Passion drives Amviko to successful entrepreneur

Gloria Amviko did not allow her poor background to dash her entrepreneurial dream.
The resident of Arua District started her dream by pursuing a Bachelor of Quantitative Economics, which she completed in 2009.

Ms Amviko later did a Master of Arts in Economic Policy Management at Makerere University from 2012 to 2015.

Her passion in business earned her employment as a part-time lecturer. However, the poor pay forced her out.

Ms Amviko then started Glowi Pure Honey Investments Limited, a company dealing in honey, two years later.

“I realised that with the low salary I earned, I could not meet my demands. As such, I started business operating under verandas at home where I would only sell about 40 litres of honey. I could not afford rent in the town centre,” she said.

Ms Amviko’s turning point came in 2019 when she was selected for the Tony Elumelu Foundation business programme.

“It is from here that I learnt more about value addition, how to grow sales through the various social media platforms. And so, I got orders where I supplied between 200 litres and 1,600 litres of honey after that training,” she said.

Ms Amviko was one of the young women selected for the sixth edition of Rising Woman, an initiative that aims to recognise, celebrate, and promote a culture of mentorship among women in business in Uganda.

Rising Woman is an initiative of the Uganda Investment Authority, dfcu Bank, Monitor, and Uganda Airlines.

During a two-day training organised at Hotel Le Confidentiel in Arua City last week, about 200 women in business discussed challenges, tips on how to excel in small scale businesses and opportunities for their products given the area’s strategic location near the borders with Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. 

Ms Amviko’s determination to learn new things, customer trust and resilience have earned her success. She now produces about 7,200 litres of honey in a year and employs five workers in her apiary.

“In a month, I now earn about Shs14 million with some profits which I inject in expansion of the business. I use part of the profit to pay school fees for my siblings and meet other demands.

Such training, like the Rising Woman, offers more opportunities for us to network, learn and implement from others,” she said.

She said the trust by customers to deliver quality honey has propelled her to a successful business journey.

 “Do not go for business just to survive but to grow. Have goals that are achievable. There is a lot of tendency of copy and paste in business. Desist from that because you do not know the hidden efforts that person is using,” Ms Amviko urged fellow women.

She said there is a need for businesswomen to collaborate and learn from each other without jealousy.

Similarly, Ms Fiona Apayi, who started as a radio journalist, said she quit the job due to high demands and changing world. But she later quit due to little pay.

She stayed home for about three years without any job. The difficult jobless life experience was a lesson for her to start a small scale business.

“I started a children’s boutique in 2022 because in all the media houses that I moved to, the payments were not making me meet the growing demands to live a better life. The business has now enabled me to support an orphanage centre in Koboko,” she said.

As her sales increased, she started Nyolani Investments where she is growing cassava and earns more than Shs5 million every 12 months after harvesting. Ms Apayi added: “I always believe that a man’s money or assets will always be his. So I need to struggle to get mine to and this does not mean you should disrespect him. We should struggle as women to become economically independent to grow.”

During the Rising Woman training, the Manager of Women in Business and Special Programmes at dfcu Bank, Ms Ruth Asasira, said: “We are giving an opportunity of proposal writing for businesswomen to excel through the Shs30 million grant so that they become economically independent. We want women to have access to finances to allow them to expand their businesses.”

Ms Asasira said there is a need for businesswomen not to fear taking loans because without them, it is hard to expand and sustain businesses.

“They should borrow and have the financial discipline of repaying such loans. And the relief is in the grant where this money can propel them to greater heights,” she said. 

To write a business proposal, female entrepreneurs must individually or jointly own at least 50 percent of a business that is formally registered. The top three proposals will be awarded a cash prize of Shs15 million, Shs10 million, and Shs5 million, respectively. Winners of the Top 10 business proposals will go to Nairobi, Kenya for a study and mentorship programme; all expenses paid.

About the challenge
Ms Amviko was one of the young women selected for the sixth edition of Rising Woman, an initiative that aims to recognise, celebrate, and promote a culture of mentorship among women in business in Uganda.

The top three proposals will be awarded a cash prize of Shs15 million, Shs10 million, and Shs5 million, respectively. Winners of the Top 10 business proposals will go to Nairobi for a study and mentorship programme, all expenses paid.