Julius Masaba

30^th December, 2021

By Julius Masaba

With glad tidings…

In one social media group of  investment, finance and stock market practitioners, one member asked the question “Is there any secure investment in Uganda that can turn UGX3,000,000 into UGX30,000,000 in six (6) months or is that only possible Kikuubo?”

What a question and what a conversation that followed. Because from the chat responses, it was really an eye opener, if you are the so called elites, or middle class candidates (do we even have that class in Uganda).

One member disclosed that “Kikuubo is a disorganized Walmart or Shoprite, nothing special save for their lavish progeny parties.” Meaning you cannot turn UGX3Mn into UGX30Mn in half a year.

He went on to add that “There are many such investments in Kampala. Am not sure about the names of new Ponzi schemes but they (Ponzi schemes) are plenty. Just be sure to cut the right balance between ‘greed’ and ‘fear’.”

After a series of posts in the chat, one member also said, “Eeh! When you add the word ‘secure’, you even make it more complicated. Simple answer becomes ‘NO’.” That was his verdict.

Another said “You can propose exporting cannabis (marijuana), but again you cannot leave out the US$5Mn license fees that will be slapped in your face.

In 2019, a brother-in-consulting prepared a business plan for medicinal cannabis growing and helped him deliver it to the Ministry of Health (Dr. Ruth Aceng), hoping that we would get a go-ahead. Alas, no feedback was ever given up to now. Some industries are just ring-fenced via heavy entry license fees.

You can also suggest buying shares in Umeme worth that money. But again, besides the fundamental performance projections that may show that it will be a great outlook, betting on the market performance on our stock exchange can be in vain.

Because it seems our markets are only bullish one way post-IPO when a market you invested in itself does well. Wait for MTN post-IPO performance, you will see!

It looks like sports betting. In fact, another member proposed betting as another secure investment; where you can make that kind of money in that period! I am yet to find out how he does/did it.

Another gave the idea of social class investing. That, if you are single, marry a rich/wealthy woman or man and divorce. You have heard of people marrying a rich/wealthy man or woman and then divorce, some even celebrate – it is a lucrative business in the Western World. Your UGX3Mn could grow to UGX100Mn.

Of course, my beliefs don’t condone it.

Another member suggested dealing in timber or poles. He said he saw a former lecturer colleague purchasing poles and converting them into timber for roofing – possibly a money minting business, better than just selling a forest on the land. But you need to study how the market in Ndeeba, Busega Bwaise, Bweyogerere, etc. spins the money.

The same member went on to disclose that there is money in fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) – he thinks, that;

1. Facilitating the movement of those (FMCGs) can be a good business. He said “For example, there is a certain Standard Chartered banker he knows who rents out 5,000 bigaali (wooden wheel barrows) at UGX5,000 per day, which gives him UGX25Mn per good day.”

1. That he also has colleagues at New Vision Group who own meat roasting stands around Kampala. Selling meats has a large profit margin. A chicken of UGX20,000 can make a profit of UGX10,000. Same for cassava chips and other fried foods that our single people feast on.

However, the game changer is in the volumes of course, like the bigaali guy. Quite interesting experiments; but scale is always the juggernaut.

Another top CFA suggested investing UGX3Mn in digital platforms. The beauty with these platforms is that they are a winner. For example with MoKash, our listed MTN can tap into cash and every one of the above mentioned business ideas. The other one is Wave which is fast expanding with new agents in every major town in Uganda.

Another female member said she knows a guy in Bweyogerere who sells chicken both local and Kuroiler, in kilogram packages. He caters for both single people and those with families, on top of catering for those who fear slaughtering live chicken. His target is also people living in apartments who can’t slaughter birds. He is more like a chicken butcher. He started with one outlet and now has three.

At the end of the day, the list of prospective investments one could make using UGX3Mn to bring in UGX30Mn in six months were;

1. Join the latest Ponzi scheme (at your own risk)
2. Export cannabis (but expensive to start)
3. Invest in timber (mbaawo), poles or grain
4. Invest in Umeme stocks/shares for five (5) years
5. Sell apples and fruits in the street
6. Invest in fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs)
7. Betting (at your own risk)
8. Money lending
9. Financial lending and saving app for scale to tap into various pots
10. Chicken abattoir
11. Backyard tank fish farming*

*Bonus idea from my field research

Anyway, what you have just finished reading is not the real content. The real content is on choice No.1 as a ‘secure investment’ in Uganda to turn UGX3Mn into UGX30Mn in six months. Additionally, a relative requested that I write about it, so we shall start from here next time. I am off for the weekend.

Happy New Year.

Ps. Leave a comment if you think you know of any other investments that can make us UGX30 million in six months using capital of only UGX3 million.

NB: This article also appeared on Medium, click here.

About the Writer

Julius Masaba is a private investment researcher and business consultant; a WordPress writer/blogger on startups, entrepreneurship, business and finance. He’s also the Business Development Lead at Ablestate, https://www.ablestate.org/. He loves tech. Visit: https://consultmasaba.com/