With $678, Lovin Kobusingye started her innovative fish sausage company—Kati Farms, 11 years ago in Uganda which grew to provide job opportunities for women in Kampala as well as helping to provide indirect employment for hundreds on the streets.
Kati Farms produces a range of processed fish products. Before Lovin’s company came into existence, fish sausage wasn’t that popular. If probably it was, it definitely wasn’t a mix of farmed tilapia and catfish. She made this popular in Kampala.
Some say she’s an accidental entrepreneur but it seems Lovin Kobusingye knew exactly what she wanted all along.
How She Started
Lovin didn’t just pull out $678 out of a purse and started a business. She had to save somehow every penny.
She actually started Kati Farms in the same year she received technical training on fish-based value addition at the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries in Uganda 2011.
She later worked with the Uganda Industrial Research Institute for 8 months to test her fish processing ideas.
What seems really innovative about her business is that there’s no such thing as WASTE in her business dictionary.
According to the “accidental” entrepreneur, “all the fish is used productively. We don’t have any waste, including the fins.” Amazing how she arrived at producing products in high demand with little or no waste. The fish products include samosas, loins, fish powder, oil, fillets, and fish meal for pets among others.
So far, Kati Farms has several branded outlets supplying local and regional market with a good number of different products. Research shows that its salted sun-dried fish can last for 12 months outside the refrigerator.
In her words:
You have to keep on innovating so that you are not outdated, and researching in order to maintain the quality of the product—Lovin Kobusingye
We believe she’s doing just so and adding value.
Thank you for reading this piece on Africans Masterminding Africa. Please share today’s edition with your network on WhatsApp, Telegram and other platforms, and feel free to leave comments or any suggestions. We’ll like to learn more from you as well.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, to stay engaged in our real-time conversations on fashion, tech and innovation in Africa.
By Elijah Christopher
