I moved home, to Rwanda, for the first time, in , after spending the first 22 years of my life abroad. To date, I have lived in 9 different countries (Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, USA, France, Switzerland, Italy and the UK) and I have visited 8 others (Burundi, Egypt, Tanzania, UAE, Denmark, Barbados, Guyana and Thailand). I studied Multimedia Technology & Design at university and arrived in Kigali a few months after graduating. Soon I was (and still am) completely swept up by the entrepreneurial spirit and fierce patriotism that exists here. After working as a website consultant for 2 years, I registered my company, Shaking Sun, and began training staff in website development. Our company's clients include local businesses, especially start-ups, as well as several government institutions. This year I am planning to expand our portfolio to include computer animation films and cartoons.
When I was a kid, my mother told me I would have to work harder in this life because I was black girl – a warning I am sure many others of my gender and race have received. I should mention that, at the time, I was living in a country where the majority of people were white. As I grew up, I heard the same message in the media – on the news, blogs, in songs and films – it was clear that everyone believed that at the top of the economic food chain were rich white men and at the very bottom were poor black girls.
I moved to my country of origin, Rwanda, when I was It is a small developing country at the heart of Africa that has been recognised for its impressive economic grown in the last decade. As a young adult, I found myself in a world full of charities and NGOs that had pictures of girls that looked just like a year-old me, only no one had brushed their hair or got them to put on their prettiest clothes before taking the picture. I read disheartening statistics that told me that most girls my age and from my region had already given birth to their first child, had dropped out of school, had been subject to sexual violence, domestic abuse – do I need to go on? So what happe
Built in Africa focuses on entrepreneurs, startups and technologies that are born on the continent and empower its citizens.
In this, the fifth instalment of our “Built in Africa” series, we feature Rwandan entrepreneur Akaliza Keza Gara, who runs a web development agency and is passionate about using technology to tell African stories.
I got introduced to Gara through Microsoft’s 4Afrika youth advisory board, of which she sits.
Gara is the founder of Shaking Sun, a multimedia company that specialises in graphic design, animation and web development. She has lived in nine different countries and has travelled extensively around Africa. As a result, she &#;gets&#; the continent and sees the potential of what technology can do for Africa and its citizens. Her company has worked with a number of government agencies and companies both locally and internationally.
Gara is in a good place to do this as Rwanda is currently making the transition from an agriculture-based economy to services-oriented one. The country&#;s president is on a mission to turn the land-locked country into a tech hub that will attract investors and multinationals, so tech is a big deal in Rwanda.
But
Akaliza Gara has been working since she was a teenager in a remarkable assortment of environments: from up-and-coming businesses to youth centres and from university cafeterias to inner city office buildings. In addition, she has travelled to, and lived in, over 13 countries spanning 5 continents. This has not only provided her with a rare insight into the values shared by and unique to different cultures and ethnic groups but also given her the opportunity to encounter a range of colourful personalities. Through these experiences she developed an exceptionally creative and open mind and unconventional way of viewing the world allowing her to easily adapt and flourish in new and challenging settings.
Akaliza has a Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Technology and has a broad and ever-increasing portfolio of graphic design, website development and animation work. She decided to start Shaking Sun as a platform to explore, develop and realise her many ambitious ideas and creations. She has already collected a valuable collection of contacts through her work and travels that will provide the business a kick-start in finding an already loyal and trusting client base.
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