Award-winning entrepreneur Andrew Mupuya was 16 years old when he decided to take on the world.
That was back in 2008, when both of Mupuya's parents had lost their jobs and could only afford to cover his school fees. "I had to get to meet my basic needs by myself," remembers the Ugandan businessman. "I decided to face the world alone."
Inadvertently, the government of Uganda came to Mupuya's aid. At the time, officials in the country announced that they were considering a ban on plastic bags to curb environmental damage. Mupuya, who was still in secondary school, immediately saw this as an opportunity to launch a paper bag production company.
"I conducted a feasibility study, market research around retail shops, kiosks, supermarkets around Kampala and discovered there is need and potential market for paper bags."
To start his small business, Mupuya figured out he needed a capital of 36,000 Ugandan shillings ($14). He raised the first $11 from selling 70 kilos of used plastic bottles he'd collected over one week. Mupuya then borrowed the remaining $3 from his school teacher and embarked on his entrepreneurial journey producing paper bags on a small scale.
Andrew Mupuya founded YELI, Uganda's first registered paper bag production firm.
The young entrepreneur employs 16 people who produce up to 20,000 paper bags each week. His long list of clients includes restaurants, retail stores, supermarkets, medical centers, as well as multinational companies like Samsung -- YELI has made about 1,000 niche bags for the local stores of the electronics company.
"Right now I have 72 clients," says Mupuya. "Ninety per cent of our clients always come back."
