JINJA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE)— A youth cooperative in Busoga has transformed a small roadside Rolex-making business into a growing restaurant, creating jobs and linking young entrepreneurs to suppliers across the local food value chain
Busoroll Cooperative Society, based in Jinja, was formed by young people who had been making and selling rolex (chapati and eggs) before receiving support and training under the Stimulating Agribusiness for Youth Employment (SAYE) project, implemented by Heifer International.
According to Eve Nabirye, chairperson of Busoroll Cooperative Society, the youth were initially organised into groups and trained in saving, book-keeping, business management and record keeping.
“We were already doing business, but the training supported by the SAYE project helped us manage our businesses better,” Nabirye said.
The youths had been operating individually and from roadside spaces, but a trade order that affected roadside businesses forced many of them to return home. Nabirye said the challenge also presented an opportunity for the youth to combine their efforts and establish a cooperative.
“We saw that we were quite a number of people, so we saw it as an opportunity to join hands and form a cooperative society,” she said.
Busoroll was formally established earlier this year and has since expanded its activities by opening a restaurant, known as Busoroll Restaurant that deals in beef and chicken Rolexes alongside other meals.
A beef or chicken Rolex costs Shs20,000, while a meal goes for about Shs27,000.
Nabirye said the business sells an average of 15 to 20 Rolexes a day, although increasing the customer base remains one of its major challenges.
The cooperative currently has about 845 members, according to Nabirye.
She said the business has also created opportunities for other young people and suppliers involved in producing the ingredients required to make Rolexes.
“Rolexes need a lot of products. We need chicken, beef and vegetables. There is a whole value chain behind this business,” she said.
The cooperative sources some of its supplies through partners and youth linked to them by SAYE project, including suppliers who provide chicken, sausages, beef, irish potatoes, onions, tomatoes and other ingredients.
Nabirye said the cooperative is currently operating on leased premises for four years, but the restaurant is still under development and requires further investment, particularly in infrastructure and marketing.
She said strengthening marketing would help the cooperative attract more customers and increase sales.
The Stimulating Agribusiness for Youth Employment (SAYE) project in Uganda is a five-year initiative running from 2023 to 2029, led by Heifer International Uganda in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and consortium partners includingASIGMA Group, CURAD, FSME & FSDU.
The project is a youth-focused initiative that seeks to improve young people’s livelihoods by working with them to access employment and enterprise opportunities in the agribusiness sector.
In Busoga, the project has supported youth groups with skills including savings, record keeping and business management, while encouraging young people to work collectively and develop enterprises linked to agriculture.
The Busoroll experience demonstrates how collaboration can enable them access support that can move young people from small individual businesses into organised enterprises and cooperatives, while creating demand for products supplied by other actors in the agricultural value chain.
For the young entrepreneurs at Busoroll, the goal is to grow the restaurant, attract more customers and turn their cooperative into a stronger and more sustainable youth-led enterprise.
