Nakafuuma: Running a stall and a photo studio

Raised in the slums of Kawempe, Kampalaby her aunt who she prefers calling Senga, Nakafuuma started working at only 13. She says being the eldest at home she felt the need to help her Senga foot some of their bills thus opting to sell chapattis to her classmates.

 “As a child I saw how hard it was for Senga to provide for all the nine children.  I remember there were days we could go without food, but survive on a cup of tea and sometimes we would go knocking at the neighbour’s door asking for a few spoonful of sugar.  It is this situation that forced me to start selling chapattis to my classmates and pushed me to work harder,” she says.

She would buy chapatis at Shs100 and sell them at Shs200.  She usually used this money to buy a piece of soap or sugar for her siblings, but amidst all this, she still worked hard at school with the aim of securing a bursary. It eventually paid off. 

However, amidst all her struggles Nakafuuma’s dream was to become a lawyer since she thought this came with a good pay, one enough to change her family’s status.

“Unfortunately, I failed the pre entry exams.”

With the setback, Nakafuuma’s family persuaded her to pursue a teaching course, but she had never imagined herself teaching at a professional level.  It was about this time that she received a call from one of her former teachers confirming that her name was in the newspapers, she had been granted a government sponsorship at district level to pursue Mass Communication at Makerere University.  Much as mass communication was not her area of interest, it came with a ray of hope.

“When I was given Mass Communication, I welcomed it with open hands and told myself I would work hard at becoming a renowned news anchor,” she recalls. 

When Nakafuuma joined university in August 2016 she attended the different course units and fell in love with photography, she wanted to do more with the camera but did not have access to one. 

“Every time I saw someone with a camera I would not hesitant asking them if they could let me take a few shoots. But no one would trust me with their camera. One day while on Facebook I came across a one Elijah, in all his photos he was posing with a camera. I sent him a massage asking him to teach me how to operate a camera,” she recalls.

It is Elijah that connected her to another photographer, he thought was in a much better position to train her.

Determination 

He calls himself Capital, Nakafuuma says when she met him, he was positive and had only two conditions, keeping time and respect for his wife. It also turned out that at the time they met, Capital was looking for someone to help him at his studio in Wandegeya

“During the training   he explained a lot about light, tilt shift lenses, and vertical lines. I had no idea what he was talking about. But I was fascinated and acted like I understood.”

Having grasped how to operate a camera, take passport photos, photo shoots and editing, Capital trusted her with all the work at the studio.

  For two years she earned Shs5, 000 a day and a few tips from clients that appreciated her work.  Along the way she got a job with one TV station in Kampala where she was hired as a reporter but hardly got paid.  This forced her to rethink her choices.

Survival for the fittest

Nakafuuma says having realised that pay in media was bad, she decided to settle for the camera, but this time with a mindset of running her own . 

She returned to her former employer and negotiated for better pay, Shs20,000 per day. She committed to saving Shs10, 000 every day. She also went on to look out for side gigs for an extra income.  

“I came to realise there wasn’t enough money in the studio and I had to go the field,”she says.

However, penetrating the field without a camera was hard. She would only survive when a friend helped her with one.  

But she was lucky because each time she reached out to one of her friends for a camera they were willing to help.  She started shooting birthday parties, baby showers, house parties.

Proper planning

 In a period of four months she had made about Shs2.5m and was ready to embark on a new journey. By December 2019 she bought some equipments.  She says it was not easy parting ways with her former boss who was also her mentor, but she wanted to stand out. However, she did not quit in a single day she needed to get herself ready; she started making deposits on different camera and studio gear.

“I first bought a soft box which cost about Shs280, 000. The camera cost about Shs2m, but payments were made in installments.”  In March 2020, Nakafuuma, started out in a sub rented room. She says on the first day of opening up, she made Shs250, 000, an indication that she had made the right decision of parting ways with her mentor.  Unfortunately weeks into her new business the country went into a lockdown, but this did not stop her from dreaming big. “During the lockdown I returned to my tomato stall which is now managed by a relative in my absence.”

Achievements and challenges

“I own a studio with the registered name Runa Pix. I have met good people and have travelled places I had never thought of.  In a period of one year I have been able to buy a plot of land in Masajja. I am looking forward to moving to a bigger space which I have already paid off,” she says.

Right now I do not only do photo shoots, but I am booked for wedding shoots. I have covered over eight weddings, charging between shs2.5m and above. My business is worth shs15m with three full time employees. The biggest challenge is that gadgets are so expensive and better ones keep coming. That is why to remain relevant you have to invest in the latest gadgets and theft of gadgets is another problem. Nakafuuma’s dream is to set up a photo hub, where other photographers come and use the space at a fee.