We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaligirwa Bridget Kigambo . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaligirwa Bridget below.
Kaligirwa Bridget , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
When I enrolled in college for Architecture at Uganda Technical College of Kichwamba in Rwenzori region, it was more of a second chance for me to achieve my dreams of becoming an engineer since I had dropped out of school due to financial challenges. While at college, we had an entrepreneurship project as a group in the architecture aspect, and everyone was presenting basic engineering solutions. I presented my idea of turning solid waste, like plastic waste, into building materials. This, to me, would be an easy solution to protecting the environment from plastic pollution but also ensuring that I contribute to the degradation brought about by mining, quarrying of building materials, and mass production of building materials like clay bricks!
For typical Ugandan houses, we use locally made clay bricks and many other building materials that degrade the environment. On top of that, we use a lot of plastic, which is not repurposed but rather dumped irresponsibly in rivers and farming lands, increasing waste pollution in the community.
Due to the intense capital and technology required to ensure the idea is given reality, I joined an environmental campaign organized by Afriyea to conduct cleaning campaigns. These campaigns are ways of creating awareness on proper waste management in the community to save River Mpanga from plastic pollution. Since I had already been running a non-profit called Girl Potential Care Center, this was an opportunity for me to contribute to ending plastic pollution in Fort Portal.
While we cleaned out the plastic, we faced the second challenge of exhausting the Kitere landfill with plastic waste, with no backup plan on how we would recycle it.
I visited various YouTube channels to find solutions for the plastic waste we clean out every month, until I saw a series of posts about companies that purchase plastic waste, shred it, and resell it to importers.
I worked hand in hand with the manager of Kitere landfill at that time to allow me to sort and store the plastic waste there as I transported it to the buyers, who are normally in Kampala.
This required us to work with various people to collect, sort, clean, load, and transport the waste to the final client. This was exciting for me since it created so much impact and involved local people, which improved the sanitation of the town, reduced waste pollution in the town, river, and the landfill, and increased income for me and other people actively involved!
In 2021, there was a call for young water solutions fellows in Uganda organized by Young Water Solutions and Water and Sanitation Uganda. I applied online and waited for an email alert of congratulations or unfortunately. You can imagine the emails that come through when one has applied for a program online, especially during the uncertainty after the Covid lockdown. By then, we were not yet back in college, and I had been involved in other gigs and charities to keep my head sane and busy during the Covid lockdown.
Since I had no laptop or access to the internet then, I used to go to Yawe Foundation since it was a youth center to do my reading, work, and mentorship programs at the center. Once I logged in to my email, I was greeted by an email scheduling a meeting with me for an interview about the Green Shero idea.
I called my friend Mugera Swabri, who is now my executive assistant, to attend the interview with me. Since we had been working on other projects together with Girl Potential Care Center, we attended the interview and presented it as an idea under Girl Potential Care Center, which was accepted, and we enrolled in a 2-week boot camp and business mentorship!
We were sent back to the ground to validate our idea, register our social enterprise, and come up with a paying MVP (Minimum Viable Product)!
During the MVP phase, we discovered that the communities of Uganda, especially Fort Portal, needed reliable, consistent waste management, transportation, and recycling services that are affordable. This was a shocker for us. This meant we would turn into a waste collection business, which is expensive to run due to the capital intensity and logistics aspects required. So, we decided to first train communities on waste management and proper segregation, since all we needed was the plastic waste to resell. We continued working with our former contacts, provided collecting bags and nets, created waste-collecting agents in major waste-producing spaces in town as our value chain to get the gold product that harvests money.
While at it, we still noticed that, yes, plastic waste is being reduced and sold, but there is other waste that requires dealing with. The team went back to the drawing board with our business mentors by then and decided to increase products.
From the general waste, we have non-biodegradable waste and biodegradable waste. We created three major departments of waste management:
- Service provision: We provided waste management consulting and waste collection services.
- Products – Non-biodegradable waste: Plastic waste sold to bulk recycling companies in the capital city. Sacks and polythenes: We made art and craft that is resold for decor purposes and souvenirs to tourists, hotels, and individuals, since Fort Portal is a tourism city. For the biodegradable waste, we produced organic manure and fertilizer (compost) that is distributed to local smallholder and largeholder farmers of coffee, tea, and banana.
The most exciting part of Green Shero Ltd is the evolution from the time it crossed my mind to the early paying stage that has enabled me to work with various people locally and nationally to ensure proper waste management right from the source to create wealth and job opportunities for other young people in the region.
Kaligirwa Bridget , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Kaligirwa Bridget Kigambo, Founder of Girl Potential Care Center (www.girlpotentialcarecenter.org) and Green Shero Ltd (www.greensheroltd.com). I am a trained and practicing architect with a diploma in Architecture from Uganda Technical College of Kichwamba. I am an architect, social entrepreneur, and activist, focusing on ensuring that youth and women in Uganda are financially empowered through education and awareness. My work involves providing employment opportunities and advocating for human rights.
I am also a cartoonist at Youth Scroll Lock Magazine under Girl Potential Care Center (www.youthscrolllock.com).
Working with Green Shero Ltd and Girl Potential Care Center has exposed me and my team to various opportunities, enabling us to create a significant impact in waste management and recycling, youth and community engagement, and social change advocacy at both regional and national levels!
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
In Uganda, we strongly believe in community collaboration and working together for common causes, whether for monetary outcomes or not.
I leveraged existing connections for partnerships and collaborations. For example, waste management and recycling require spacious facilities, which I didn’t have. Therefore, I worked with 38 waste collecting agents who collected and sorted the waste at their site, and we made weekly pickups. I also approached local government officials to secure permission for Green Shero Ltd to operate at Kitere landfill during the early stages of the idea.
To facilitate operations, we hired truck drivers who were willing to receive payment once clients had paid.
I actively sought funding opportunities and participated in pitching calls, enabling us to secure kick-start capital to operate as a fully legal business in Uganda.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
At Green Shero Ltd, customer care is paramount as we collaborate with various clients. We prioritize collecting feedback from clients regarding the products and services we provide to enhance their experience. This commitment has not only ensured client retention but has also led to new clients through referrals.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.greensheroltd.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080597433866
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/green-shero-ltd/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/greenshero1?lang=en
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@greenshero1
Image Credits
Photographer PPT Peter Paul Tinkasiimire