Francis was born in Bujumbura, Burundi. He grew up in a northern suburban quarter called Kamenge, where he learned to play the drums using milk cans. At the Lycee du Saint Esprit secondary school, he acted in the Molière play Le Malade Imaginaire. During the same period, when he was 16 years old, he worked as a volunteer animator at the Centre Jeune Kamenge, a nonprofit organization that works with young people from northern quarters of Bujumbura. During that time he worked on concerts, summer work camps, and plays put on by the organization. Francis has also acted in short movies directed by young Burundian directors. In 2009, Francis participated in the national campaign for The Burundian Reconciliation, organized by the Burundian Parliament. In 2010, he was awarded the Prix Michel Kayoya, a Burundian literature award, for his short novel Le Rêve du Rêve. That same year, Francis participated in the 30th Paris Bookshop. The following year, a song he wrote entitled "Mawe Ndagiye' was nominated in the East African Music Awards. Francis graduated in 2011 from Hope Africa University with a Bachelor's in Law. He worked as the manager of the Burundi Film Festival before joining GHC.