Jennifer Mwebaze is a mother of four boys and two girls, who deals in hardware products to survive.
With only three hundred thousand Uganda shillings, she started the hardware business in 2012 after having failed in dealing in bolts and nuts which, she says, hardly had any customers.
From that initial capital Ms Mwebaze now earns more than one million shillings per month, and advises young people who are still unemployed not to despise jobs.
“The little capital they have can do something big in the end. And I also advise people not to always depend on others because whenever they do, they will find it hard to develop themselves,” Ms Mwebaze says.
Ms. Mwebaze, who conducts business in an open space, says she was inspired by one of her friends who saw the hardware business as being more profitable, albeit with several challenges.
“Sometimes people don’t buy and they get money occasionally,” she says and adds that at times weather conditions like sunshine and rain scare away her customers since the business is also poorly located. Competition with other businesses that deal in the same wares, little capital and government regulatory operations through the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) have also proven a challenge to Ms Mwebaze, who doesn’t have established premises.
However, despite all the challenges, she has been able to pay school fees for her children. Three of them are at Mityana Central College while the other three are at Bright Junior School in Wakiso.
Ms Mwebaze’s first born is in S4 while the last born is in middle class. “Three of my children lost their father,” she said with a determined face that shows she is not about to give up fending for her children.
