Starting a business from the ground up can be a very lonely, stressful and discouraging journey. However, this did not deter Venuste Twagiramungu, from being one of the most influential businessmen in the tech industry in Rwanda. Today, the award winning CEO of TRES (Trust Engineering Solutions), shares his knowledge and future plans for bringing communications services to more countries outside Rwanda.
Born in the rural area of South West of Rwanda, Venuste had a normal routine childhood with parents who were strict and revered in the neighborhood. Although he was doing great in his studies, Venuste felt no joy in traditional methods of school. Faced with a longing for more and an identity crisis at a young age, Venuste faced a lot of challenges to his self-worth and confidence.
Shipped to Algeria to further his studies at age 18, he describes this period as a moment of awakening. “I was quite a handy student and would always revolt against my teachers. It was only after I was 18 that I started taking my studies seriously. Outside of that, life was just tasteless and empty and I knew there was more out there. I then took the brave decision of returning to Rwanda in 1995,” said Venuste.
Once back to Rwanda, he found himself unhappy in his job, without a purpose in life and driven into more mental despair and emotional turmoil as most of his former colleagues had been murdered, fled the country or in exile. Alone in a country that just came out of a genocide, he found himself tossed in the dark world of alcoholism to cope with the stress. “I couldn’t find anything that was exciting for me and it was a dark time,” continued Venuste.
Despite being technically competent at his work, he was not happy with how his bosses behaved and resigned not once but 3 times due to this. After his last job in 2006, Venuste took the brave and often scary decision of being his own boss. “In 2006, I decided to stop working for others, not because I had a well thought strategy but because I just wanted to create my own environment where I could control more things and decide on what to do,” added Venuste.
After taking the bold step of starting his own company, his happiness was short-lived as the venture had to dissolve after only 3 years of operation.
“For the first time in my life, I realized that maybe there is something I didn’t know about life. I decided to take further studies and registered for an online MBA program. One of the courses, Organizational Behavior, awakened me by revealing to me the importance of human behavior, more than engineering activities, in the success of any organization. I got more interested in reading business and humanities books, “continued Venuste.
Despite the heartbreaking journey, he remained determined to succeed and kept working hard to open TRES in 2009. A moment that would change his life forever and secure a future for his country.
According to him, “The emotional intelligence, from Daniel Goleman” inspired me particularly. I agreed with him on the seniority of EQ over traditional IQ. I got convinced that I need to find partners with high EQ for furthering my business. However, I got my MBA degree in 2014, without getting workable tools to help me find people with high EQ,” added Venuste.
It was during this quest for techniques to identify people with better EQ that he attended a seminar organized by a friend in 2015. The presenter, a certain Neal Sigh from South Africa, talked about something very new to him. He introduced the concept of analytical mind and reactive mind. The way he talked about the mind was somehow new but very common sense. At the end, he approached Neal and “he directed me to the Hubbard College of Administration in Los Angeles.”
“I was then driven by a desire to learn anything that would help me to get the right people in my company. Traveling to LA was a long journey, but I expected to get a miracle solution by mastering the tool which has unveiled a big part of my past. I was energized even more when I discovered false and senior data. By reading the bio at the end of the book, I learned about L. Ron Hubbard, the author of the business courses I was taking at the Hubbard College of Administration. His passion was to make individuals prosper in every part of life including business. Life has never been the same since,” continued Venuste.
He now uses the knowledge he gained from L. Ron Hubbard to succeed. “I use the skills learned from the Hubbard College to manage my business, which has experienced a transformative growth, from an indigenous company only designed to be a subcontractor of big multinationals to a de facto competitor to these multinationals. Many people were surprised when TRES obtained a license to provide telecom infrastructure service, a kind of monopoly for multinationals from outside.”
Since inception, TRES has grown exponentially and claims several awards including:
In both 2013 and 2014, TRUST ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS (TRES) was recognized and awarded by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for being among the top 100 mid-sized companies in Rwanda.
In 2019, TRES was recognized by the Rwandan Ministry of Labor for its outstanding contribution to empowering undergraduate students through internships, providing a platform for young talent to flourish and contribute to the growth of the engineering industry.
TRES obtained an independent service provider license in Rwanda in 2020, showcasing their commitment to international standards, safety, and excellent customer service.
TRES was also recognized by the Institution of Engineers Rwanda in 2018 for their commitment to the growth and advancement of the engineering industry through the introduction of innovative and cutting-edge technologies.
He has a big dream of availing his knowledge and experience to many Rwandans, especially to entrepreneurs, educators and young graduates.
“I can say that I engaged in the private sector as a reaction to personal discontentment within the companies I worked for, not as a result of any plan. The situation I got myself in and lessons I learnt from many sources helped me to realize that I needed to move. They also slightly taught me why to move. They however failed to teach me where and how. It is only with L. Ron Hubbard tools that I discovered the direction and the needed technology. Today, with more assurance and pleasure I know why move, to where and how. I now have purpose in life,” concluded Venuste.
TRES has now become the trusted and preferred engineering services provider to the telecom industry in the East African Region. With having built over 100 construction sites across the country, they continue their commitment to reliability and service to powering Rwanda with 0 hours of downtime.
