A program to help poor women in Uganda start their own businesses

A jewelry brand’s financing program helped women in Kamuli, eastern Uganda, start businesses that lifted them out of poverty, and explored how a debt-free entrepreneurship model could create sustainable change for these women. Launched in 2017, the “Zena” program aims to address extreme poverty and gender inequality in the Kamuli region by providing capital for women to start their own businesses. It is a model designed to promote sustainable change, help women become self-sufficient and financially independent, and start… Giving back to their communities.

The program was founded by Caragh Bennett and Lauren Thomas, when they were in their early twenties, with the aim of empowering women through financial independence and entrepreneurship.

The “Zena” program employs about 25 women at a time. They work for one year to create a line of recycled jewelry, which consists mostly of earrings, but also includes bracelets, necklaces and other accessories, after which they can start their own projects.

During their work, the women earn a salary, 40% of which they receive each month (enough to lift them above the poverty line), while 60% is saved for the start-up costs of their future businesses.

Those in charge of the project say, “The main goal is to help women create a debt-free business, once they leave the (Zena) project and establish their own business.” But it’s not just about the money: while working through the program, the women also attend daily classes and one-on-one mentoring sessions focusing on digital literacy, financial management, and leadership skills. Record keeping also proves particularly invaluable to running their businesses, and without it, they are vulnerable to overpaying taxes, as well as mismanaging cash flow and product volume.

Caragh Bennett explains how important it is for the brand to make high-quality, responsibly produced products that can be sold in the UK and US, as this allows them to maintain steady revenues to fund the programme, which is also supported by donor partners.

Karag, who hails from the United Kingdom, explains that the concept is not limited to providing job opportunities and lifting a limited number of women out of poverty; Rather, the goal is to instill the skills and confidence necessary for women to thrive after they leave the program and become independent.

She added: “We repeatedly heard women talking about their entrepreneurial dreams. They wanted to own their own businesses and be their own bosses. It was also clear that dependence on the company itself was considered a major obstacle to any form of expansion or local ownership, and that is why the program was created.” (Xena).”

One of the beneficiaries of the “Zena” program, called Salima, says: “Everyone laughed at me when I said that I would sign a contract with the largest hotel in the city, but I did that,” as Salima became the manager of a laundry in the small town of Kamuli in the Busoga region in eastern Uganda. It is one of the poorest areas in the country. Salima and other women like her have been able to create successful businesses from scratch. Salima now not only takes care of herself and her seven-year-old son, but also pays the family’s school fees. Another, she also employed five other women who support their families with their wages. Salima explains how she previously earned money from washing clothes by hand and styling women’s hair, but she saw great and profitable potential in washing sheets and towels for hotels.

Salima tells the story of one of her friends who benefited from the “Zena” program, saying: “One day I went to my friend Cathy’s house outside the city, where she and her daughter took me on a tour of her chicken-raising project, and she told me that she raises birds to sell or “For meat and eggs…it is a simple, but effective model that has allowed it to grow exponentially.” About “The Independent”

. Women working in the program receive 40% of their monthly salary, while 60% of it is saved for the start-up costs of their future businesses.