Why we need TUKOLE
It is a wonderful opportunity for our community to finally put ideas into action.
It is an ambitious plan borne from listening to each other make business plans that have not come to fruition, the frustration of trying to figure out how we can get out of the cycle of debt and change our future, and most importantly, the need to make sure that we leave the next generation with a stepping stool to advance their endeavors.
With clear and concise planning, we can put action on the ground and in a few years have robust entities that can meet us on the most basic of levels.
Working together on a project not only greatly reduces the risk that would otherwise be faced as an individual, but it also provides capital and market; two essential pillars needed for a successful business to take off, get funded and remain sustainable for years.
It is not a simple operation to execute but we have the capacity to succeed. We are a hardworking people that can shift our success trajectory by putting our heads together; the vision TUKOLE realized for our community expressed through this endeavor.
How often do we meet at graduations, baby showers, birthdays and even funerals; huddled in groups discussing the events, only to start forming a brilliant, well thought out and innovative business idea?
Ideas that could help us all in that moment!
How often do we discuss the lack of jobs for us, confusing immigration issues, travels costs and problems, lack of legal representation, healthcare for the uninsured, egregious childcare cost, student loan debt and even cost of dying in America? Think about it! How often and for how long have we started and stopped investment groups to advance such issues?
Think about the last time you sat down with more than one Ugandan; male or female and see if there wasn’t a draft business plan etched out. We have wonderful concepts, individual talent, progressive minds and even capital from a readily available market base! You have heard it all; from car washes to grocery stores to accounting firms to customer service companies to debt collection agencies to auto dealerships to nursing schools to mechanic shops to delivery vans; you name it, we have made the plan.
It is the execution that we lack.
So, why then, don’t we do it? Why? Why do we leave and never revisit these conversations? How can we take the initiative to organize, buy our own product and employ ourselves? Questions we all ask ourselves a few weeks after the events we discussed earlier. We know we can do it; perhaps we do not understand the purchasing power we possess as a collective. By supporting each other’s businesses, we provide feedback and a general sense of direction. We may not be able to sustain a Walmart Super center, but we can support a smaller African grocery store; 100 families shopping exclusively from one store (perhaps with a delivery option) could guarantee a market advantage to help the store expand to new demographics. The profit from this store could sustain a family or two that recently arrived from Uganda to get on their feet. You can be the change you want to see.
