Small Steps, Big Impact: How Keneth is Creating a Greener Community

Keneth, a young Ugandan entrepreneur, stands in the sun sorting out scrap that litters his neighborhood: polythene bags, used books, discarded metal cans, and boxes. Despite the demanding work, he is upbeat and smiling since his recycling business contributes to both environmental conservation and community improvement.

Improperly dumped waste causes land degradation, soil erosion and even injuries and illnesses. To address the issue, Keneth buys and collects scraps, sorts them, and eventually sells them by weight to different manufacturing companies.

Keneth’s story is one of resilience and determination. Growing up in a low-income family, Keneth faced numerous challenges, including dropping out of secondary school in his fourth year because his family could not afford the fees. 

After learning about Educate!, Keneth seized the opportunity to participate and learned valuable lessons about solving problems and starting small.

"My mentor emphasized to me that we can start anywhere; we don't need lots of capital," he explains.

Determined to make a difference, Keneth applied the financial management and marketing skills he learned from Educate! to start his own recycling enterprise.

As an entrepreneur with a deep-rooted concern for the environment, Keneth is happy to be changing his community for the better.

His venture was met with skepticism from some community members who doubted the viability of the business. Further difficulties arose because companies frequently changed the price they paid for scraps. But Keneth persevered, devising safety measures, conducting market research, and investing in a digital scale and storage space to ensure profitability and growth.

Now, Keneth's business is expanding into other districts, and he meticulously keeps financial records to track his progress. His future goals include purchasing a vehicle to transport materials to factories and furthering his education. Keneth believes in the power of learning, stating, "Through learning, we acquire new ideas."

His decision to join Educate! and start a recycling business has had a profound impact. “My life is not the same,” he says.

By sharing his knowledge and experiences, Keneth aims to uplift those facing similar challenges, offering hope and showing that obstacles can be overcome. His business is a testament to the power of resilience and resourcefulness, transforming lives and the environment.