Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns that nearly brought the global economy to its knee have led to massive loss of jobs in many countries around the world.

Workers in the business, hospitality, and travel sectors, as well as freelancers and those in the gig economy, have been particularly hard-hit. Job loss entails much more than losing an income. People who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis speak about the financial burden of losing business.

Prince Hoffman Banamwana, 28, had a booming carwash business that had blossomed into branches in just two years. It grew from receiving two cars a day in 2018 to 26 cars a day early 2020, from four employees to 26. Mr Banamwana, as well as his employees all completely relied on the business to survive. When Covid-19 hit, his incoming cars fell to just three, not in a day but months.

The pandemic hit nearly after he invested all his Rwf20 million capital in the business. He never got a return.

His business is now closed. “It was growing unbelievably fast. When I think of what it would have become if the pandemic was not here, I get goose bumps,” he narrated.

All his employees are now unemployed, needless to mention, struggling to survive. Banamwana tried to revive his business or at least get capital to start a compatible one but no avail.“I applied to the Economic Recovery Fund. I was desperate to bring back my employees and help them. But because the business was already closed, my application was rejected,” he said.

The cost of losing a business is not limited to the owner but also those who relied on them. Hoffman’s Car Wash employees and their families felt the hit more. “Some of my employees still call me asking for help. Some were providing for their families from the car wash’s income,” he said.

“I such situations we always find someone to blame but that’s how Covid-19 is. It is the invisible foe, all we can do is hold on tight and survive,” he recounts. Seeing that digitally run businesses are the new entrepreneurship during Covid-19, Banamwana switched o real estate business on his website.

His website, quick.rw, is the most visited real estate website in Rwanda. “I am trying to revive the business. I have now moved to the real estate industry and it's promising. I built the most visited real estate website in Rwanda as rated by Alexa, now learning a lot about the industry and planning a comeback,” he said.