He Served 2 years in Public Service, 6 Years as an Employee in the Private Sector, and 52 Years of Doing Business.

Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa is an African businessman who entered the world of work on November 29, 1960. Ayabatwa began his 60 years of work in the public service, working for the colonial government for 2 years. He then secured employment in the private sector for 6 years, before venturing into business for himself in 1968, an endeavour that he pursued for 52 years. Today, Ayabatwa’s Pan-African Tobacco Group (PTG-hold) is a leading indigenous African producer of consumer goods that trades across Africa and manufactures consumer goods in Angola, Burundi, DR Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Looking back at his 60-year journey in the world of work, Ayabatwa, his family, friends, associates and employees can rightly celebrate his achievements. Ayabatwa’s story is all the more remarkable because he embarked on his working journey as a mere refugee teenager who was denied an education.

Ayabatwa’s Early Work Experience

Ayabatwa’s work experience began as a clerk-typist in the post office in the Burundian capital city of Bujumbura on November 29, 1960. Because he proved to be a hard worker and learner, his managers and supervisors helped him to develop his skills. Ayabatwa was soon promoted to training new employees in the organization. During his tenure at the post office, Ayabatwa also learned French, the official language in the region, and soon helped to teach others. He cites this experience as formative in promoting community self-esteem and collaboration.

Next, Ayabatwa worked in a petroleum-storage company in Bujumbura, where he rose through the ranks, saving money for his future business endeavours. Ayabatwa’s management skills consolidated during this period. He began to seriously consider transiting from employee to employer by establishing his own business.

From Employee to an Entrepreneur

Ayabatwa’s first venture into business in 1968. That is when he bought a pickup truck and hired a driver to transport passengers and goods. His next business was a bakery, which faced supply-chain challenges. Ayabatwa kept searching for business opportunities. Along the way, he met business failures, such as gold trading. This venture turned into a loss. Ayabatwa says that he entered the business naively believing he was going to make quick and easy money. He says, however, that the gold trade failure was a temporary setback and not a lasting defeat. This episode was to shape him as a businessman. He learnt that rather than ending a person’s drive to achieve a business purpose, a setback becomes a temporary detour. Ayabatwa took these lessons and applied them to his subsequent entrepreneurial endeavours.

Tobacco Trading

Ayabatwa’s next business phase was importing cigarettes and other products from Tanzania and overseas. By personally travelling between Burundi and Tanzania, he was able to secure a strong foothold in the market. After importing and selling cigarettes, Ayabatwa soon realized that he could produce these commodities himself, employ more people, and make more money. Manufacturing tobacco products proved to be easier than dealing with the regulatory complications that came along with importing and moving products across borders.

Tobacco Manufacturing

Having secured a good relationship with producers of tobacco and other raw materials, Ayabatwa was able to build a successful tobacco manufacturing company in Burundi. He then expanded his manufacturing business to neighbouring DR Congo, entered South Africa, the most competitive market on the continent. Later, Ayabatwa established manufacturing plants in Angola, Tanzania, Uganda,Nigeria, South Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Giving Back to the Community

Ayabatwa is a strong believer in giving back to the community. His philanthropic efforts include scholarships to young people. Education is especially important to Ayabatwa because he was denied formal schooling reaching only the eighth-grade. He strongly believes young people should receive education to prepare them for career choices and to lift their families out of poverty. Still, in education, Ayabatwa sponsors student engineers to internships that equip them with hands-on training experience to succeed in the world of work. More recently, Ayabatwa teamed with governments to battle the Covid19 pandemic by providing medical equipment and foodstuffs to fight hunger during the economic lockdowns.

Marking Sixty Years of Hard Work

Ayabatwa’s accomplishments were hard-won, relying on the skills he gained from employment. Experimenting with several business ventures, he then seized an opportunity to manufacture consumer goods. Ayabatwa’s story is uniquely impiring. Here was a teenager who refused to be defined by the lack of education and early business setbacks. Ayabatwa’s PTG-hold that manufactures and trades across Africa, employing thousands of people on the continent, is testimony to an indigenous African business success story.