Meet Benard

This post is the second in a series of three, as we introduce you to the three top finalists from June’s Entrepreneurship Challenge with Not For Sale and brand partner Spence Diamonds. Profiles for our first place winner, Simon, and third place winner, Esther, are also available on the Not For Sale blog. 

A Piggery With A Purpose 

The second place winner in our #NFSInvestsUganda Entrepreneurship Challenge is Benard Ocaya! Benard entered the challenge to present an innovative business idea for a community-based piggery. Piglets are given to members of the community at no cost to care for and raise. When the animals are sold, they share in the profit! The overall vision for the business is to help vulnerable youth, widows, and families become self-reliant through training them in entrepreneurship skills and giving them an opportunity to support themselves.

Our Entrepreneurship Challenge judges and mentors were struck by the potential scalability and impact of this piggery. With its well-planned business model, hundreds of community members will benefit not only from the income their participation will ensure, but increased nutrition and access to education as well. Benard hopes that the business will also effectively fight illiteracy by giving families the resources to purchase the school materials their children need.

Orphaned as a child, Benard has overcome many difficult circumstances to become the successful young businessman he is today. His own story fuels his passion to support orphans within the Kyangwali Refugee settlement and neighboring areas where the piggery business is based and currently employing 54 people- 45 community members and 9 staff. The funding received through the Entrepreneurship Challenge will be used to grow and strengthen the business and employ more community members.

#NFSInvestsUganda

If you’d like to learn more about the “why” behind the Entrepreneurship Challenge, you may read an introduction to the project, as well as our project wrap-up and initial impact report here on the Not For Sale blog. For regular updated on our impact-focused projects aand programs around the world,  be sure that you’re signed up for our upcoming newsletters!