40 under 40: 2020 Nominees

CAREER | PHILANTHROPY

Sunday Vision's ‘Top 40 under 40' ranking is back. We are looking for outstanding leaders, who are star performers and advancing in their careers. They should be doing something extra that impacts their communities.

They should be aged 40 and below. Nominations will be considered by a committee, which decides who will be profiled.

From the profiled individuals, judges will select the fi nal winners, who will be announced in January. This week, we bring you eight nominees.

Alex Candia, 27, software developer

Since childhood, Candia spent most of his time teaching himself and trying out things that people labelled as hard.

Today, he owns KC Tech; a software development company that designs mobile applications, maintains reports system application and reprogrammes smartphones and computers.

He also repairs and maintains telecommunication equipment (both software and hardware), as well as networking of computers and setting up technicians' desks at MTN service centres.

The 27-year-old is a mentor at Andela Uganda Learning Community, where he engages students who need help in researching topics and how to start their projects. He also helps developers, including Android, mobile web specialist and cloud engineers.

Candia serves as systems administrator for Newsclick Uganda, where he is responsible for user administration, including setup and maintaining accounts and verifying that peripherals are working properly. He also arranges for hardware repair in case of failure and monitors system performance and network communication, installs software and also updates systems.

Education background

Candia went to Senteza Primary School and Jinja College for his O'level. For A'level, he joined Kyambogo College.

Thereafter, he enrolled at the Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology (UICT) for a diploma in telecommunications engineering, and also did a developer course for Android, mobile web specialist and cloud engineers from Andela Leaning Community.

Candia also enrolled for Udacity Android Developer Nano degree powered by Google, where he learnt best practices for mobile development, building a portfolio of apps and how to publish one's own app to Google Play.

Career ladder

Candia started his career at UICT. Later, he joined the defunct Warid Telecom as a trainee. He emerged the best and was retained for a few months, before scaling up the ladder to site auditor, where he did an audit of Airtel Uganda Towers.

When his contract expired, Candia joined Buga Tech Contractors as an IT specialist and software developer. He left in 2016 to become a freelance ICT specialist and co-founded SoO Listings, where he is still serving as chief technology officer.

In 2018, he became a mentor at Andela ALC 4.0. He got connections to different companies which valued his skills, one being Newsclick Uganda, where he is working as systems administrator.

Lessons learnt

"There is no ladder and safety net in the tech world. You have to scrap and fight for every promotion you get," he says.

"Your salary cap is enormous, but the work to get there is equally enormous and, unlike other high-paying professions, nobody is going to hold your hand through it," he elaborates.

Inspiration

Given a chance to come back to life as someone else, Candia would love to resurrect as Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.

Future prospects

Ten years to come, Candia would still be a hands-on developer, keeping abreast with technology growth.

He looks at leading teams of developers as a senior programmer and mentoring junior developers whilst growing as a technical lead and architect.

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Josephine Omunyidde, 39, UN knowledge management expert

Omunyidde is a communication and knowledge management expert with the United Nations (UN). She has experience in managing consortium communication for the European Union (EUTF) as communication Single Point of Contact and Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Consortium Projects. She worked as a broadcast journalist for NTV and the defunct WBS-TV.

She is also a mother, farmer, film producer and board member for various organisations. In 2016, she was listed among Vision Group's

‘Top 40 under 40' and since then, she has continued to scale up the ladder, from communication advisor to knowledge management expert.

Omunyidde is also a philanthropist. Through her initiative; Engender Youth Mentorship, she mentors girls in thought development, boosting self-confidence and also equips them with leadership skills.

She holds virtual meetings where girls meet, discuss and learn. These are challenged to get out of their comfort zones and work towards becoming the world's next leaders. Over 200 teenagers have enrolled.

During the lockdown, she engaged more than 100 university students from 13 districts under the theme,

‘Succeeding At All Costs'. They had discussions on success beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. This was supported by the Forum for African Women Educationalists.

Scaling up the ladder

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Education from Kyambogo University, Omunyidde pursued a diploma in Film & Television. She was recruited by the defunct WBS TV, where she rose through the ranks from host to producer, then head of features and production at just 25.

Four years later, she had a stint at NTV, before moving to the National Insurance Corporation as corporate communication manager for four years. She then joined the Cooperative League of United States of America as communication and public relations manager, and later aBi Development; an Agricultural Business Initiative by the governments of Denmark and Uganda.

Omunyidde then worked as the communication single point of contact for European Union Emergency Trust Fund, co-ordinating implementation partners, including Belgium Development Agency, Austrian Development Agency and Danish Refugee Council. Before joining the UN, she was working as the communication advisor for the projects of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda.

These global field programmes include; Wagenigen University Research, Centre for Development Innovation and International Fertiliser Development Centre.

What makes you tick?

"The principle of meditative envisioning that I do every day puts my executions in perspective, making all that I put my heart and hands to productive despite challenges," she expounds. She derives her strength from God.

She reads a lot, some-times two to three books concurrently. "I am re-reading Boards, Govern-ance and Value Creation by Morten Huse, Falling Upward by Richard Rohr and Built to Last by Jim Collins," she says.

Inspiration

Given a chance to resurrect, Omunyidde would want to return to life as her because she strongly appreciates the unique phases of life she has encountered. They have molded her into who she is.

Granted 20 minutes with anyone in the world, she craves to spend it with Prophet Elvis Mbonye.

"Spending time with him will grow my experiential realisation of phenomenal insights into the universal principles of God.

"I admire the anointing upon his consistent record over the years of the startling prophetic revelations."

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Muhangi Bomukama, 28, fashion designer

Muhangi Bomukama is so passionate about fashion that she will do anything to come up with creative designs to address a need in society.

She has created a solution for mothers who fail to breastfeed in public, simply because they fear to expose their breasts.

"I realised that the fear to breastfeed in public made some mothers give up breastfeeding, which is unfair to the children," she says.

Bomukama came up with the lactating mothers' design, which she says has been embraced by corporate mothers around the country.

"Many love it and testify that it has worked for them. These garments have unique features across the breast area that helps the mother to breastfeed without exposing her breasts," she says.

"This innovation secured me a place among finalists in the Total Start Upper challenge of 2019," she says.

Bomukama, who holds a bachelor's degree in industrial art and design, is the founder of Duh-Tah Fashions, which she started in 2013.

Her journey began when she took part in the Waste Management Education Project to design the Laba logo using polythene and plastic at Kyambogo University.

She further tried painting, which got her work in the East African art book called Imago Mundi.

She is the brain behind the Static Fashion Show, which was graced by President Yoweri Museveni at Kyambogo University.

"It is at this point that I realised I had a strong attachment to fabric, because it would speak volumes to me. I started to pay close attention to designing. I knew beyond reasonable doubt that I was called to fashion and that it was the only way I would communicate, as well as touch and change people's lives," she says.

"I have gone further to represent my country in the Iranian Expo and also work with the Private Sector Foundation, under the Skills Development Project, as a fashion consultant. I move around the country training women and youth in fashion; improving their livelihoods and eradicating poverty through fashion," she says.

Last year, Duh-Tah Fashions showcased at The Fashion Revolution Expo, which featured in an international news

journal called Afrinile News.

Duh-Tah Fashion has been invited to feature in the second edition of the expo on December 6, 2020.

Education

She went to Mubende Parents' School for primary education, Bweranyangi Girls' School for O'level and Naalya SS Namugongo for A-'level.

She pursued a bachelor's degree in industrial art and design at Kyambogo University.

About work

Bomukama first worked at Cradle Communication as a sales executive

in 2015. She later returned to fashion and worked with Rural Development Action and Training Consult as a fashion trainer. She then worked with the Private Sector Foundation, under the Skills Development Project, as a fashion consultant and trainer in 2017.

She founded the Heaven Clothing line that later evolved into Duh-Tah Fashions.

To keep informed about the trends, Bomukama looks out for training opportunities in fashion.

Hobbies

Bomukama spends a lot of time reading the Bible. She loves reaching out to the needy. She also browses the internet for trending fashions and to see what her competitors are doing.

Bomukama also enjoys travelling, swimming and travelling, swimming and making friends.

Impact of COVID-19

"COVID-19 has affected the way we work. It made purchasing prices go up, which has affected the final cost of our products," Bomukama says.

"Clients are few and even those that come want to be offered a service at a low cost. This has taught us to plan for crises and also work within our limits," she adds.

Bomukama says she hasn't laid-off workers, but has instead made them understand that times are tough, so everyone should work towards redeeming the situation to get back to normal.

"This made my employees to realise that I value them," she says. She has 14 employees, four of whom are permanent and 10 temporary.

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Priscilla Tamale, 32, UN human rights lawyer

Priscillah Tamale works at the Rohingya Refugee Response under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Bangladesh.

She supports the Bangladeshi government and partners to ensure that their programmes meet the standards of international protection of refugees. She also ensures that the power and capacities of refugees are recognised and considered while designing programmes to deliver lifesaving interventions.

Tamale is also passionate about helping African professionals to start a career in international development. As such, she has started a free service career strategist platform that equips young African professionals with strategies to get their foot in the international development sector.

"I share my experiences and networks with budding leaders to ensure we are many Africans in the UN system," Tamale opines.

She recently got a Commonwealth scholarship to pursue further studies.

Tamale loves working with people, and leads with humility and grace.

Education background

Tamale went to St. Theresa Primary School Namagunga and Mt St Mary's College Namagunga for her O and A'levels. She graduated with a bachelor of laws from Makerere University.

She also holds a master of laws in international criminal law and transitional justice from the University of Western Cape and is currently pursuing a second master's in international human rights law at the University of Oxford.

Career ladder

While at Makerere, Tamale worked as a Carnegie Fellow, attached to the Anti-Corruption division of the High Court, which is where her passion for law started.

After graduation, she worked at the Centre for Human Rights Development as an intern for a year, before moving to work as a junior associate at OS Kagere Advocates.

"I enjoyed my time there, but decided to pursue further education. I had interest in the International Criminal Court and so-called fragile states," she recalls.

When she returned, she joined the Human Rights Network, supporting the shadow reporting obligations of Uganda to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

She then moved to Hebrew Immigrants Aid Society as a legal officer, working with refugee survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to access justice and helping government partners to build capacity in international refugee protection.

"The project ended abruptly due to limited funding. I continued with teaching law at Cavendish University," Tamale says.

Inspiration

She would love to meet Antonio Guterres, the UN chief. "I would be curious to hear from an experienced international civil servant what the future looks like for the sector," she says.

Future prospects

By 2030, Tamale hopes to have grown her career as an international civil servant with the UN, continuing to share her skills with communities for the advancement of human rights.

"I also hope to have improved my hobbies — pottery, interior décor and art," she anticipates.

Effects of COVID-19

The pandemic affected the communities she works with since the involvement of humanitarian agencies was limited. As a result, there were reports of increased sexual and gender-based violence in the community and issues of suicide and mental health, especially for men.

"Many non-government organisations and community-based organisations have faced budget cuts. So, the gains we have made over the past 12 months in the advancement of women's rights and protection of human rights are at risk," she highlights.

Impact to community

She recently concluded Youtube series, dubbed 32 Amplified, where she hosted Ugandan women making waves in their small corners and impacting the communities around them. The feedback was great.

Tamale also runs an Instagram platform called ‘Tanganza Africa', where she offers career strategising sessions and connections to aspiring African professionals.

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Mark Musinguzi, 23, biotechnology

Mark Musinguzi is the co-founder of Hya Bioplastics, a biotechnology start-up that develops biodegradable eco-friendly packaging from re-engineered plant fibres.

He leads a team of creative engineers, who source for agricultural (plant) waste and transform it into various biodegradable materials.

They have successfully converted the water hyacinth into biodegradable packaging and also make trays from bagasse, which is left behind after chewing sugarcane.

The team uses modern technology, such as laser cutting, to create intricate patterns used for jewellery and interior design.

"We have been able to design and fabricate our machinery in-house," he says.

One such is the 3D printer, a new cutting-edge technology in the manufacturing sector. It helps to produce designs, complex machine parts and items like plaques, medals, household decorations, cakes and sculptures.

Hya Bioplastics are currently focusing on restaurants and food delivery companies that yearn for sustainability with biodegradable packaging. They have managed to get funding from different local and international sources to finance their research and work.

Musinguzi says the principle he follows in everything he does is: "Shake the core, and always leave room to pivot."

Education background

Musinguzi went to Greenhill Academy between 2002-2009, before enrolling at St. Mary's College Kisubi for his O'level and Uganda Martyrs' SS Namugongo for his A'level.

He will graduate with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Makerere University next year.

Starting out

During his third year at university, Musinguzi participated in a six-month problem-based learning programme in conjunction with Aalto University. Thereafter, he co-founded a start-up called Wet Technik.

The start-up worked around effectively treating and recycling wastewater using nature-based constructed wetland technologies.

"We piloted this system across the country, providing a much-needed low-cost wastewater treatment solution," he says.

The start-up won the Big Ideas contest, held by the University of California Berkeley and also came third in the Wege Prize 2019, in addition to becoming ClimateLaunchpad Global finalists.

"That innovation highlighted the problem of water pollution, mostly the rapid growth of water hyacinth," Musinguzi says.

Water hyacinth is an invasive aquatic floating plant. It economically affects the livelihood of fishermen since it suffocates fish.

Hya Bioplastics was founded to solve this problem by converting the water hyacinth into biodegradable packaging.

Awards

In May 2019, Hya Bioplastics came second in the energy and resource alternatives category at the Big Ideas competition at the University of California. It also won the Problem-Based Learning Competition, held by Makerere University in conjunction with Aalto University, Finland. The start-up recently won at the Wege Prize, 2020 and national finalist at L'Oreal Brandstorm in Kenya.

"We scooped the International Engineering Students Conference Projects Competition award at the University of Nairobi, Kenya and at the Open Design Afrika Festival," Musinguzi states.

This year, they won the global finals of Invent for the Planet Competition, hosted by Texas A&M University at Makerere University and were global finalists at the Climate Launchpad, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Impacting the community

Musinguzi believes that power is gained by sharing knowledge, not hoarding it. Through TUNNEL, an advisory branch of his enterprise, he offers free mentorship and technical advice to aspiring innovators across Africa. "I have mentored youth start-ups, such as Ehega Bioenergy, which has successfully raised funding worth $6,000 (about sh22m)," he says. "I have provided technical assistance to more than 50 youth start-ups this year," he says.

Inspiration

Musinguzi loves to meet Jeff Bezos of the online giant, Amazon.

Besides being the richest man in the world, Musinguzi admires Bezos' pragmatic approach to technological innovation and the eventual follow-through to make these products real at the scale he has done.

"Amazon's amazing story of scaling from a small online book to the

e-commerce giant it is has been an inspiration to many small start-ups like ours," he affirms.

Future prospects

He wants Hya Bioplastics to take over the packaging industry across Africa with a wide range of innovative biomaterials.

He envisions assisting and mentoring youth-led start-ups in technological innovation to scale to the heights that will put Uganda on the global scene of innovation.

He also hopes to go for further studies as he believes learning never stops.

Effects of COVID-19

The COVID-19 lockdown presented Musinguzi an opportunity to intensify research and develop more products. They were also able to make important connections and have virtual meetings with stakeholders, who have helped them in developing efficient market strategies.

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Daphine Kabagambe, 33, academia

At the University of South Africa, Kabagambe is not just a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer, but a strong critique of development theories that are ‘blindly' adopted by African nations, and keep the continent backward.

Kabagambe is based at Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, where she is tasked with advancing academic scholarship and critical thinking through research and writing scholarly articles and opinion pieces.

She also lectures post-graduate students on health law and policy, as well as political leadership and governance. Kabagambe believes that to advance as a continent, we have to re-think and re-work our education systems so that it responds to Africa's challenges and benefit young people.

"Unfortunately, our education systems are heavily steeped in the colonial traditions inherited from our troubled history," she says.

Kabagambe believes the onus is upon African scholars to question and start the treacherous journey of ‘unlearning' any academic theories and practices that have been passed down through generations. Kabagambe does this in her work and in her classes.

"I task my students with challenging and re-thinking the origin of their knowledge," she says.

She also challenges them to be independent thinkers.

For her work, in 2013, Kabagambe received the Kéba Mbaye prize for having the highest scoring master's dissertation in human rights and democratisation in Africa class-based at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.

Education background

Kabagambe attended St. Theresa Kisubi Girls' Primary School and Trinity College Nabbingo for her O'level. She went to Makerere College School for A'level, before enrolling at Kyambogo University for a bachelor's degree in social work and social administration.

She holds a master's degree in human rights and democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria. She later graduated with a PhD

in public law at the University of Western Cape, South Africa.

Impact to community

Kabagambe urges students to challenge their beliefs so as to think differently. Her research

work continues to be a source of knowledge and information.

Inspiration

Kabagambe draws her inspiration from South Africa's former deputy chief justice Dikgang Monseneke.

"He has lived a life steeped in resilience, dignity, career excellence, social justice and service for his country," she says.

Kabagambe adds that even after his retirement, Monseneke has continued impacting lives and challenging the youth to strive towards achieving justice and improving lives.

Future prospects

Kabagambe wants to influence policy at the continental level in an African institution like African Development Bank, African Union and any other.

"It's our job to improve Africa with appropriate knowledge and information," she says.

Scaling the heights

After her bachelor's degree, Kabagambe joined Action for Development (ACFODE) as an intern and later as a volunteer. She eventually became a programme assistant in the human rights and governance department, where she got youth involved in gender advocacy through competitive debates. The programme has been carried on to-date.

In 2011, while at ACFODE, she was selected for a one-year exchange programme to work at Rwandan League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights in Rwanda.

In 2013, she was selected to pursue a master's degree in human rights and democratisation in Africa at the University of Pretoria. She topped her class and secured a PhD scholarship at Omar Institute for constitutional law, governance and human rights, based at the University of Western Cape.

From 2014 to 2017, she was involved in research projects for the institute until she graduated in 2017 at 30 years. She also got a post-doctoral research fellowship at the School of Public Health, University of Western Cape.

In 2019, Kabagambe got another post-doctoral fellowship at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, which she is still executing.

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Angella Asiimwe, 29, human rights activist (LAW)

Angella Asiimwe had an unfortunate past, but has worked hard to make her life brighter.

She was defiled as a teenager and she conceived. The culprit, whom she met in Mbarara, took her out, got her intoxicated and sexually assaulted her. When she sobered up, she found herself in a pool of blood, which her young mind thought were her periods. Four months later, she realised she was pregnant and her three roommates threw her out.

The streets of Mbarara town became her home. Being an orphan, she had no one to fend for her. She did odd jobs, such as housekeeping as a maid, cleaning public toilets and babysitting to survive.

"I later found a home under garbage bins and in a wooden cinema hall, where I survived being raped more than ﬁ ve times," she recalls.

Fortunately, her elder brother completed university, got a job and saw her through school to become a formidable lawyer.

Today, Asiimwe is a human rights lawyer, mother, self-driven feminist, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. She is also a chief executive ofﬁ cer of a consultancy ﬁ rm that champions the voices of women, girls and marginalised groups.

My passion

Asiimwe is passionate about ﬁ ghting for the rights of teenage and single mothers. She aims at amplifying their voices to ﬁ nd justice and gender equality.

"At the moment, I mentor and coach 12 young women to achieve their full potential in all spheres of life," she says. Through The Remnant Generation, a non-governmental organisation, Asiimwe helps to rescue and restore pregnant teenagers who have survived sexual assault. These are offered safe shelter and care.

Asiimwe is working on a book about her life, how she managed

to overcome shame, fear and discrimination of being a single teenage mother so as to inspire others.

Impact on the community

Asiimwe has contributed to laws that address gender-based violence. For example, in 2019, she was appointed by the Federation of Women lawyers (FIDA) to sit on the committee that reviewed Makerere University policy against sexual harassment.

She is also the founder of Voice Consults Ltd; a legal and media consultancy ﬁ rm that promotes and protects human rights of vulnerable groups like women, children and persons with disabilities. She

runs online campaigns, including Women's March Ug, Me Too Ug and Justice4Samantha, which seek to address sexual harassment in the workplace, among others.

Asiimwe is also a certiﬁ ed civic education trainer who contributed to the Consolidated Civic Education Modules under the Uganda Project Implementation and Management Centre, with support from the Democratic Governance Facility.

She also serves as the national co-ordinator of African Women Leaders Network, Uganda Chapter, a continental platform that galvanises women's leadership towards lasting peace and development in all sectors.

"I also work with 12 groups of women farmers in Kasese and Kisoro, who supply me with passion fruits and Irish potatoes," she says.

Asiimwe runs the business online.

Education

Asiimwe completed A'level at Crane High School Kitintale, after which she graduated with a bachelor's

of law at Cavendish University, Uganda. She is currently pursuing a diploma in gender responsive governance at The Hague Academy in the Netherlands.

Scaling up the ladder

Upon graduating in 2012, Asiimwe did her internship at Kanyeihamba & Company Advocates and Foundation for Human Rights Initiative.

Between 2013 and 2014, she served as programmes ofﬁcer

at the Centre for Constitutional Governance, where she was promoted to senior programmes ofﬁcer and legal ofﬁcer until 2017. She then moved to FIDA Uganda, where she served as legal and advocacy ofﬁcer for a year.

Since 2019, she has been serving as a board member at the Remnant Generation, as well as feminist and transformational leadership associate at Akina Mama wa Afrika.

Future prospects

Asiimwe is aiming at furthering her studies so as to better understand the social, political and economic challenges that girls and women face.

She also wants to link up with other women at the regional and global level in order to ﬁ nd practical solutions on how to address gender-based violence and other challenges women and girls face. She hopes

to establish a charity for vulnerable women and teenage mothers.

Advocacy work

As a member of the Domestic Violence Coalition, Asiimwe has contributed to the enactment of several laws, including Domestic Violence Act, Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, 2010, among others. She is currently spearheading a campaign on the passing of The Sexual Offences Bill, 2010.

Asiimwe is also an advisory board member of International Rescue Committee under Building Local Thinking Global project on ending gender-based violence.

Appointed board member of Uganda Project Implementation and Management Centre (UPIMAC), which has been disseminating civic education in Uganda for over 20 years.

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Muhammed Mawejje, 27, artist

Muhammed Mawejje turns waste into wealth. He recycles banana ﬁbre to create jobs for the youth.

He works with banana growers, who are mostly women and youth, to improve their livelihoods.

At Mawejje Creations and Eco Crafts Ug in Kasangati, Wakiso district, he heads a team of 17 youth. These make and sell mats, plaques, wall clocks, jewellery and bags made from banana ﬁbre.

"I have trained 10 banana growers to make these products, equipped 166 youth with skills and recycled more than 2,100kg of banana waste," Mawejje says.

He steers the marketing, branding and production departments.

Mawejje is also a facilitator at Kyusa Uganda, an organisation that accelerates employability for young people. He is also a chef with a certiﬁ cate in hotel management. He works as the operational manager at Raﬁ ki Catering Services.

Achievements

He has earned 12 local and global recognitions, with six awards last year and another six this year.

He is a fellow at the African Presidential Leadership programme batch 3 2020, YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative) cohort 38 Fellow and Alumni 2020.

He is also the innovation award winner under ATCG Community Fund and Readers to Leaders Fellow 2019.

In 2019, he became a World Youth Forum Delegate, African Change-makers fellow 2019, Visionary Leader Award Nominee and African Younger Leaders Award ﬁnalist.

"I use different media platforms to share insights on how to make it in entrepreneurship even without funding," he explains.

The community

On what makes him tick, Mawejje relies on his strengths, ability, conﬁdence, passion for solving problems in his community using entrepreneurial skills and determination to see every task through. He believes in a community where everyone achieves more.

"No one should be above the other because working with me goes beyond work, but is an opportunity to live your passion," he says.

Career ladder

Mawejje entered the job market in 2009 as a chef and professionalised it in 2010. In 2016, he resigned and took another path. He ventured into social entrepreneurship, mainly to create solutions to pressing challenges in Africa.

"I launched my ﬁrst project of making liquid soap in 2016. It did not go far and in 2017, I went into candle making," he recalls.

Within six months, he revisited his passion: recycling banana ﬁbre.

"I launched it in 2018 as a social enterprise, focusing on banana growers to earn extra income," he says, adding that he also wanted to create jobs for disadvantaged youth and women.

Mawejje started the EcoBanana Fibre Products to sell handwoven products made by young artisans from hard-to-reach communities.

He also runs an annual programme — Banana Fibre Extraction Training Editions — which equips women and youth with handcraft skills.

"I am working on a programme to help youth start businesses in banana ﬁbre," he shares.

Education background

Mawejje went to Kimanya Al Islamic Primary School in Masaka, Cornerstone High School Wakiso and Wobulenzi College Luwero for his O and A'levels, respectively.

He enrolled for certiﬁcate

courses at Uganda Development Link Masooli Wakiso in culinary; National Training Academy in Cairo in cybersecurity, international marketing and crisis management; as well as at Social Innovations Academy in Mpigi Uganda for social innovations.

Inspiration

Mawejje would love to meet Simon Senik, an American author, optimist and inﬁ nite leader and Apostle Grace Lubega of Phaneroo Ministries, who has inspired him spiritually.

Future prospects

In 10 years' time, Mawejje envisions being a well-established social entrepreneur and investor supervising hundreds of women running businesses that transform banana ﬁbre into fabrics.