Meet Faiza: a school drop-out turned entrepreneur at 22! Ropani Faiza, a resident of Koboko Municipality, now owns and operates a tailoring school and a mobile money business. Faiza is one of 20 youth who attended CECI’s Watson Basecamp in March 2022. The design thinking and GALS training assisted her in developing an innovative business idea, which has since received $300 and 5 tailoring machines from one of our social media followers, which she used to start a tailoring school and mobile money business. “I make monthly profits exceeding UGX 200,000/- from my mobile money business alone, and I can now assist my husband in paying our household bills.”, she told our team. Faiza’s goal is to care for her ill parents and grow her businesses while using her tailoring school to enhance the livelihood of vulnerable girls.
I had no idea that my acceptance into the Western Union Foundation Accelerator and Fellowship a year ago would impact someone else’s ability to access economic opportunity. I’m deeply moved by how what began as an opportunity for me personally developed into a transformational experience for 20 others. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since founding CECI in 2017, it’s that the best feeling in the world is knowing I’ve made a difference in someone’s life and brightened their day.
