I built a house from painting nails

Nov 26, 2012

When you meet 32-year-old Fred Kawesi, polishing and filing ladies’ nails at his place of work which he named after his name; Kawesi Nail Clinic on Mutasa Kafeero Plaza, he comes across as a confident, professional manicurist.

By Samuel Lutwama
 
When you meet 32-year-old Fred Kawesi,  polishing and filing ladies’ nails at his place of work which he named after his name; Kawesi Nail Clinic on Mutasa Kafeero Plaza, he comes across as a confident, professional manicurist.
 
But wait until you hear his childhood life story, which was mired by poverty and the death of his parents at a tender age.  While this would have dampened his hopes for a bright future, Kawesi took it in his own strides.
 
“When my parents died, a bright future almost seemed impossible for me. I dropped out of school and started thinking of ways to survive.” 
 
“I moved to Kampala where I got a job as a houseboy in two different homes and I was able to raise my starting capital,” says the father of four married to a pastor.
 
trueDuring the time he worked as a house boy he came in contact with a friend who was peddling second hand shoes, he advised him to join the business which he did.
 
With time he had enough capital which he needed to venture into another business territory.
 
“A friend of mine who was vending shoes encouraged me to join the manicure business.
 
He assured me that there was good money in manicure and pedicure business,” he says.
 
 
 
 
The manicure business
 
In 2000, using the money he had acquired from vending second hand shoes he joined the manicure business.  He worked hard moving to different arcades in Kampala creating a clientele base which mostly comprised of young ladies. 
 
In two years he was able to buy a small plot at sh1.5m million which he later sold at sh2.5m.
 
Meanwhile during that time his business progressed and he was able to earn sh1m per month. Of the sh1m he used to save sh700,000. Kawesi says that he joined the circle groups at his place of work   which helped him to boost his savings. As his business grew, he started being innovative.
 
“I developed new innovative ideas of making powder nails and Gel nails (artificial nails),” he remarks. The innovation helped him multiply his income by two. He started making sh2.5m in a month from selling artificial nails between sh30,000 and sh80,000 and polishing women’s nails at sh3,000.
 
trueThe building venture
 
In 2003, through hard work and personal sacrifice, Kawesi was able buy a 50 by 100ft plot of land in Zaana at sh6m.
 
He had accumulated the sh6m from the sell of his first plot and the savings from his business ventures. After acquiring the plot, he waited for two years to embark on the building project.
 
During these two years he started to save for his construction project. “Although my business was doing well at the time and I was able to save 1.2 million per month. I had other responsibilities to take care of,” he says.
 

 
In 2005, he hired the architecture who designed and processed the plan for him and the process cost him sh1.5m. In 2007, the foundation was laid and the construction began.
 
“When I got the house plan, a friend connected me to an established engineer who supervised the whole construction of my house,” he says.
 
 By the time he started the construction, he had saved sh5m. He bought 20,000 bricks at sh2m and these bricks were enough for the whole house construction. 
 
He bought three trucks of sand each at sh80,000. He bought 30 bags of cement, which cost sh18,000 at the time. When the house got to the wall plate, Kawesi says, his savings were depleted.
 
However, before he started building he had bought a plot of land, which he sold at sh10m. “I used the money I got from the sale of my plot to continue constructing. After the wall plate Kawesi was at the roofing level. He says he used the sh10m for roofing, plastering and a bit of finishing.
 
Kawesi says that he bought the garage door at sh800,000 and the front at sh350,000. The big front windows were bought at sh200,000 while the backdoor and the small doors were bought at sh150,000 each.
 
When the sh10m was finished, he spent another year saving for the plumbing and final house finish and since he had expanded in fishing business as well his saving were close to sh1.5m per month. At the end of the year he had sh18m. Of the sh18m he spent sh4.5m on plumbing, digging the septic tank and wiring.
 
When it came to tiling and furnishing his house he wanted tiles that would blend with the environment.  He chose brown tiles, although he can’t recall the square metres he used, he says they cost close to sh4m, to tile the entire house.
 
He says, he spent about sh2m furnishing his living room. The whole construction project cost Kawesi close to sh40m.  At the back yard of his plot he has built rental houses. He says, the price tag on his property  is now sh120m.
 
Although part of his house is not yet plastered, he believes that his is a journey well travelled considering how it all started. “For me building my house is a dream coming true considering what I have gone through to construct it,” he says.
 
Over the years, he saved money, which he has used to buy a family car. The car is used in the pastoral ministry of his wife and it also brings in money through special hire.true
 
Fishing project
 
At the beginning of 2012 he bought four fishing boats worth sh4m and stationed them at Mazinga Island near the Tanzania-Uganda boarder.
 
Later he purchased four engine boats worth sh16m.  He says that he is able to earn about sh2m in two weeks from his fishing projects.
 
Kawesi who is a born again Christian and married to Pastor Frolence Kawesi of Trinity Miracle Centre on Entebbe Road attributes all his success to God and hard work. He is a father of four. 

Challenges and Vision
 
The price of the materials he uses in his businesses have gone up. “An item we used to buy at sh5000 has now doubled and yet we cannot pass on the increase to our clients. We have to bear a big bit of it which affects the profit margin,” he says.
 
Kawesi’s vision is to use his humble beginning and experience to help the youth in realising their potential particularly the church audiences.  
 
He says that the church has the biggest number of youth who have refused to translate their personal challenges into opportunities. 
 
He says he has faced his share of rebuke and humiliation from those who despised and disregarded his work of washing and cleaning ladies nails. 

 

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