Emmanuel Tuyisenge, chemist and CEO of TEMACO Builders, a Rwanda-based construction company.
TEMACO Builders
Rwandan environmental chemist Emmanuel Tuyisenge is using his STEM background to work towards solutions for affordable housing in his home country.
Tuyisenge, now CEO of Rwanda-based construction company TEMACO Builders, says that he is working on three different projects he believes will change many lives in Rwanda and in Africa.
“I started working on an affordable and eco-friendly toilet prototype since 2018 and as of now I have served and installed our EcoTeto (Ecological Temaco Toilet) to more than 5,000 households,” he says.
Additionally, Tuyisenge explains, he is also working on modernizing building decoration material in Rwanda using cladding stones and other new decorative stones.
“I am exploring different styles, shapes, colors and patterns that will transform interior and exterior house decoration, taking advantage of the booming construction sector in my country,” he says, “”This is an area full of challenges but which, at the same time, abounds with opportunities.”
Tuyisenge says his long-term objective is to provide solutions for affordable housing, with the goal to offer houses that are tailored to the needs and financial capacities of both middle- and low-income earners in Rwanda.
“When I started my company TEMACO, I was among the very first ones to venture into the production of concrete construction materials because at that time, pavers were not very much used here in Rwanda,” he says, adding that a $34,100 loan from nonprofit lending platform Kiva allowed the company to get going.
“We also had a terrible need for funding because no financial institution wanted to give us affordable loans since we were new on the market and fortunately, we were introduced to African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC) and KIVA,” he says.
Workers from TEMACO Builders, a Rwanda-based construction company specialized in the production and … [+]
TEMACO Builders
From Chemistry to CEO
Tuyisenge grew up in the rural western part of Rwanda and was raised by a middle-class family.
“I have always been the curious child who never took no for an answer and always believed that whatever I see, however wonderful and marvelous it is, has been so because someone somewhere has worked hard and put in some effort to achieve this,” he says.
Tuyisenge explains that although his parents were not rich, he is grateful they did “all they could” to ensure that he could pursue his dream of graduating in environmental chemistry from a well-regarded university in Rwanda.
“With my environmental chemistry degree in my pocket, I started to see opportunities for me to contribute in finding solutions to some of the most pressing issues that my community —as many other places in Africa— was facing: affordable and sustainable construction material,” he says, adding that he had the opportunity to learn from the best, visiting more than 50 leading companies with leading R&D in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Seeing Science As A Solution
According to Tuyisenge, the Global South has many problems, but is also the source of many of the world’s resources, presenting many opportunities but there is definitely something wrong with that situation.
“Having all the resources but still living in misery but there is where I see science as the solution,” he says, “We African scientists need to rethink, research, exchange information, collaborate and redesign solutions or recalibrate already adopted methods, until we find the solutions that work for us.”
Tuyisenge gives an example of a research project he worked on about 10 years ago, looking for a solution to keep motorcycles running in East Africa.
“The cost of maintenance of a motorbike is still expensive as most accessories and consumable products are imported, so we provided a solution of producing motorcycle lubricant from (local) castor oil,” he says.
Tuyisenge says there is a need for Global South scientists to collaborate more with counterparts from other parts of the world and leverage their experience and knowledge.
“If we do this, stay true to ourselves and keep connected to our people, we will definitely do more and overcome these challenges, making Africa reach its true potential,” he says.
Workers from TEMACO Builders, a Rwanda-based construction company specialized in the production and … [+]
TEMACO Builders
Another Rwandan social entrepreneur with a STEM background is Christelle Kwizera.
Kwizera, a mechanical engineer is using a network of boreholes and purified water microgrids to give over 100,000 people access to water in Rwanda.
