Many people have remained  trapped in chains of dire poverty, nowadays, because they think starting a business is costly, writes SHIFRAH KAYAGA. However, talking to some milllionares in Kampala, a business can be started by any one with any amount of money, and it flourishes.

In most cases,  It’s not even the level of education that people have achieved, but even nature can be harnessed to ensure that one lives a splendid life, free of deprivation.

Some of these stories are shared by people who have gone from zero to hero, and are now great marketers  around Wandegeya, Jomayi, university gaduates.

HAND WORK
Many people normally look afar for ways ro overcome poverty yet they are endowed with both hands. According to Vastine Mugisha found in Wandegeya, Kibumbilo and a mother of three, there are a lot of lucrative ventures that people can earn from by simply using these limbs.

Mugisha is one of the famous designers and teachers who has always been consulted for knowledge concerning the manufacture of paper bags, rosaries, lap sheds, balls, baskets and so on. She testifies that she gets all these from nothing other than nature-given banana fibers, beads, ropes and such items that are not bought.

“I didn’t wake up one morning and decided to start taking lessons of these particular things from universities but, the more I visited exhibitions all over Uganda like Lugoggo Trading  Center, CBS Pewosa Wankulukulu all in Kampala and the rest outside the city, the much I got motivated to start up my own business in order to earn a better living together with my family.” She says.

One shouldn’t take Vastine as an illiterate as she is a professional teacher and was one of the Shimon Demonstration school teachers, three years before starting up her own business.

Her attractive creatures keep pulling people’s attention as some remain
wondering of how she manages bringing all these craftwork to beauty. However, Mugisha saw a need of passing on a message to
all the young ladies not to just stay seated while waiting for jobs they
studied for.

“It’s better visiting different places and earning at least some knowledge from other people so that, by the period you are
having your own job, again
you have savings that will help you in one way or the other.” Mugisha advises.

However Mugisha is not happy with how university graduates always undermine jobs. She emphasizes that they shouldn't always look at the knowledge they achieve from schools to get a job, but can always do something practical that's doesn't necessarily need acquired skills from education.

On my departure from her
market, Vastine tells me she sees herself as a great company manager in a few years to come, given the fact the she earns from a lot of things including teaching how to make the same items from her wandegeya stall, where she charges   Shs 100,000 per student.

STUDY MARKET TRENDS
Amos Tuhumuzza is a resident of Katele Jomai down the Prayer Mountain. He has a family and a deals in agricultural products like mushrooms, Sukumawiki, spinach,
onions, lemon grass.

He says that some people have been kicked out of business as soon as they start them, because they never study what is trending and in line with customers' preferences.

He says that whereas his opponents flooded the market with the ptoducts in their original forms, for him he decided to differ a bit the by selling them in powder form, and this, he says, has seem more customers flood his market, and also visit some of his branches
around Kampala to get more of
these things.

Tuhumuzza has acquired some little  knowledge from education, though this didn’t stop him from being a rich man as he always dreamt.

“our company stages at Katele Jomai and what inspired me into making such was the fact that when I always went to supermarkets and other shopping
malls to get some of these
powdered items, I found that they were on a very high price yet these are the same things we have in our compounds. Tumuhuzza says. "This
motivated me to start up my manufacturing, processing, and drying of these products, after,they are well packed in order to raise on the price because of
their attractiveness.”

Tuhumuzza is a very busy man with lots of customers surrounding his market place. As we are taking he takes repeated breaks to serve them. During this period, I take exlpoit chance of talking to Innocent Tumwebaze, one of his customers.

“Amos' products act as medicine to me and I always move miles to make sure I come and get some of powdered Lemmon grass (Kisubi),
mushrooms and the like, Tumwebaze says.

The great farmer also passes on a message to all those who think
university knowledge will lead
them into being billionaires minus any additional studies. "At times
students have got to give a try to some things as they can make them earn some additional money. Things fine won’t move as planned at first but you shouldn’t lose hope because the more you insist, the more you get what you
want.”

EXPLOIT NATURE
Peter Kivumbi is a youth and holds a bachelors degree in Industrial Art and Design from St Lawrence University. Kivumbi presents to us a unique exbition of how he makes his supper quality products from nature.

“I base my work on the environmental stuff and that’s turning trash to treasure, thus I
collect these wasted materials like tires, plastics, compact discs (CDs)’ and the likes, to bring out the best. Kivumbi narrates. "So now I make tables out of tires, bags out of plastic bottles, drawings and also use broken CDs to design
tables and the rest”

He adds that, generally, his
dream was to consult the environment and come out with different products hence passes on a message to all the students out that sometimes it’s not always necessary to beg the Ugandan government to create jobs yet
one can use their brains to start their own businesses and earn a supper living.