A successful (unremarkable) trip to Entebbe, and then an early arrival in Arua (thanks Eagle Air) got us off to a bright start, even though I calculated that I had slept for a total of only 7 hours in my 27 hour long night! We are successfully based in our “home away from home” – Slumberland. We are always greeted so warmly here and I have my usual room – 102. I’m taking the opportunity to write this blog in the period between ordering dinner and having it served. We are always told 25 minutes, but the real delivery time usually varies from between 45 and 90 minutes.
Our team comprises George Veth (Boston-based founder of Mango Fund), Ted Pantone (Kings Alum and the E Africa Area Manager for Mango Fund, based in Kampala) and Blasio Leeti (Arua field manager for Mango Fund and long time friend in these parts) and me (Andy Mills, Boston-based retired businessman trying to be as little nuisance to the rest of the team as possible!).
Our first couple of days have been spent working with some of our leading business partners here with whom we have the longest relationships. As in life, we see mixed results. Some of our businesses partners have thrived, others are working on plans to obtain funding from us and others are struggling.
Samson, our rice miller, has now branched into maize milling. He has used our loans to build his volumes over the past two years, and now has acquired the new maize equipment which is installed but not yet fully operational. We have been discussing a new loan to allow him to acquire even more rice and the first maize for processing. Samson is a quiet man, but honest, hardworking and very teachable. Of all of our entrepreneurs, he has grown the most. His business allows Aruan farmers to find a ready cash market for their crops and provides the Arua school system with all of its rice, meaning it no longer has to spend money in Kampala. This is a win/win for the local economy and Samson makes a profit too!
Ronald , our expert radiologist and clinic entrepreneur, continues to see his business expand and thrive. He has now added a dental unit with funds we have lent to him, but today we discussed the need for a larger generator to power all of his operations (Arua has essentially been without power for two months!). I think we will be able to turn a loan around in a few days to allow him to be fully operational. The extra power will also allow him to move to his next project – buying a refrigerator and stocking and providing vaccines for hepatitis and rabies. These are currently not available in Arua. Patients would have to travel to Kampala to be treated. We love this continued addition to the health care provision in Arua.
Emmanuel has built a factory for juicing, and soon will acquire the equipment from the Uganda Industrial research Institute (UIRI). However to get the business running, he needs funds for purchasing some final pieces of equipment, hiring some people to train before the production starts and the initial purchase of mangoes to get the flow started. We are evaluating how much more we can do to help. We have advised him on his business for the past three years and I expect we will be the investor or one of the investors in this new round of financing.
Peter is growing his meat processing business – particularly into beef sausages and needs some capital items to expand production and move product into the market. We have worked with Peter for years, and now it looks like we can help him with a small loan too!
Jimmy has built a butchery business, but his venture in dealing and fattening cattle has failed. As a result he is having difficulty paying his interest and will not be able to make the principal payment on the loan we provided for him to try this new business. We worked together to find the best ways for him to pay off interest and loan, and came up with a number of options. These are not ideal for him, or us, but I don’t mind as much when someone tries a new thing that doesn’t work. These losses are easier to take than the people who use the money for other purposes than the loan was give for, or who really don’t work as hard as they should to make their businesses successful (both of which we have experienced).
Tomorrow will be another day of meetings and new ideas. As I look at the schedule I see we will be delving into the worlds of coffee, peanut butter and high fashion – Uganda style. Looks like an interesting day.
Thanks for all of your good wishes and prayers. Please continue to pray for the meetings, for wisdom and for all of our friends here in Arua. Please hold Jimmy in your prayers in particular.
See you tomorrow!
