KIGALI, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- As Gerald Turatsinze took a decision in March to turn his residential house in Rwanda's capital Kigali into a bar, the health authorities later that month confirmed the country's first case of COVID-19, leading to a declaration of a lockdown.
The owner of Friend's Bar in Kigali's Gasabo district could not have imagined how the virus would shake the foundation of his business.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Rwanda, Turatsinze told Xinhua in a recent interview that he has written off as much as 100,000 Rwandan francs (about 100 U.S. dollars) of income daily.
Despite the pain for his customers and six employees, the crisis gave Turatsinze an opportunity to explore other business avenues to fulfill his vision of self-employment.
When government on May 4 eased the lockdown, allowing businesses to operate with essential staff, Turatsinze changed his bar into a restaurant.
The global spread of COVID-19 "only reaffirmed the need to think outside the box and reinvent my business," Turatsinze said.
Turatsinze is not alone, many bar owners in Kigali and other parts of the country have switched their business model to restaurants.
"Transforming a bar into a restaurant restored my hope," Turatsinze said.
Most importantly, the change of his business model was not difficult since he already had furniture and utensils.
Even integrating bartenders and other staff into restaurant business was easy, he said.
While the decision Turatsinze took may help him achieve his business goals of having a regular cash flow, his beer customers did not automatically become food customers.
"The amount of income is down 60 percent, a steep drop compared to bar business," he said.
Without a clear plan of how the restaurant is going to become a popular eatery in the city, Turatsinze hinges his business largely on hope.
But what is clear is that bars may not be reopened soon because they could compromise public health measures put in place to control the spread of the coronavirus, according to health experts.
"The restriction on bars for now is justified because when one gets drunk, their behavior changes. People would forget public health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus such as social distancing, and wearing of masks," Vedaste Ndahindwa, an epidemiologist working for the World Health Organization in Rwanda said.
"Coronavirus changed things," Claude Mbonyebucya, Turatsinze former bar client said in a recent interview.
"We no longer have fun the way we used to have. You can take a beer when you are having a meal but it cannot be the same," Mbonyebucya said.
Claudine Uwantege, one of the employees, appreciates her boss for moving fast into restaurant business, saying the future of bar business looks bleak.
"The key to success will be in satisfying customers. There is strong support from most of our regular customers much as many of our former revellers have never come for a meal," Uwantege said.
For a company, the business model depends on the circumstances, according to Teddy Kaberuka, Rwandan economic expert.
"Transforming businesses is a kind of adaptation to the new circumstances of the market. More such changes should be expected because currently restaurants are operational. Changes can apply to other businesses," Kaberuka told Xinhua in a recent interview.
"I believe such should be the spirit of entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur is not someone who sticks on the same model forever and ever but someone who sees the opportunity, he is able to change and adapt to the new market reality," he said. Enditem
