Nunu Mugyenyi, Angel Nkwaya and Janet Mugume, three Ugandan entrepreneurs building an award-winning retail outlet — Lionesses of Africa

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

Bold in Africa is where our entrepreneurial journey began. At conception, our vision was a lot smaller and shorter sighted than it is today. We were friends, fresh out of undergrad, with a common interest in fashion, so we decided to open a boutique where we used to, ironically, buy and re-sell second hand clothing. It wasn’t far along this journey that we identified two problems – there was nowhere convenient to purchase locally made, affordable clothing and there was nowhere affordable for designers to open convenient outlets. Within a year of our opening we transitioned from second-hand to Ugandan-made pieces, and then expanded into African-made. In 2019, seven years into our journey, we extended our product offering to include home decor and kids apparel. Over the years, we have continued to identify gaps in the market and have grown more conscious of our impact on our community, specifically (Bold) Women and African-made products. We continue to be inspired by entrepreneurs in our families, friends and community.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

Bold in Africa currently retails out of our Kampala physical store, only. While we also deliver within the city, until we launch our online store, our clients are primarily residents and visitors of Kampala city. We would very much like to expand our services to the rest of the world. So, our next step is to launch our online store in the next few weeks. Watch this space!