Hitimana Asterie

HITIMANA Asterie Asterie Hitimana is a Rwandan fashion designer and entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Twinkle by Asty, a fashion brand that promotes locally made clothing and African-inspired fashion. Her story is one of pursuing creativity despite financial and career challenges. Asterie was born in Burundi and raised in Rwanda. She grew up in a large family as the 11th of 12 children. From childhood, she had two major dreams: becoming a professional dancer and becoming a fashion designer. She credits her mother for encouraging her to recognize her artistic abilities and develop her passion After completing high school in 2009, Asterie initially pursued her dream of becoming a professional dancer. She performed with several Rwandan artists, including Jojo, Meddy, King James and Danny. She also participated in FESPAD in 2010, where she was among the young women involved in judging a dancing competition, and appeared in the Primus Guma Guma competition. After graduating in 2014, she applied for more than 200 jobs without success. Rather than abandoning her ambitions, she eventually decided to build a career around her passion for fashion. Founding Twinkle by Asty In 2017, using her savings and support from her family, Asterie started Twinkle by Asty, a fashion business focused on women's clothing made from locally sourced materials. The company's current website describes the brand as having been founded in 2018 in Kigali and identifies Asterie as its founder. The difference in dates appears to reflect the distinction between when the business was started and when the brand was formally established; contemporary reporting from 2019 gives 2017 as the start of the business.Her goal was not simply to make clothes but also to demonstrate that Rwandans could create unique and stylish clothing locally, rather than depending on imported clothing. Her quotes I decided to follow my passion, to do what I love and make a living out of it. From dancer to fashion entrepreneur: A designer’s journey to launching enterprise the newtimes (September 19, 2026) I think everyone can shine, everyone can feel beautiful. From dancer to fashion entrepreneur: A designer’s journey to launching enterprise the newtimes (September 19, 2026) My first challenge was to define myself as brand, I knew I wanted to design clothes but didn’t know how and where to start from. From dancer to fashion entrepreneur: A designer’s journey to launching enterprise the newtimes (September 19, 2026) I remember when I was a little girl my mother used to tell me that everybody has art. That everyone has something special which one only needs to discover and be passionate about. From dancer to fashion entrepreneur: A designer’s journey to launching enterprise the newtimes (September 19, 2026)