At 24, Winnie Kiiza has learned something many people twice her age are still trying to understand: opportunity does not always arrive loudly. Sometimes, it hides in the everyday needs of a community.
In Budebera Village in Mayuge Town Council, where Winnie grew up, poultry farming is everywhere. Nearly every household keeps a few birds. Yet for years, farmers struggled to access reliable and affordable animal feeds.
Today, that gap is being filled by a young woman who, not long ago, was simply trying to survive.
A Dream Interrupted
Winnie completed Senior Six at Bunya Secondary School in Mayuge in 2024. Like many young Ugandans, she carried big ambitions.
“I wanted to go to university and study Computer Science, Accounting, or Business Administration,” she says.
But life had other plans.
An orphan raised by a single mother in a household of 13 children, Winnie watched her mother struggle to keep everyone in school. When the time came for university, the family simply could not afford it.
“I passed my exams, but there was no money,” she says quietly.
What followed was a period that many young people know too well—the space between potential and opportunity.
To survive, Winnie began selling water, juice, and soda by the roadside. Sometimes, she helped out at a nearby nursery school as a teacher, hoping for a small payment.
But the work was unpredictable.
“Sometimes they wouldn’t pay me because I didn’t have the qualifications for a nursery teacher,” she recalls. “People look at you differently when you don’t have papers.”
Even the drinks business was unreliable.
“During the cold season, people don’t buy drinks, so you can sit the whole day without selling anything.”
For a while, it felt like life was standing still.
Seeing What Others Missed
The turning point came in October 2025, when Winnie heard about the SAYE Project implemented by Heifer International in partnership with CURAD, FSME, ASIGMA, and FSDU, with support from the Mastercard Foundation. The program aims to support 250,000 young people across the Busoga sub-region to attain dignified and fulfilling work.
Encouraged by a friend at the district, Godfrey, a youth leader, and a community facilitator, Ayoo Mary, she decided to join—not because she had a clear business plan, but because she wanted to learn.
“I just wanted to understand how business works,” she says.
Through the program under CURAD, Winnie received training in sales management, business planning, animal feed formulation, and record keeping. She also learned to use the Kauta Book app, which helps her track business transactions.
Then came the opportunity that changed everything: startup stock worth UGX 3.5 million and connections to customers through Heifer-supported farmer networks.
That support gave birth to Ebenezer Animal and Poultry Feeds Enterprise.
The Innovation is Simpler Than It Looks
Winnie’s business idea did not come from complicated technology or expensive equipment. It came from paying attention to the everyday realities of her community.
“Many people here keep poultry,” she explains. “But sometimes feeds are not available, or the person selling them is not around.”
She saw something others overlooked: a consistent demand that never disappears.
“In this business, it doesn’t matter if it rains or shines,” she says with a smile. “The hens must eat.”
That simple observation became the foundation of her business model.
Today, Winnie produces poultry and animal feeds using ingredients such as soya beans, fish meal, cotton seed cake, sunflower, maize bran, shells, and lime. She also formulates specialized products like Egg Booster and Meat Booster to improve poultry productivity.
Her customers now include poultry farmers, fish farmers, pig farmers, and cattle keepers across the area.
Changing How Farmers Think
What makes Winnie’s work stand out is not just the feeds she sells—but the knowledge she shares.
When she first started, many farmers were unfamiliar with different feed formulations and concentrates. Productivity was often low because birds were not getting the right nutrition.
Instead of simply selling products, Winnie began teaching farmers how feeds work and why quality matters.
“I explain to them what each feed does and how it helps their birds,” she says.
She also visits farms regularly to monitor results.
“Once a week I go to see how the birds are performing,” she says. “If something is not working, we discuss it.”
Slowly, farmers began to notice improvements—healthier birds, better egg production, and stronger growth.
Trust followed.
Challenges Along the Way
Despite the progress, Winnie’s journey has not been without challenges. Like many young entrepreneurs, she operates with limited capital, which restricts her ability to produce at a larger scale and meet growing demand. Managing a small team has not been easy—out of 5 members initially involved, only 2 remain consistently active, affecting operations and growth. She also faces occasional difficulties in accessing consistent raw materials and building strong brand visibility in a competitive market.
Even so, Winnie continues to push forward, relying on the skills she gained through the SAYE Project and her growing experience to navigate these obstacles.
A Business That is Already Creating Jobs
Although Ebenezer Animal and Poultry Feeds Enterprise has only been operating for two months, the ripple effects are already visible.
Winnie currently works with five young people—four supporting sales and marketing and one assisting as a casual labourer. Two transporters also earn income delivering feeds to farmers.
For a small rural enterprise, that is significant.
“Young people in the community are now seeing that business is possible,” she says.
Many have started approaching her for advice.
“I usually tell them about the SAYE Project and encourage them to join,” she explains.
A New Role in the Family
For Winnie’s family, the impact is deeply personal.
She is now contributing to the construction of their home, helping with school fees for her siblings, and supporting her sister with food and rent.
After years of watching her mother struggle alone, Winnie is now part of the solution.
The Mindset Shift
Perhaps the biggest transformation has happened within Winnie herself. Today, she earns about UGX 70,000 per day.
She has moved from seeing education as the only path to success to understanding that skills, knowledge, and determination can open other doors.
“Business starts from the head, not from capital,” she says. “The real capital is the idea in your mind.”
The SAYE training, she explains, showed her that even a small start can grow if the foundation is strong.
“We started with a small stock, but the skills they taught us are what sustain the business.”
Looking Forward
Winnie is ambitious but grounded in reality.
Her immediate goal is to increase production to at least two tonnes of animal feeds per week, something she hopes to achieve with additional capital and improved branding.
But her bigger vision is about people.
“I want to train other youth how to formulate animal feeds so they can start their own businesses,” she says.
She hopes that one day her enterprise will employ up to 30 young people.
And she has not abandoned her education dream.
“One day I want to go back to school and enrol at university,” she says.
Until then, Winnie Kiiza is proving something powerful in Mayuge:
Sometimes innovation does not begin in laboratories or boardrooms.
Sometimes, it begins with a simple truth that everyone understands.
The hens must eat.
