Kasimaggwa, the queen of elvers

At the stall, sights of jerrycans and water tanks are visible. It is here that Kasimagwa sells elvers (young eels locally known as “Ensonzi).   She starts her day’s hustle by counting and noting down her stock for the previous day.

Starting out

Pouring elvers in a basin, she counts one after another. Her phone is also busy as she receives calls from clients who seem to be making orders.

“Bring the eels in the car boot,” she summons two of her employees, who return after a few minutes with  jerrycans full of elvers. Taking a closer look, these appear like long, skinny tadpoles.

Starting out in 2002, Kasimaggwa was initially a secondary school teacher who was not content with the monthly pay she used to get.

“I started teaching in 1994, but I never used to earn much. Even the little that I got never came on time. After years of teaching, in 2000, I decided to venture into business,” she recounts.

 While on holiday at her sister’s home in Kasenyi, a friend discussed how lucrative businesses at the landing site were. “She shared many success stories and some of the businesses we could try out to get out of poverty,” she adds.

Although Kasimaggwa had her fears, it took two years to cut her teeth in business.

Standing out

At the landing site, women are seen salting, sun-drying and frying fish, which makes the competition stiff. In order to stand out of the crowd, Kasimaggwa had to invest in a business that did not have many competitors. 

“I had to do research on the different businesses within the fishing industry at Kasenyi.  Since I was new in the business, I wanted to venture where many feared. I discovered that men were dominant in the trade of eels and enjoyed a better share of the market,” she reveals.

 Kasimaggwa says while women had the potential to raise capital to invest in this business, they did not like the fact that it involved travelling to far places in search of  eels, because they are found in particular rivers and swamps. 

She travels to Butelalino in Mbarara District, Kabale, Kamuli Busembatya and Pallisa districts to look for eels with the help of middlemen. 

Her start-up capital was Shs2.5m but making a footprint in the market at the landing site took her another five years, considering that her competitors were already established.

“A week would go by without making any sales. For a start, this was demoralisng and at some point, I contemplated giving up,” she recalls.

Building an empire

Not many women would love to work in an environment that smell of fish all the time. Kasimaggwa chose to put all this behind her back to build her business.

She says being aggressive helped her build strong reputation across the landing site.

“When I learnt where to get the elvers, I decided to go to those places. But it was harder than I had expected, travelling to a place I had never been to and contacting middlemen I had never dealt with was overwhelming. But this made me shrewd. Whenever I came back from those trips, I  took on new responsibilities,” she recalls.

For the last 19 years, Kasimaggwa is reaping big from her elvers business. And doing a business that is largely dominated by men makes her work five times harder.

“I consider two aspects of my everyday hustle; proper management of fish and relating with the customers,” she adds.

 Elvers are sold in a 20-litres jerrycan which cost between Shs85,000 to Shs95,000. In a week, Kasimaggwa can sell between 10 to 15 jerrycans.

 Achievements

“I believe in the power of prayer. When I started out, I would pray for my business to become a success. Several years later, my client base has grown big,” she says.

Today Kasimaggwa employs six workers, owns rentals at Abaita Ababiri, Entebbe Road and she comfortably foots her children’s tuition fees. She also owns a car.

The real downside is that she spends many hours working, especially on days she needs to restock elvers. Her typical day is characterised by travelling in the wee hours of the morning, only to return at night.

“In every venture where men are dominating,  I urge women to pick interest in such businesses. Forget the pity parties and stop making excuses. Purpose to start your business and be patient enough to see it flourish,” she advises.