Belise Kariza is Rwanda’s chief tourism officer at Rwanda Development Board. A marketer by profession, she previously worked for Bralirwa, the brewery company as consumer and market intelligence manager.

Her professional background is in international business, operations management and business negotiations.

As the current chief tourism officer at the Rwanda Development Board since September 2015, her core mandate is to drive the growth of Rwanda’s tourism sector as well as spearheading efforts to conserve the country’s biodiversity.

She is also the chairperson of the Great Virunga Transboundary Collaboration Secretariat, the organisation that co-ordinates the conservation efforts in Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda; the chair of the joint marketing committee under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects, an initiative that combines Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda to ensure joint promotion of the three countries as one region.

She has extensive expertise in developing and implementing government and corporate strategies and has played key roles in the execution of several international initiatives by various institutions.

She received a BA in marketing from the Kigali Institute of Science Technology and a second bachelors degree in finance from the University of North Texas.

In 2010, she got an MBA in marketing research from the American Intercontinental University, Atlanta, Georgia. She is fluent in English, French, Kiswahili, and Kinyarwanda.

---------------------------------------------

What is your off-duty passion?

I love to work out. I try to go to the gym at least three or four times in a week. I have a trainer who keeps me on track. Physical exercise helps me deal with stress.

That is for health but for pure fun, I have a son who is one year and three months old and spending time with him is the best way of unwinding.

When I have a short time off work I spend it with family and friends, going out to places that are relaxing, such as good restaurants where we also get to sample good food.

But when I get a longer break to relax I make sure I travel with my husband and son.

What do you consider as the ultimate “lazy day”?

My lazy day is when I wake up in the morning, have breakfast then watch movies and TV series the whole day, take a break to eat, go back to watching TV series. It means not getting out of the house and staying in pyjamas the whole day. It is however getting harder to achieve this because my son is a handful.

How do you manage your wardrobe?

That depends on many factors. If it’s just really staying at home, I do tank-tops and leggings, or something very simple like shorts, flip-flops and the likes. When on vacation, it would be T-shirts, and tank tops and basic jeans. I love jeans. They solve my many style problems. Then at times very simple dresses especially when you go somewhere that is very hot.

When in East Africa, where are you most likely to be whiling away your time on a Saturday afternoon?

To tell you the truth, I don’t have a preference because in all the East African countries that I visited, I loved bits and pieces of everything. The first East African country I visited was Uganda and I loved the nightlife there. The other place I visited is Nairobi. I like the people but I didn’t like the traffic.

The nightlife there too was good, I loved the Maasai market. I haven’t been to Tanzania yet, I would love to go there too and Mombasa. I have been to Ethiopia and I loved the food and the culture. Each of the East African countries that I’ve visited is somehow different but I loved all of them.

What’s your favourite music?

When I want to relax I listen to old school music especially the R&B and hip hop kind and by old school I don’t mean the 80s or 70s music, mostly the 90s and early 2000s because that’s what I grew up listening to. I also love to listen to gospel music.

How do you unplug from technology for some sanity in this era of being plugged in 24/7?

I don’t usually switch off my phone because it’s important for my job that I be available at all times. But unless it’s an important call I just don’t pick up. I leave the phone in my room when I am in my living room. I rarely leave the phone behind not only because of work-related calls, but also because of my son.

Speaking of your son, how do you spend time with him especially with late nights at work?

There are those days when you have to leave the office late but I do make time and ensure that I go home as early as possible and spend time with him. I also make sure I spend the entire weekend with him.

What is the one thing you do that you find relaxing but is probably not considered relaxing?

I clean up. It helps to relieve the stress because it’s mostly the end result that makes me feel good. The sight of a clean place calms me down.

Who is your favourite author and what was your last great read?

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is what I am currently reading. Danielle Steele and lately Chimamanda top the list of my favourite authors.

What is your comfort food?

That would be my favourite dessert — a warm chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice-cream.