Ugandan Business Ideas: What Business Do I Start?
Ugandan Business Ideas: What Business Do I Start?
Now that many of my peers are done with university, my social media is flooded with posts along the lines of “What next?” As if it isn’t obvious that the next logical step is to secure some form of livelihood. While a few were fortunate enough to start their journey before their final exams, most weren’t. Now that the degree is out of the way, it's time to focus on "the hustle," as it’s so fondly called.
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice, nor does it reflect my personal values. It is merely meant to highlight the opportunities that exist. To the best of my knowledge, everything I mention here is legal. I’m just a university student still living with my mom.
I’m a huge advocate for starting a business (not being "your own boss," as they are different—more on that in a future post). The reasons are simple: it’s the surest way to become wealthy in a relatively short period of time. Of course, the type of business matters.
And, yes, being in Africa, I must concede that politics could also fit that description—but I, personally, haven’t had much luck with politics.
The second reason is that, with unemployment as it is, I think it’s more risky to spend three years looking for a job than it is to start something right away and make job hunting a side hustle. Starting a business gives you an advantage in terms of skills gained, lessons learned, and contacts made. Of course, if you’ve already been recruited by Deloitte or retained as a lecturer with your 6.9 CGPA, feel free to stop reading. But for the other 99.9% of us, keep going.
Most business experts say starting a business is about finding a problem to solve or meeting a need.
What is a Need?
There are roughly 11 human needs, and how we meet them offers various paths to profitability: Food, water, health, shelter, sex, clothing, energy, transport, entertainment, knowledge, fulfillment, and security.
1. Food
The food business involves a value chain: Inputs, Production, Value Addition, Logistics, and Retail/Export.
i) Inputs: These can be consumable inputs like fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, or capital inputs like tractors, irrigation systems, or financing to smallholder farmers.
ii) Production: This includes farming and animal rearing. You can grow food crops, rear animals, or plant rare crops like chia or even cannabis.
iii) Value Addition: You can mill maize, roast coffee, or even turn maize into products like cornflakes or ethanol.
iv) Logistics: Transport or store produce. Be a middleman buying produce in villages and selling in cities, or speculate on commodities.
v) Retail: Open a supermarket focused on fresh produce, sell milk, or export goods like coffee.
2. Water
Sell borehole installation services, lease water trucks, or wholesale drinking water.
3. Energy
Sell electricity poles to Umeme, or start a contracting firm to install and maintain solar panels.
4. Shelter
Build low-cost rentals, broker land deals, or start a hardware shop. Manufacturing timber or furniture are also good options.
5. Security
Start an insurance company, sell CCTV systems, or clean up accident scenes.
6. Sex
Manufacture condoms, import sex toys, or kinky lingerie (believe me, the demand is there).
7. Health
Set up a pharmacy, deal in biohazard waste disposal, or offer funeral services.
8. Transport
Set up ride-to-own financing for boda bodas, open a fuel station, or sell spare parts.
9. Knowledge and Fulfillment
Start a school, tutor something you’re good at, or create online courses.
10. Clothing
Open a boutique, make school uniforms, or import fabrics.
11. Entertainment
Organize events, make YouTube videos, or hire out public address systems for functions.
As the saying goes, “Tolimwaavu, omutwe gwo gw’emwavu”—which loosely translates to “Poverty begins in the mind.”