By Lauren Thorn | Online Marketing Specialist
Mother to eight children, Alice certainly has her hands full. Surrounded by abject poverty in rural Uganda, life has not been easy, and Alice is no stranger to rolling up her sleeves to work alongside her husband, rearing cattle for beef. Today, her farm is thriving, and she has even opened her first savings account which allowed her to expand by purchasing dairy cows.
Alice first learned about Opportunity Uganda in 2013 and what she has achieved since then is nothing short of amazing. Having struggled to run a profitable farming operation, Alice was not only grateful to access a loan, which she invested to purchase additional head of cattle, but she was especially delighted to receive the business skills and financial literacy training she needed to become a successful businesswoman. A natural born entrepreneur, she put her training into action and stepped up to help the other women members of the Empara Farmer’s Trust Group along their own journeys out of poverty.
With a few loans over the past three years and extensive business skills and technical farming training, Alice’s list of achievements is extensive. She has learned the importance of diversifying her business as she expands to reduce the gap created by seasonal agricultural incomes. In response, she began to grow and sell eucalyptus trees and she also reinvested her profits to construct a rental building with 10 rooms to bring in consistent income. Perhaps most importantly, Alice is giving back to her community by creating jobs for four neighbors and acting as a mentor to women in her community who benefit from her willingness to share business management and modern farming practice advice.
As Alice said, “I dream that all eight of my children will be able to finish their education and that my business will continue to grow. I am grateful that Opportunity Uganda provided the tools I needed to succeed, to empower me to achieve growth in my business.”
Alice is just one of many inspiring entrepreneurs who you have helped uplift in Uganda. You are equipping entrepreneurs, especially women, to perpetuate a cycle of lasting transformation in their lives, in their families’ lives and across their communities.
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