Ssegawa mints money, success from chapati business

As a young boy, Robert Ssegawa,25, aspired to be an engineer.

Unfortunately, that dream was cut short when he dropped out of school in Primary Five due to lack of school fees.

Yet life had to go on.

“I realized that since I could not continue with studies, as a man, I had to come up with something to do and in this case the available jobs were these odd jobs where you are given money not exceeding Shs 10, 000 per day,” he explains.

Ssegawa believes that in order to fulfil a dream one needs to be very determined.

He now makes chapati, a mixture of wheat flour, oil and water fried over a pan. It is round in shape and is enjoyed by young and old. It has also given him some money.

“I started this journey slowly by slowly. I was packing Bushera (millet drink) at a certain company. Unfortunately, my contract was terminated because one day I went home without seeking permission from my boss. So I had to find something to do and I zeroed on Chapati.

He said he began the business by buying some of the required items one by one to make his dream come true.

“I got a chance that I had some skills in making chapati. Since I was earning 15,000 per day, I had to save some money to start a chapati stall because the business requires at least Shs 400,000 which wasn’t easy to raise,” he said.

The beginning though was not easy.

“It took me four months before I fully began to work. I started this chapati stall, but I wanted to quit at one point after getting advice from some friends. I persisted. Here I am today.”
he notes.

He explains that his business began to grow after sometime to the extent of hiring a helper due to the increase in the number of customers who liked chapatis.

“I thank people of this area for supporting my business because they appreciate what I do. I started two other branches of this chapati stall [out of one stall],” he said.

Ssegawa said he also bought a boda boda (motorcycle) to diversify his income.

He said he makes good money and is thinking of buying another by April this year.

 “I don’t have any other job apart from this one of making chapati. I thank God that although it was not easy to start, I don’t regret choosing what I am doing now. Right now I employ four people and I pay them well,” he stated.

Advice to young people

Ssegawa advises the youth to start with the little they have, adding that one doesn’t need much money to start a business.

“You should not lose hope. It is better to start small because you may not be able to get enough money at once. I used to get little money and it could not sustain me. I started the journey by saving the little money I could get. So at the end of the week I could buy at least one item,” he said.

After buying the items, he started searching for a place where he could set up the business.

After some time, everything fell into place and like they say, the rest is history.

Ssegawa notes that he was tired of being employed and yet he was overworked with little pay.

“I slept on the streets for more than 7 months, so I was tired. I had to find a way to survive in this kind of situation,” he says

Ssegawa is planning to buy a piece of land before the end of 2022 to build at least two rooms.