24-year-old Ronald Kiyimba rose from being a charcoal seller to an industrialist
As he traded in charcoal at the age of 12 to finance his education in his home district of Mukono, Ronald Kiyimba never knew he was growing his business skills.
He is now an accomplished businessman runningHarbby Products Services- Uganda that specializes in industrial formulation and processing of mosquito repellents in form of body jelly for smearing and candles for lighting.
“In 2020, I used my savings as well as support from family to start a production line for a product for people with skin challenges like black spots, pimples and skin rushes,” he says of his beginning.
He named this product, Harbby Jelly , before he added another line Mos-guards which could on top of all the above, it would offer protection against mosquito bites.
According to Kiyimba, he joined a special program where he got knowledge and skills to improve his products through branding and packaging
Kiyimba says he continued with hard work and in the last three years, he has grown business to be able to serve Mukono and Entebbe in central Uganda as well as Ntungamo and Mbarara in the western part of the country.
“Our market size is still small but we are trying to create awareness about the product’s existence through marketing. Those who have tested our products testify about their effectiveness and have joined our clients’ cue,” he says.
He explains that his day starts with preparation of the production tools including the heaters, pans, melting dishes, measuring tools and the production protective equipment for safety.
He also measures formulations .
Kiyimba says while he injects in shs330000 a day, he can get shs867000 as gross revenue.
He says in a bid to earn extra income, he monetizes his skills by training sustainable vocational skills to train learners in soap making, candle making , shoe creams and jelly among others.
To this, he partners with schools and higher learning institutions among others to teach their learners.
Currently pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering at Mbarara University, the 23 year old says he plans to expand his market share to cover all parts of the country.
He also wants to establish agents, outlets and regional product stores.
Kiyimba also has some piece of advice for fellow youths.
“I strongly encourage all innovative and upcoming minds to seek mentorship opportunities first rather than financing opportunities in their startups, innovation creations at all stages, right from ideation. Whichever idea you have can become big. Don’t despise yourself.”
