It took Mulinda a heartbreak, sh3m to start a juice business

BUSINESS  INSPIRATION

Three years down the bumpy entrepreneurship road, Steven Mulinda Ssekatebe has already made a name for himself. He is the brains behind Masangaganjovu investments, under which he supplies Ganjovu cocktail juice on functions.

Being a popular brand, Mulinda supplies juice on order. If you have admired a setup of colourful juice in glass dispensers at any functions you have attended, you may have encountered the crisp and fresh Ganjovu juice.

The 34-year-old also produces and supplies Ganjovu coffee. Entrepreneurship had always been Mulinda's dream. He hoped to one day own a business which would employ him and many others, something which he has achieved. And to him, the sky is the limit.

A juice cocktails display at a function. (File Photo)

 
Starting off with sh600,000, the business has grown to a worth of about sh120m.

This includes owning deep freezers, coolers, dispensers and blenders, among others. He employs 15 people in production and delivery.

EARLY LIFE

All his life, Mulinda has feared dying a poor man, something which forced him to work hard. He hoped to emulate his parents — Peruth, a renowned florist, saleswoman and James Kakembo, a businessman.

Mulinda has done many jobs to make ends meet. He was also greatly involved in his mother's businesses.

However, behind the scenes, he also dreamed of becoming a journalist. He would spend most of his free time watching TV. But he would later abandon this dream for entrepreneurship.

"I started working in Senior Four vacation in 2002. I was hired by an events company to wash and pitch tents," he remembers.

"I loved my job so much that the sh3,000 I was earning did not matter to me," he recalls. He also continued working with the company during his Senior Six vacation. The sh3,000 would cater for his lunch, breakfast and transport.

A year later, Mulinda joined Makerere University Business School. While there, he found another job with an events firm, but resigned shortly after, when he was head hunted to do sales in a friend's company.

"Her company also dealt in tents, chairs and tables, plus décor. I would move to different venues and meeting places, looking for clients," he reminisces, adding that his excellent performance landed him on a much better job

One day, luck led him to a wedding meeting. Here, he met Martin Serubiri, the then head of consumer products at Celtel Uganda. He had a big wedding budget, an opportunity for Mulinda to make money. He got sleepless nights, thinking of ways to convince the bride to give him business.

"I gave him too much headache. I called him every day, until one day, he called me to his offi ce," he recollects.

He was early enough to catch the worm. However, once there, Serubiri told him that he had given the business to a bigger company, but instead offered him a job.

"He said I was a good salesman. Much as he denied me the business, he lined me up for the job," he recalls.

Mulinda could not believe it; a lot went through his head. He even feared he would be fleeced. How could he get a job from a big company like that without applying for it?

The next day, he attended the interviews and passed highly and he was immediately appointed to head sales in Luwero region. He was tasked with supplying airtime and SIM packs to the company's dealers, open up oulets and help them sustain their businesses.

Meanwhile, all this happened while Mulinda was still at university.

"I would ride a motorbike up to Luwero every morning and retire at 3:00pm, to be on time for the evening classes at Nakawa. It was a draining schedule," he recalls.

Fortunately, he managed to graduate without any retakes. However, Mulinda lost his job on his graduation day. He says, his boss gave him two options — to attend the graduation and lose his job or attend to his job and retain it.

"I don't regret disobeying my boss. This event meant a lot to me. I had gone through hell to complete the course, so I chose to attend the ceremony," he narrates with a smile.

After the ordeal, Mulinda was determined to move on. This time around, he joined media sales for Top TV and radio. However, he says, however, it was another tough task.

"I regret all the four years I wasted there because I left with nothing to show for it, but dismay," he shares.

Nevertheless, he moved on with his experience and exposure to another job of selling insurance with UAP. He secured this job through a client he had met previously while in media sales.

Here, hard work and determination saw him rise through the ranks to become financial advisor, a role he held until he resigned last year to concentrate on his business.

HOW HE STARTED JUICE BUSINESS

Growing up near the Kalerwe market, Mulinda's parents would always send him for fruits to eat at home. He would ensure to get some for himself, to make juice. His family enjoyed it. Even today, his mum still prefer juice made by Mulinda.

Later on in life, the salesman would still make different types of juices for his fiancée at home.

Mulinda and some of his employees at work

 
"Making juice was my daily chore, until one day, I told my fiancée that I wanted to take it a notch higher," he says.

Sadly, she was against the idea. She instead supported him to start a roof tiles cleaning company. He heeded and bought the necessary equipment worth about sh2m. But the business did not see light of day.

"I did not feel it. I carried out research and realised I needed longer ladders, insurance for the workers and more. Besides, it was not my choice," Mulinda recalls, adding that he resolved to invest in a venture he was passionate about and that was making juice.

He also discovered there was no fresh juice supplier at functions on a large scale around town.

When he shared the idea with his fiancée again, she was adamant. She feared for their reputation at the work places. They were both corporates working with UAP. But this did not break Mulinda's back. 

He then posted on his Facebook page: ‘You need fresh and healthy cocktail juice for any function? Contact me' the response was overwhelming. The young entrepreneur did not look back.

"After two days, I used part of my savings to buy a juice cooler at sh2.6m. Before that, I had bought a commercial blender at sh350,000," he says, adding that a few days later, he also bought a dispenser.

This did not go well with Mulinda's fiancée.

She packed her stuff and left his home, ending the relationship.

However, he was instead more energized to pursue his dream. He bought another dispenser and the second blender and kept them in the house for some time.

In early February 2016, Mulinda got to know about introduction ceremony of his supervisor.

The salesman in him approached her for business. She was hesitant about the quality of juice he would produce, but Mulinda assured her to hope for the best product ever.

"Evelyn Lunkuse called me at Speke Road. She withdrew sh600,000 and gave it to me for 80litres of juice. It was not enough, but I agreed to work since it was my first business," he says. The function was in Kayunga district.

Mulinda was then dating his current fiancée, who was still a student at the university.

He called her to inform her about the news. She hurriedly went to his home on Gayaza Road, boiled water and they made the juice throughout the night. She also prepared the glasses and the jars.

By morning, it was ready, but they had no ushers to serve it. Mulinda remembered a friend who has ushers for hire. He promised to send two, but instead came with one, saying he would serve as the second usher. He also hired a car.

After all was set, the group travelled to Kayunga. On their way, they bought ice blocks from an ice plant, to keep the juice cold. Muhinda's service and juice were highly appreciated that people asked for his contact and the rest is history.

He registered his business and named it Masangaganjovu, loosely translated as elephant tusks. Mulinda is a Muganda who belongs to the elephant clan.

Fortunately, since then, he has received orders from different corners of the country.

For example, last year alone, the juice found its way to a number of high profile functions in Rukungiri and Kabale districts, among others.

"Juice has made me popular. Wherever I go, people call me Ganjovu. There are also many who say that I inspire them. This makes me happy," he says.

HOW I KEEP ON TRACK

Juice being a sensitive consumable item, Mulinda says he observes utmost hygiene during production, delivery and serving. He also ensures water is boiled. This has helped him avert issues such as food poisoning that may pose a great threat to this business.

Aside from that, to keep the business growing, from every order, Mulinda saves 10%, which he deposits in the bank. From this, he plans to procure land to expand his business and build a home as well.

A Masangaganjovu employee serving guests

 
He is presently renting a two-bedroomed house at sh350,000 per month, for his home and business. Mulinda says he pays his bills, taxes and wages on time.

"Each worker gets sh20,000 per day worked," he highlights. Power and water consume about sh500,000 on average, depending on the season.

He plans to put up a standard production house in a few years, as well as buy a delivery truck to ease transportation.

COUNSEL

To those who dream of owning businesses, be brave enough and take your first step. If you don't start, then you will never start. Start now.

Also, always be straight forward, honest and trustworthy. A client you have never met may trust you with his money for a service. Do not be tempted to fleece them because you can run, but you can never hide. Besides, this will kill the business.

CHALLENGES MULINDA HAS FACED

The most memorable of them was at a high profile introduction function at Buloba on Mityana Road last year. 

"We set up all the juice in the respective coolers. It was worth millions of shillings. The guests had just arrived when the table gave way, coming down with all the juice," Mulinda says. Some team members could not hold back their tears, but Mulinda was quick to think out of the box.

"I jumped on the delivery truck and ordered the driver to head back home. I quickly made calls to our suppliers and the production team to report to work. After, I started singing and praising the Lord," he says. The driver thought his boss had gone crazy, but he explained to him that in all situations, we should praise God for he knows why bad things happen when they do.

"Indeed, I felt at peace. Luckily, the freezers had been stocked with juice for the next day's event. It is what we served. My team and client were happy to see me back at the function in a short while," he says, adding that he learnt from that experience.

Muhinda has also faced a challenge of copycats, some being former employees who blackmail him after going behind his back to start their own business. However, to overcome this, he sticks to what defines him on the market; quality, being reliable and trustworthy.

Aside from that, power blackouts also affect productivity as machines run on electricity. If he is lucky to have blended juice, he then buys ice blocks to keep it cool.

"Price fluctuation of the fruits eats into our profit yet during scarcity, we can't increase the price of the juice," he says.

For example, a bag of passion fruits cost sh400,000, but it sometimes goes up to sh1m.

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT MULINDA

Andrew Lukyamuzi (operations manager) 

I have worked with Mulinda for the last three years. He inspires me a lot. I love the way he motivates himself and the passion he has for this business. Besides, he wishes good for all the workers and treats them like family. He is always with us during the good and bad times.

Evaline Lunkuse (First client) 

Mulinda loves what he is doing and besides, he delivers quality services. I remember on my function, everybody loved the juice, mostly, my special guests. In fact, he made my day so colourful.