How one young man’s training in sustainable agriculture boosts the local economy in rural south-east Uganda and helps him to build a motorcycle business.
Employment opportunities in Kyotera district, Uganda, aren’t easy to come by, and it’s not every young person’s dream to do agricultural work, even if they have land. Motorbikes might be what excites them, but angel investors for new businesses are thin on the ground.
Back in 2017, 16 year-old Batte enrolled in training with Ripple Effect’s Sustainable Outcomes for Children and Youth project in Kyotera, Uganda. To build up his employment skills, he undertook some training in sustainable agriculture, financial management, and completed a year’s apprenticeship as a motorcycle mechanic.
He was encouraged to start saving with a community-led savings group associated with the project and was putting away UGX 2,000 (42p) a week. With the knowledge from his agricultural training, he purchased two piglets which he raised and then sold on.
By the time he had finished his motorcycle apprenticeship he had saved UGX 180,000 (£38): enough to get him started running a repair workshop with his older brother Ben, from his living room in the township of Kyotera.
Batte knew that people in his community rely on motorcycles for transporting everything – including agricultural supplies and produce going to market. The brothers were confident there would be a demand for their repair service, and it would be helpful for the whole community.
In 2019 Batte told us:
His big dream was to design and build his own motorcycle: “I want to be a big businessman,” he said.
In 2023 Ripple Effect visited him again to find out how things were going.
He and his brother split the business, with Ben moving away to set up on his own. We found Batte, now 22, working on an average of seven motorcycles every day, with someone working alongside him. He was earning a daily profit of UGX 25,000-30,000 (£5-6) and was still part of a savings group.
His ambition is to move to a busier location in the township, where more clients can find him: he is a young man with a vision.
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