‘I was bored with formal jobs’

Social. Nansamba (Left) and a friend scan through a phone. courtesy photo

What you need to know:

  • Realising possibilities: After getting bored with her office job, Patricia Kahill Kuteesa a moved into social marketing, forming Kahill Insights, the company that she has used to drive her innovations as well as implementing her own ideas.

In 2005 Patricia Kahill Kuteesa received pen-pal request from Ireland that would turn around her fortunes.
It all started with an email ac-count on Windows Live where she would exchange with her friend on Tagged and later on HI5.
The world of internet specifically emails had just arrived in Uganda therefore, as one might say in popular speak, Kahill Kuteesa had arrived.
“I wanted to communicate frequently instead of writing letters which took months to get to her [pen-pal friend], she says.
To Kahill Kuteesa, this was the start of the journey that has seen her master the art of communication.
“I have never left social media,” she says as she scans through a number of documents on her laptop.
Patricia Kahill, as her peers call her is an ingenious who has over the years broken sweat to create a number of companies including Kabul Insights, a digital marketing platform.
The company, she says, was inspired by the current opportunities that have become so available because of growth in technology and internet penetration.
Interestingly, she is self-taught with many of her learning points obtained through online resources such as podcast on YouTube.
“It is important that I teach myself something that I have grown to love and earn from. I am in control of my own growth and advancement. I am the driver of my own fortune and development, no one else,” she says.
Digital enterprises, she says, require commitment and updated thinking because of the changing trends and technological innovations.
Many young people, just like Kuteesa have started technology based innovations. However, some have had to give up on them because they lack commitment.
This has not been that case with Kuteesa as she always sought for new ideas and innovations to enable her to continue.
“Of course, I am inspired by other people’s innovations and I always ask God to keep me going. My days are no all about work. Sometimes I withdraw from all sorts of work to sleep, watch a movie or take a long walk and when I get back I have new ideas to move forward,” she says.
Kuteesa has worked with a number of organisations such as Reach A-Hand Uganda to implement and create ideas such as creating awareness about using condoms and the myths about some reproductive method.
One of her initial ideas was an in-vestment in an internet cafe that she set up nine years ago and it is from here that a number of her innovations were birthed.
“It was the second business I opened after campus that is still standing up to now. It is called Shalom Community Café, in Lubya, in Kasubi,” she says.
The café was a product of frustration after she combed the whole neighbourhood without finding any café in the area.
“I had to spend Shs2,000 to get the one available and then pay to use their machines. So I sent my father a business proposal and asked him to facilitate me with 10 computers to empower the youth in my community with computer skills as well as getting access to the internet.
This was after I left Mbarara broke but with a deep desire to engage with my friends via social media [Tagged, Hi5 and Windows liver

Ice cream parlour
After leaving campus, Kuteesa operated an ice cream parlour inside Vision Empire, a nightclub in Mbarara in which she was offered some space by one of the managers - Fred Kafoko.
“I made the ice cream and served it for a year. Got free adverts on Vision Radio (which is owned by the same family as Vision Empire) and then business started being good and I relaxed. I ‘ate’ all the money, packed up and returned home to Kampala.”
When she got to Kampala, she searched for a job but she could hardly find any but later landed on one at Mosa Courts where she would work from Sam to 2pm.
At Mosa Courts, she worked a switch board operator and filling receptionist. She also handled phone line bookings, redirecting in-house and out-of-house calls.
However, she says, she soon got bored and concentrated on finding a way through which she could build a digital marketing company.
Apart from digital marketing, Kuteesa is a blogger and she uses her blog - http://pkahill.com -to share experiences and knowledge as a social media expert and advisor, content creation and marketing.
“Kahill Insights is my space to share things I am learning about everything that crosses my path. It used to be a social media marketing but not anymore. It is wider than being limited to one topic,” she says.
Nansamba is a graduate of Development Studies from Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

FIVE THING ABOUT KUTEESA

1 Rolex stand
When she decided that she need her own money, Kuteesa opened up something that you would not expect any teenage girl to do in her first year at campus to operate - a rolex stand.

2 Ice cream parlour
She at some point operated an ice cream parlor hosted inside Vision Empire in a space that had been offered by one of the managers of the night club - Fred Kafoko.
3 Internet cafe
Through assistance from her father, Kuteesa operated an internet cafe in Lubya, in Kasubi, The cafe, she says is still up and running.

4 Formal job

After combing the streets for months, Kuteesa secured a job at Mosa Courts but soon got bored before moving on into social marketing.

5 Social media Influence
She Is one of the leading Social Media bloggers in Uganda. However, she says, she has been trolled because of grammatical issues on Twitter but has kept a positive attitude that keeps her moving and implementing different ideas.