Businesses you can start with Less Than UGX 100,000 (25$) in Uganda

In most cases within Uganda, food and household targeted businesses are the sole ventures you can think of startup capital of or under UGX 100,000. Although many people consider 100K such a small amount to begin a booming business, nothing is actually small, well depending on how you perceive it.

Beyond these categories, there are numerous other businesses one can start with that “little” income, here are some;

Do you know how to plait women’s hair or cut men’s hair? Before you start procrastinating over where you expect to get money to set up a salon, consider moonlighting. You can identify a friend or friend of a friend with a salon that can help you operate from their salon at a fee. By using their equipment, you are expected to pay some form of ‘rental’ off each job that you get. For the women, you could choose to plait hair from your home or backyard (I’ve seen many do this) and for the men, depending on the market you target, a chair, tree shade, access to electricity and electric shaver are enough to kick-start you. Second-hand shavers can be got for UGX 40,000 and that seems to be the most significant cost.

Do you know how to make ringtones? Can you install or remove apps on smartphones? Can you handle basic repair of phones? These and a few other skills are enough to launch you into this business. By simply teaming up with someone who runs a Mobile Phone retail shop, you can set up a symbiotic relationship that enables the phone hardware seller benefit from your support. Have you seen those small phone dealers around MUBS small gate or Makerere Western small gate? These guys earn from business with less capital of 100K as you may term it

If you are not new to Kampala, you have most likely seen signposts with words like “BULOKA WE NYUMBA NE PULOTI.” The growing real estate industry has not only increased the demand for land and houses but also offered many an opportunity to act as middlemen. Anyone with the networks to know who is selling and who wants to buy can join this business.

Speaking to people and encouraging them is something that has begun paying significantly lately in Uganda. If you are the type that can be an encourager, all you need is to invest in audience knowledge as well as keep yourself abreast with the ever-changing trends of society and you are good to go. Investment? Personal Experiences and reading a couple of books.

Pablo Live, Fun Factory, the Comic,  Kansiime, and many others are now filling our entertainment airwaves. But what does it take to become a comedian? Being funny. Simple. If you have been dubbed as a great joker especially in terms of originality, then you are a good candidate for this kind of profession.

Being able to help others that are challenged in life is a skill not many have. Sometimes you can achieve specific training for it. However, when it comes to looking at it as a business opportunity, the least of your worries should be the money you need to kick off. Even without an office, you can start mobile counseling services. You definitely do not need UGX 100,000 to start.

This is an opportunity that those with an artistic mind can easily pursue. A young man who occasionally does for me such work started off by using computers in an internet cafe to do clients’ work until he was able to save enough money to buy a laptop. Today he has quite a good number of retainer customers and rakes in handsome revenue monthly.

In these lean times, nearly all businesses are bootstrapping. Many offices are ready to outsource all non-core activities and this is one of those. With all the mushrooming arcades and office blocks in Kampala, it’s not rocket science to figure out a way of getting customers. The beauty of this kind of work is that it is limited to morning hours.

If you have research skills, don’t sit back and wait for an 8 – 5 job. Get off your laurels, market yourself as a research specialist and start helping organizations conduct researches. Starting off with simple customer surveys, you can graduate to more complex research studies. In most cases, the contracting organization tends to avail you a down payment to embark on the study. How much do you have to invest in such a business idea? Your time.

I once took a stroll downtown and happened to stray into Owino Market. I was shocked to find a young man selling shirts for UGX 3,000/=. YES !!!! I couldn’t believe it. A closer inspection revealed that they were decent enough to be worn at least for a couple of months.

Isn’t that a little income startup business? I could go on and on but for now, this is where my story ends. Do you now believe that you can start a business with under UGX 100,000?© Hire the Youth

Story first published on Hire The Youth