now we have managed to buy a van which is a good sign that we are in the right direction. 

How has Loyverse helped your business?

Loyverse has helped me monitor the sales that have been going on in the store. I am also using the Dashboard app, which allows me to quickly access my reports. The good thing about Loyverse is the connectivity it has. My wife is the manager of the shop. I do other jobs on the side. Loyverse allows us to monitor our business online without any issues. 

What features of Loyverse do you find most useful for your business?

I am using the full version of Loyverse, meaning I use the add-ons: Employee Management and Advanced Inventory. I have employees entering the system with their credentials. I like the Purchase order from the Advanced Inventory functionalities. It allows updating the stock and the cost of the item. Prices fluctuate a lot nowadays, so a purchase order gives the possibility to enter the purchase cost and calculate the average cost of the item. Inventory history is also a very useful tool that allows seeing how the items have been moving when you are trying to do the controls. I love Inventory count and stock adjustment as well. I do logistics so I think that the Advanced Inventory features in Loyverse are really nice.

The only thing I am not using now is the Integrations, but it is in my plans to explore this functionality in the future. 

What plans do you have for the future?

I plan to open a restaurant and I am thinking to use Loyverse to manage it. 

Thank you for the interview, any last words/message for other entrepreneurs?

My advice would be first to know the business you are going in and understand your market and what they need. Focus on giving your customers the best product and the best service possible. 

Secondly: rely on data. Take decisions that are really informed based on the data you have. Use specialized systems to get this data. Do not rely on the data you might have in your head. 

These are the pieces of advice that I would like to give. For example, I now know my best-selling products based on the report Loyverse provides me: Sales by item. I invest really heavily in these products and I can see the margin. I make sure to invest in these items and not waste money on random products without any results.