Educate! Uganda – Fellowship Recipients – 18 Mar 2014

Since 2011 Better Lives has supported Educate! in its mission to empower the next generation of socially responsible leaders in Africa. This year Better Lives provided funding for two young leaders to receive leadership and entrepreneur training. Educate! selected Patrick Luzze, from Kampala, and Pauline Madudu, from Jinja.

Patrick first considered the needs of his community when he joined the Educate! program at his high school in Kampala. After taking several Educate! modules focused on issues of community development and entrepreneurship, Patrick decided to start a mushroom farming and distribution business. In his community, it was a widely held belief that mushrooms grow naturally and cannot be farmed or turned into a commercial enterprise. Through consultation with other Educate! scholars, Patrick discovered he could grow mushrooms and sell them for a good profit. He conducted a survey to determine the market potential for mushrooms in Kampala. He discovered that many supermarkets and hotels had a high demand for mushrooms but did not have an adequate supply. Patrick set up sales relationships with various hotels and stores around Kampala and inspired other members of his community to grow mushrooms. Today, Patrick trains community members in mushroom growing and introduces them to the local market.

Pauline is a Mentor Fellow from Jinja in the eastern part of Uganda. During her time as an Educate! scholar, Pauline learned business and leadership skills in seminars and through meeting with other students in the school business club. After reflecting on the kinds of businesses she could start to create a positive change in her community, Pauline decided to build an energy efficient stove. Many of the stoves currently used in local households cause high pollution and require large amounts of wood and charcoal to operate. Pauline felt she could create a more environmentally friendly model that would benefit her community and bring in profit. Soon she had created a stove that heated up faster with fewer resources. Pauline currently produces around ten stoves a week and sells each at 4,000 shillings (USD$1.56), leaving her with a profit of 2,000 shillings (USD$0.78) per stove. With the profit she has made selling stoves, Pauline has started new businesses selling chickens and customized school notebooks. With the profits she earns from her businesses, Pauline buys school supplies and saves for her university education.

Pauline and her new stove design.