From humble beginnings, Ofwono has five schools
It is hard to believe at a glance that Ofwono once abhorred the idea of teaching. Her father, who perhaps had a streak of clairvoyance, told her she would make a good teacher, but she was reluctant to heed his advice.
Progressive education entrepreneur and founder of Victorious Education Services Limited, Barbara Ofwono. (File photo)
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During the 2026 Pakasa Forum that will take place on November 21 at Enterprise Uganda, progressive education entrepreneur Barbara Ofwono will be one of the successful entrepreneurs who will be sharing their success stories and ideas for growing businesses.
It is hard to believe at a glance that Ofwono once abhorred the idea of teaching. Her father, who perhaps had a streak of clairvoyance, told her she would make a good teacher, but she was reluctant to heed his advice.
“When I was in my S.6, my father encouraged me to become a teacher, but I declined because I wanted to pursue law,” she recalls.
She was so adamant that she even repeated S.6 to get the points to study a law degree, but she got the same grades.
“That’s how my journey to education began. The first time I went for school practice, I didn’t want to stop teaching. I wanted to teach and teach. I used to ask other teachers to give me an opportunity to take up their lessons. I fell in love with the profession,” Ofwono says.
The founder of Victorious Education Services Limited, which encompasses all the five Victorious Schools, and an online school as the sixth, Ofwono was initially a secondary school teacher.
However, she enjoyed teaching Sunday School at church for three-to-five-year-olds, meaning her heart beat for the little ones.
She had a hard time in school. In fact, looking back to her childhood, Ofwono says she cried a lot during her primary boarding school days because she wasn’t cared for.
“I was always emotional while going back to school. I would miss my parents so much that whenever I would go back to school, I would cry,” she notes.
She was thus glad when she joined Namasagali College, which groomed students to become “wholesome persons.” “Namasagali College turned my life around. The school believed in developing a wholesome person, who could make an impact in their life, generation and community.
This greatly shaped my life, future and day-to-day activities,” she recounts.
During a break between Sunday School second service, Ofwono said she heard a voice saying the ones she was teaching were okay, but the ones out there needed her.
“I had trained to teach secondary level, but Sunday School taught me how to handle young children,” she recounted, adding that a burden was birthed in her heart and she visited nursery schools the following day.
Ofwono said she was drawn to young children because in the late 1990s, they were not treated graciously.
She narrated that people would invite guests to parties and exclude children from attending.
Some churches would have Sunday School on their verandas or under trees, and in homes, children were sent outside to play when guests visited.
She took the bold step and opened a kindergarten in 1999 with only 30 children and three members of staff in a three-bedroom bungalow at Old Kampala.
This was aptly named the Genesis Campus. Over time, Victorious Schools have opened campuses including the Ntinda-based Anointed Campus which has daycare to primary education; Miracle Campus in Bakuli that is a daycare and kindergarten and Divine Campus in Central Kampala for primary education.
Others are Ebenezer Campus in Mukono, which is a boarding school and Zion Campus, the online campus.
THE ENTREPRENEUR RISES
Ofwono did not expand Victorious Schools like greased lightning. She took the most pragmatic step any entrepreneur would when faced with a capital-injection challenge.
She went to borrow from a bank in Kampala. Initially, she did not have the necessary requirements, especially collateral, and her loan request was rejected.
Later, Ofwono turned to another bank, which fortunately saw beyond her circumstances. It saw a dream that could be actualised, which is Victorious Education Services Limited today. That bank partnered with her.
RESILIENCE
For many, the business world calls, but few answer the call truly because they lack the resilience to soldier on through trying times. But Ofwono’s story is one full of faith, passion and resilience. And her numbers are a testimony of all her three ethos; from 30 pupils to more than 4, 000 pupils and three staff members to over 500 employees.
VALUE-BASED BUSINESS
To Ofwono, Victorious Schools are more than a business venture, where they provide more than an education. They build the children in faith and character, making the children a wholesome package of responsible citizens.
FAMILY IS PIVOTAL
Ofwono is a different kind of entrepreneur because she not only speaks about making money, but how to manage it.
She, for example, during the Bride and Groom Expo of 2024 at Lugogo Showgrounds, spoke about remaining true to who you are even when you begin reaping big.
She then said that, in spite of her success from the humble beginnings of Victorious Schools, she remains true to her roles as a mother and wife.
“Plan together because it is not your money, but our money. You have to sit down with your husband and plan, which is why I managed to go back to school,” she told the expo audience.
Ofwono believes that money in a marriage belongs to the couple, not singularly owned by the one who earns it.
On another note, Ofwono’s humility shines through the simple, mundane activities she lovingly does for her family, inferring that money [or success] should not change a person’s roles or duties in the family.
She is a proponent of remaining grounded even as the bank balance swells because of success of a business venture or enterprise.