Growing up, I heard a lot about the entrepreneurial spirit inherent to American identity. “You can do whatever you want if you work hard and smart enough.” I had the feeling that if I ever wanted something, I could reach out and take it. But this was always harder to do than say. The intersection of entrepreneurial spirit with competitive culture in the United States often intimidated and prevented me from acting on creative urges.
Uganda changed this.
One of my favorite things about Uganda is the entrepreneurial spirit I see in people around me. A colleague from work contracts out his skills as a programmer, as well as single-handedly runs a lucrative business selling cars. A second colleague owns a health clinic. Another owns and manages two successful hotels. Yet another manages a warehouse that distributes goods around Uganda. For the first time in my life, I truly believed myself when I thought “I can do this.”
I work full time at Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). CHAI is known for adopting a business approach to public sector challenges. Business and economics come up in everyday conversation. I decided to start a small business. Growing up in the Vermont countryside, I had always been enchanted by animal husbandry. Now that I was in Uganda, the majority of people made a living through agriculture or livestock. My small business was going to be a piggery.
First, I found a Ugandan business partner. John is one year younger than me and from the most eastern corner of Uganda. The Kenyan border is a short motorcycle ride from his village. John offered “complete access” to some land on his parent’s farm – I did not have to pay rent, and could go in whatever direction I wanted with pig rearing. John and I put together a blueprint. I did some online research. We had countless meetings in cafes across Kampala, and then we dove in. John relocated to his village for a month and supervised the construction of the pig house.
A couple weeks ago, I visited the pig house for the first time. The experience can only be described as joyous. As we approached the village, we heard singing and drums. The entire community had come out to welcome us to the farm, including leadership from the local village government. A goat was slaughtered and served for dinner. We worked for a couple days on the pig house, consulting with a local veterinarian officer and comparing different breeds of pigs. By the end of the weekend, we had the beginning of a business model for rearing, breeding, slaughtering, and selling pigs in the local market.
While we are still several months from managing an operation that will garner significant profit, my experience exercising my entrepreneurial side has been priceless. I will forever be grateful to Uganda for providing me with the context to be confident in my ability to create, manage, and grow something like a small business. In the past six months, I have learned, made mistakes, devised creative solutions, and made more mistakes. I have loved every minute.