He used grants to set up a soya processing factory

My name is Charles Nsubuga, 56, an entrepreneur and the managing director of Serve Save Company. In 1978, I dropped out of school and decided to look for a job to earn a living. I was employed at a construction site as a casual labourer.
While there, people would bring roasted groundnuts to sell to us. I realised that the demand for these snacks was high, so I decided to give it a try.
I started with selling one to two kilos a day from which I made some profits. However, in 1981, I went to Kenya because of the wars that were in Uganda at the time. While there, I ventured into selling eggs.

Starting out
When I came back to Uganda, I settled in Jinja where I started my company. The idea behind the name is “to save and serve people”. I supplied eggs around Jinja and the business had started picking.

One time in 1984 while in my room, I decided to mix bread with eggs and came up with a good bite.

It tasted good because when I tested it on my colleagues; they encouraged me to go ahead. So, I continued with this as well as baking various cakes.

I started supplying the cakes to Busia, Iganga and Kampala. The business picked up, and with the proceeds, I bought a pick up. While doing this business, I trained many young people along the way.

One day, all my workers left and this led to the collapse of my business in 1989. However, I noted that they had started making the same cakes I had trained them to do.

I gave it a break and I later got a job with a rural water organisation. During my leisure time, I would check on my former customers but I did not tell them that my business collapsed.

However, they were concerned that my cakes were no longer as good as they were. It is then that I realised that they getting sub-standard cakes.

After saving some money, I resumed the business because I had found out that there was still demand that was not satisfied.

I registered for a business training to acquire more skills.
I did this business for several years to an extent that I started supplying neighbouring countries such as Kenya.

I also got advice on how to expand the business and I decided to relocate to Kyengera, near Kampala.

Later, I met a friend from Gatsby Trust who assessed my work and noted that I had made impressive strides. He recommended me to a certain organisation for business support.

Though they told me that they only fund big projects, I convinced them that I had the capacity to grow bigger but was only lacking capital.

They gave me a loan of Shs400m in 2003 and I rented a place in Kyengera. I bought machinery and hired manpower to kick off. They promised to disburse more funds but on condition of first assessing the business before they did that.
However, my supplier bought sub-standard machines and they later broke down.

I remained like that for five years until I learnt of Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), which came in around that time. I first went to Tanzania to conduct a market research.

I wanted to deal in soya bean, that is, to making soya-based products such as bread, milk, yoghurt, among others.

Before PSFU gave me a grant, the condition was for me to have an operational business, that would create employment, maintain books of account and be registered for at least two years. On top of that, Shs50m as working capital.

I was considered because my business fell in the category of projects that they fund: horticulture, fisheries, edible oils, coffee production among other value chain projects.
I was given $100,000 and I started producing soy milk, soy flour for porridge, brown butter, various snacks and soy yoghurt and others.

I am investigating how to make soy milk with a long shelf life, which can also be sold upcountry.

Most of the raw material I use is from Northern Uganda and some parts of Central Uganda. It is agents who connect me to the farmers/producers while others just call me and bring their soya bean. However, where there is no supply, we deal directly. The farmers also benefit by acquiring skills on how to grow good soya bean.

The business has greatly expanded because I employ more than 90 people. However, I am not comfortable with giving the actual figure of the profits I make.

My market is basically local supermarkets, shops and groceries, Non Governmental Organisations, schools, hospitals and hotels.

For now, I cannot complain and my profits are inspiring me to do more things.

Future plans
My future plan is expansion of the business and I have already bought land where I will operate from.

I want to engage farmers to produce more soya bean so that we stop exporting it in raw form.

I am in touch with the American Soy Association and they are helping me with various skills to make more soya products. I am proud to be the only one in East Africa making these soy products.

For instance, there is no soy yoghurt in Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda but I am making it here in Uganda and this is a great achievement.

I have also embarked on a soya utilisation campaign because people tend to think soya products are for babies. However, we have moved to different regions to educate them about soya bean.

It is better not to sell raw produce but add value and that is what I am trying to do. We only want get technology from abroad and do the rest from here.

Challenges
One of the major challenges is the cost of production and the costly machinery. Government should help us by bringing for us cheap technology to foster our businesses.

For example, one kilo of soya beans has a capacity to produce 60 litres of milk and this could be achieved if we have modern technology.

Looking forward
As businesses entrepreneurs and farmers, we need industrial land from where we can carry out our activities well facilitated.

For now, I do not want any money from government but rather the equipment which I could use to boost my business. I have few machines that slow down my work.

I advise entrepreneurs to use any opportunity of getting grants for business. They should stop working in isolation but rather come together to move forward. It is through this that we are able to make it.

about the grants
Improve competitiveness. It is one of the four components of the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP), a Government of Uganda/World Bank-funded project coordinated by Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).

The aim is to improve competitiveness of enterprises in Uganda through supporting reforms in sectors geared towards a better investment climate with particular focus on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Matching Grant Facility (MGF).The MGF is a competitive grant to enable enterprises to address some of the constraints that inhibit productivity, growth and competitiveness.
Eligible enterprises will be required to make a contribution of 50 per cent to match the grant.

Beneficiaries are required to be duly registered and operating under the laws of Uganda, Shall have been operational for a minimum of two years from the time of registration be privately owned, operated and not partially owned or controlled by government.

Successful firms may obtain grants subject to availability of funds and within the life span of the project.