Kayiwa’s head was enough for him to start a construction company

For decades, terrazzo has been used as a durable flooring material in construction.

For Frank Kayiwa, terrazzo was gold many didn’t know existed.

The Senior four dropout born to the late Sylvia Nalukenge and Solomon Byekwaso says having attended Nakinyuguzi Parents School and later New Lifetime Primary School all in Makindye, he joined Bridge of Hope Secondary School for his O-level studies.

However, as fate would have it, her beloved mother who was taking care of his needs passed away.

“When my mother who looked after me died, I realized it was time for me to face the world as a man. I had to devise means of survival,” Kayiwa says.

He says growing up, his dad was a construction engineer but never introduced him to this profession.

“Whereas he was an engineer, I wasn’t motivated into this profession by him. I did it myself to join the construction industry. I said to myself that since my dad had not given me opportunity to learn from him, I had to do something different,” Kayiwa says of his beginning.

“I decided to go into floor construction. I thought outside the box to specialize in constructing floors with tiles, terrazzo and everything to do with floors.”

As the says goes, when the going got tough, Kayiwa went to an Indian firm along Makerere Hill Road in order to learn everything to do with floor construction using terrazzo and tiles.

“When I felt I had learnt everything I wanted, I left to go on my own.”

Starting company

Kayiwa currently owns Terazzo Solutions Uganda, a company that deals in everything related to construction of floors.

He says after learning from Indians everything to do with floor construction, he hit the road running and started the company.

“I realized if I am organised, clients would find it easier to give me deals than working as an individual.  I also realized that having a company with individuals is a sign of being organized and clients therefore contact the company for work than individuals,” he says.

Kayiwa says with the skills earned from the Indians, he identified fellow youths whom he taught what he had learnt and this way, he started off.

He insists he didn’t require any capital to start off.

“My head was enough to begin the company.  I didn’t inject in a lot of money but rather the skills in my head were enough for me to start. With my fellow boys that I had taught, we now formed the company.”

He says the company has grown to become one of the most sought after in the floor construction business, not only in Uganda but also in the region.

 “We use social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter to market ourselves. We are therefore everywhere, including Dubai, UK or the US,” he says.

He says the company doesn’t have a specific number of employees but it depends on the size of the work or specific project and the number of workers needed.

Kayiwa says he always hires employees to help him on certain projects but says to ensure quality, he has supervisors he taught what to do.

“We specialized in floor construction but also work on beautifying graves using granite, marble, tiles and terrazzo,” he says.

Proud

Kayiwa is quick to mention that he is very proud of what he has achieved in the construction profession.

“We have been able to build a name that when you just mention the name Terazzo Solutions Uganda anywhere, it will show you quality service. We have been able to make relationships with many people in the country and abroad. We have got connections in many countries including UK and the US etc. The company has grown to be one of the biggest construction companies in the country.”

Just like any other job, he says his profession is not without challenges.

“We have clients who call themselves high profile but don’t want to sign and commit to agreements. Therefore, when you complete work, they default on paying now that they didn’t sign any agreement. These give us a lot of headaches,” Kayiwa says.

He says the weather also affects their work, especially when it rains while they are still doing construction.

“If we are to work outside and it rains all the work we have done is spoilt and money wasted.”

He says clients in the diaspora who want to have work done for them at home but want it done on foreign standards.

“These want us to do work according to European standards but don’t want to pay what due to this standard yet it costly. They want to pay less, yet what they want costs much.”

Future is bright

Kayiwa says he thinks of starting an institute which will teach people about floor construction.

“There is no institute which specializes in floors and specifically using terrazzo to construct. I want to get funders so I can start one to teach fellow youths these skills.”

He says youth must be innovative and should not only rely on their academic degrees but use their heads to think outside the box.