As a trainer, I've had the opportunity to meet many remarkable people around the world. One of those people is Shafique Nsubuga, a young entrepreneur I met in Kampala, Uganda in 2018 while working on a youth development training. Shafique was eager to learn and his entrepreneurial spirit radiated throughout the training as he shared his passion for helping young women through is social enterprise, Assorted Trends.
Assorted Trends empowers women by equipping them with skills to create crafts, such as baskets and kitchenware that enable them to become self-reliant by generating income for themselves. Seeing their products, it was not long before I became a customer, ordering items for myself, friends and family, as well as for retail at Dine Diaspora. Their creative products quickly became part of my daily life as I used Assorted Trends pens, notebooks, and aprons, all while learning how my support was helping the young women behind the products.
For young entrepreneurs in Uganda, it can be difficult to raise funds to grow a business and COVID-19 has made it even more of a challenge. Yet, Shafique has not given up. He has found ways to remain resilient during this time of uncertainty, finding new and innovating ways to keep the social enterprise operating, including focusing resources on existing programs and not introducing new ones.
As Assorted Trends pushes to continue to provide opportunities for young women and increase their impact, they are raising funds to enable them to achieve the following goals:
Investing in finding new clients outside of Uganda who are also invested in their social mission.
Purchasing land to build a center for operations.
Purchasing a second-hand low fuel consumption vehicle to help transport products from the villages to town.
In celebration of my birthday, I would love you to help me raise funds for Assorted Trends so that they can meet their goals. I ask that you donate an amount of your choice to help Shafique grow the social enterprise and support more young Ugandan women thrive.
HOW TO SUPPORT:
1. Donate an amount of your choice here: Assorted Trends (via my Cash App $ninao7)
2. Share your name and email in the message.
After donation, you will receive an email with an update of all the funds donated with an introduction to Shafique so that you can keep in touch and follow the company's growth journey.