Business

By Agnes E. Nantaba Growing up in a poor family forced Rusia Orikiriza to work hard at an early age. Sometime back when the government imposed a ban on the importation, sale and manufacture of plastic bags, she saw an opportunity in recycling agricultural waste to make paper bags as …

By Agnes E. Nantaba Miraj Barot is the managing director of Tirupati Development Uganda Ltd, which largely deals in real estate development and management but with interests manufacturing and consultancy. He spoke to Agnes E. Nantaba about their operations. What are the key elements in your management philosophy as a …

By the Independent Team Ali-shah Jivraj is the brain behind Royal Electronics, a company that assembles and distributes electronic home appliances such as TV sets and radios among others in Uganda. He estimates his annual business revenues at $15 million.   Jivraj had a knack for business that dates back to his …

By the Independent Team New Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins spoke to Mercury News about his vision for the company amid the second Internet revolution. Excerpts You joined Cisco in the midst of the first Internet revolution, and now you say there’s another one underway. How would you describe the …

By the Independent Team Henry Okumu started recycling used glass into useful products out of innovation and imagination.  This was after ten years of training in over five countries including USA and China. He made the first batch of products in 2009 with investment from family savings totaling to about …

By Ian Katusiime Judy Rugasira Kyanda is the Managing Director of Knight Frank Uganda. She spoke to Ian Katusiime about the company’s progress and other issues pertinent to the real estate market. Having been at Knight Frank for nearly two decades, what would you say has been the key to your …

By the Independent Team Christine Luboga, a former Chemistry teacher, started Chrisams Designs in 1986, largely to employ herself and other people after pursuing fashion design training at the School of Fashions in London.  The rest is now history as the saying goes. Her initial capital was personal savings that …

By the Independent Team Derek Kwesiga is an innovative agribusiness entrepreneur engaged in value addition to fruits and vegetables under the brand name JustJoy. He makes juice. On returning to Uganda after garnering extensive experience in Bar & Restaurant management in USA, Kwesiga started Derekorp in 2008 with assistance from …

By Agnes E. Nantaba Simon Peter Akugizibwe is the Airtel Marketing manager-Data and Devices. He spoke to Agnes E. Nantaba about the data market in Uganda and the telecom’s strategies to grow penetration. What are the key trends on the data market in Uganda? We are seeing two stimuli; from …

By the Independent Team Solomon Baguma a Computer Science graduate is the brain behind House of Russa; a company that makes juice and liqueur out of a wild-growing plant called mulondo of the Mondia Whitei family. Mulondo is consumed by many Ugandans as an aphrodisiac. It is also used to …