by Charles Mulamata, Founder and Co-Director of EIT

At the Entrepreneurship Institute of Technology (EIT), formerly known as the EIAAT, we believe that entrepreneurs are the key to the future and that there is an imperative need for young Ugandans to learn viable skills and to be able to earn a living using them. The spirit of entrepreneurship is that one identifies opportunities, builds a business based on these options and creates jobs that transform the community. EIT helps these entrepreneurs find ways to do so, by providing training and helping identify sources of start up funds.

Uganda is on target to meet its goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015. Uganda’s, according to the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative Feed the Future, “is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, with sustained growth averaging 7.8% since 2000” and a “2.9% growth in agriculture.” Despite these recent gains, Uganda still suffers from the hardships of unemployment, poverty and food insecurity. The average Ugandan must live on less than $1.25 a day and thirty-eight percent of children who are under the age of 5 suffer from what is called stunting (chronic malnutrition). What is important to note is that the population of Uganda is growing at the second highest in the world (3.2%). This boom has led to 75% of the population being under 30 years old, with fifty percent under the age of 15. Imagine the societal ramifications if these young adults remain unemployed, hence, unproductive and idle.

In order to stimulate entrepreneurship and job creation in Uganda, we need to celebrate success stories more. We also need to re-orient the education system to make it relevant to the needs of today, which are enterprise, wealth creation and production. This will change the mindset of young people and make them understand that indeed the traits of a successful entrepreneur can be acquired.

Studies also show that when gains in income are controlled by women, they are more likely to be spent on food and children’s needs. When investment is in women’s businesses, benefits are amplified both within the family and across generations. At the Institute, we offer courses in tailoring and provide the individual’s first sewing machine. These machines are available because of our partnership with P4P and their continued dedication to making affordable, reliable equipment available to us. Students learn the value and importance of saving income by allowing them to pay a regular installment towards the permanent acquisition of these sewing machines so that when they graduate from the tailoring class, they already own the equipment and can immediately open a tailoring business and begin to earn income that will enable them to expand the business by investing in more machines. Applicants not only learn how to use these machines but also how to ensure productivity by keep a schedule of regular servicing and maintenance. This, we have found, makes the students learn to use the sewing machines carefully, creating a tradition of responsibility and focus, which they carry with them into their working lives.

There never seems to be sufficient capital to be an entrepreneur, especially on your first venture. The Institute’s students are also assisted in identifying sources of funding. The Ugandan government has set aside 44 billion shillings in the 2011–2012 budget for the Youth Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Fund. Startup businesses and very small-scale enterprises can be given 100,000 to 5 million shillings. With Uganda’s massive unemployment, 100,000 shillings (roughly the equivalent of $35 U.S. dollars) can make a huge difference in helping a jobless graduate get started. There is less emphasis in Uganda on coming up with a truly unique idea or a revolutionary product than there is on securing ways of delivering simple solutions to ordinary problems.

There is no need for a perfect business model, but there is demand for those who work hard, and are willing to stay the course and gain experience and expertise. Public opinion is often a detriment to Ugandan women venturing out on their own. With the skills they learn and the pride of having earned their first and subsequent sewing machines, “What will people say?” is replaced with “How much have I earned this week and how well fed is my family?” It is the end result that counts. P4P and EIT offer the starting point so that young Ugandans generally and women specifically may take the lead.

by Patricia Hamill
Readers may recall from our spring newsletter the story of an ambitious and successful Ugandan woman, Jane Kigoye. She was able to save her family from poverty by expanding her small tailoring business with the purchase of sewing machines from one of our partner programs, the Entrepreneurship Institute of Applied and Appropriate Technology (EIAAT). Not long after the newsletter went to print, we received word from Charles Mulamata, Founder and Head of the EIAAT in Uganda, that a vocational school that he was influential in developing within the Sacred Heart Primary School has developed into a successful and continuing program for the students.

In 2005, Charles’ two daughters, Olivia and Vivian, were studying at Sacred Heart. The school, located in Kyamusansala, Masaka District, in southern Uganda, had a tailoring section run by a woman named Nalongo Christine Namugerwa. The school’s only sewing machine was used mainly to mend school uniforms and other clothes. During a parent meeting, it was requested that parents should come out with constructive ideas and support in kind to further develop the school’s vocational programs. Charles thought it would be advantageous to arrange the acquisition of more sewing machines for the school so that the young could be taught a skill at a young age. Since the EIAAT had been receiving sewing machines from Pedals for Progress, they had some machines available in stock.  In order to initiate the process, Charles offered the school 4 electric sewing machines. The EIAAT could not give away more; operating and shipping costs are such that they needed to earn income from the sale of the rest of their machines. The school headmistress, Sister Annet Nankusu, was very grateful for the initial donation of these machines but knew that there would have to be more if the program was going to be accessible to multiple students across grades.

There were stumbling blocks to furthering the development of the program and acquiring more machines. According to Sister Annet, most parents are “struggling low-income earners, who may not be able to pay a full cost of a sewing machine. A few parents who are middle class earners would be able to help but they are unable because of the many family dependents as a result of poverty and AIDS/HIV consequences (orphans and widows). The only way we sometimes get parents help us to get money for machines is during our school meetings when we beg them to contribute to this noble part of education of our children.” As a result of these pleas and the dedication of the parents to do what they could for their children and the school, Sacred Heart purchased a total of 6 machines from the EIAAT. With this generosity and motivation, the school was able to further its plans and the EIAAT was able to earn income to cover necessary expenses.

Because of EIAAT’s initiative, the school now has 18 sewing machines and gives formal tailoring lessons. Of the more than 500 students, at least 90 students attend these classes. They learn tailoring starting in the third grade and continue through to the sixth grade. Sister Annet emphasized that there is no tailoring class in grade 7 because this is a very busy year for finalizing primary school coursework.

The students who complete these courses adeptly design and tailor skirts, blouses, aprons, table cloths, pillow case covers, among other useful items. This combination of education and practical job training is essential for the country’s economic development. A perfect example of this direct connection is Sister Annet’s proposal to start selling the products of this section as a means of raising money for the school and the students whose products are sold. These tangible rewards help the students realize the advantages of enterprise and income earning at a young age. The pride and joy these kids have when they present the completed products is indisputable. While acquiring a certificate of academic achievement is very important, the concrete and immediate reward of earned wages offers more comprehendible representations of success. These successes also show the parents the advantages of teaching life skills alongside academics and encourage them to work together to include the school in their community-building enterprises.

Another economic benefit of this vocational program is that the school is able to retain a highly skilled staff to train the young and assist the original tailoring teacher Nalongo Christine. She is very happy because, with this division of the school and availability of machines, she is now allowed to earn extra income by tailoring activity such as making school uniforms. She can also take on other small jobs. These opportunities and the earning of a proper living wage give her satisfaction and incentive to stay on the job. In the children’s eyes, she is not only a teacher but an example of the successes that come from hard work, academic and practical knowledge, and a supportive community.

According to Mr. Mulamata, the EIAAT believes that vocational studies need to be recognized as major contributor to “industrialization, poverty abbreviation, and development of a nation.” This is quite true and more people and organizations like P4P are finding ways to ensure that their work is not exploited or neglected. Sister Annet states this point most succinctly: “I think today, it is very difficult to get honest people who will put in use each coin given to them to help the poor people. . . . It is most likely that small groups of people [or untried organizations] may fail to operate their services to the poor. My advice is that if our friends would like to join in the education of the . . . child, let them choose wisely the institutions they can channel their funds and help of any sort.”