From a life of poverty to entrepreneurship; the Courtlee Rodrigues story

Courtlee Rodrigues

From poverty to owning his own business, Courtlee Rodrigues tells his stor

Sorrow and poverty could be the best incentives as well as good foundations for one’s success. For Courtlee Rodrigues, these would drive him to proser.

Reflecting on his childhood, Rodrigues’s life wasn’t a luxurious ride, it was riddled with potholes, nevertheless, he ducked, swerved, and conquered.

At the age of 3, Rodrigues’ mother and father parted ways. He attended the Redeemer Primary School and then the Brickdam Secondary School,  for him, it was an uphill battle.

“There were many times we couldn’t afford the things that other children at school had, like new textbooks or sometimes new uniforms but my mother was always persistent and stressed the importance of education. She was an avid reader and would read us bedtime stories from the bible and other books. I’ve long graduated from bible stories, but I am a voracious reader to this day,” Rodrigues said.

The line of services offered by Rodrigue’s company

Growing up in Sophia, Rodrigues dubbed the village as a “tough place.” The area was known for its lack of access to potable water and electricity.

In spite of the life’s challenges, the 25-year-old thanks his mother for getting him through it all, “my mother’s guidance and encouragement assisted me in my excellence in academics. In Sophia, if you’re academically inclined, you’re shunned as a bookworm or called an “anti-man”,” Rodrigues recalled, “I was bullied with all of these terms by both adults and kids my age, but mom was always there,” He remembers

With the hardship he faced while growing up, in 2016, the young man took a leap of faith and launched his business “Congruence International.”

The young entrepreneur explained to BIG Smith News Watch that he launched his business in a bid to solve the various issues that were plaguing his life at the time, “while growing up, mom and I would sell pastries and food while she was out of a job. Entrepreneurship was a backup system for making money, so I decided to try it since it was the only backup system where I would work without bosses. I’ve always had a stern distaste for bosses,” the entrepreneur said.

Rodrigues explained that he started his business with G$500. He had bought a knife and after his friends at work frequently asked to borrow it, he decided to sell it and use the profit to buy another one.

“I repeated this process until I had saved profits in excess of $10,000. I then expanded my collection and sold sneakers, towels, blankets, and knives on Facebook marketplace. Business was great. Eventually, I saw more issues in my life to fix and began to sell ice cream and meat from my house while home on weekends.”

With the fire burning to solve the numerous issues life has been firing at him, Rodrigues began selling food at the University of Guyana.

“After joining UG, I realized that students for night classes were left without food after all the outlets had closed, and thus, I solved that problem by selling food and snacks in the afternoons. I used the profits to expand into catering for events with my mother as she would cook, and I would make sure we got sales. We are a powerful team.”

Congruence International’s services include catering for all events, ghostwriting services, furniture making, and home improvement services, small-scale construction, and cash loans, among others,

Rodrigues is eager to turn his dreams into reality and he has a set target to do so.

    The brand

“That reality is simply that before January 6th, 2045, I will obtain US$44 million through my various streams of income. Before my death, I will obtain US$1 billion. I will use my wealth and knowledge to address the issues of housing, healthcare, and education here in Guyana,” he promises, “technological infrastructure and the availability of resources will also be addressed. My ultimate aim is not money, but to acquire the means to alleviate the suffering of the most afflicted,” Rodrigues said.

His advice to aspiring and business owners is not to make money the goal but to solve problems that affect most people.

Congruence International services include catering for all events, ghostwriting services, furniture making, and home improvement services,
small-scale construction, and cash loans, among others.

You can contact Congruence International on Facebook and Instagram as Congruence International or via WhatsApp on +592 655 – 1356.