Our entreprenuers
Empowering Nutrition and Enterprise:
The Story of Mukene Delights and Community Lift
In the heart of Namuyenje, Mukono Town, Uganda, a quiet revolution in nutrition and entrepreneurship is underway — led by Joan Baluka, the visionary founder of Mukene Delights. A hospitality graduate with a passion for community impact, Joan recognized both a nutritional gap and a business opportunity in one of Uganda’s most accessible and nutrient-rich foods: silverfish (Mukene).
Joan began her business with a simple goal: to provide well-packaged, high-quality silverfish — both fried and non-fried—to local households, schools, shops, and institutions. Her commitment to improving family nutrition, especially among vulnerable populations, quickly gained traction. But as with many grassroots entrepreneurs in Uganda, Joan soon faced a common roadblock: the need for capital, business structure, and strategic guidance to meet growing demand and formalize her operations.
In late 2024, Joan submitted her business proposal to Community Lift, a nonprofit organization dedicated to economic empowerment in Uganda’s Busoga district and surrounding regions. After a thorough review and assessment, Mukene Delights was selected to receive Community Lift’s full-spectrum support: financial capital, targeted business training, and mentorship tailored to scaling small enterprises with high social return.
Since partnering in 2025, Community Lift has played a pivotal role in Mukene Delights’ evolution from a home-based hustle to a structured, community-minded food processing business. With startup funding from Community Lift, Joan has been able to expand her operations, improve packaging standards, and secure new distribution channels. Through financial literacy, inventory management, and strategic marketing, Joan continues to build the skills necessary to grow a sustainable enterprise.
But the impact doesn’t stop there.
Every package of silverfish sold by Mukene Delights represents more than nutrition—it represents empowerment. It supports local fishing communities at the Kiyindi landing site, creates jobs in processing and sales, and brings a nutritious, affordable protein source to Ugandan families.
Empowering Local Innovation: Fork & Go Express and Community Lift
In the heart of Jinja, Uganda, where vibrant streets meet rising entrepreneurial ambition, Fork & Go Express is transforming how food delivery is done. This new venture is more than a business — it is a bold solution to a real need in the local economy. And it’s happening with critical early-stage support from Community Lift.
Launched on June 15, 2025, Fork & Go Express was founded to address a persistent challenge faced by restaurants in Jinja: the lack of reliable, professional food delivery services. Most eateries had to rely on untrained Boda Boda riders or attempt to manage logistics in-house—often at the cost of quality and customer satisfaction. Fork & Go entered with a vision: provide trained, insured, and professional drivers under exclusive contracts with restaurants, allowing chefs and owners to focus solely on preparing great food.
But great ideas like this often stall without access to startup capital, business mentorship, and operational guidance.
As a grassroots nonprofit committed to economic empowerment in Uganda’s Busoga district, Community Lift identified Fork & Go as a high-potential enterprise led by a motivated local entrepreneur. With Community Lift’s financial support, Fork & Go secured motorcycles, safety gear, and logistical systems needed to begin operations. Beyond capital, Community Lift provided business development training, financial coaching, and ongoing mentorship to help ensure the company’s success.
Why This Partnership Matters
This is exactly the kind of transformation Community Lift was designed to foster. By backing Fork & Go Express:
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Jobs are created for trained delivery drivers in Jinja.
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Local restaurants thrive, reaching more customers without the burden of delivery management.
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Professionalism is elevated in a previously informal industry.
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And perhaps most importantly, a model for scalable, community-rooted innovation is born.
A Sustainable, Replicable Model
Fork & Go’s success isn’t confined to Jinja. With a working model in place, the business is preparing to expand to other underserved towns like Iganga, Mbale, and Kampala—offering a blueprint for professionalized food delivery across Uganda.
Every entrepreneur Community Lift supports — including Fork & Go — enters into a revenue-sharing agreement. A portion of profits is reinvested into Community Lift’s revolving fund, helping seed the next wave of locally driven businesses. It’s a cycle of empowerment, not charity.
Your Support Fuels Stories Like This
When you donate to Community Lift, you’re not just funding a nonprofit — you’re backing the dreams of people like the Fork & Go team. Your support helps launch sustainable businesses that create jobs, improve services, and build stronger communities from the inside out.
Join us in turning potential into prosperity.
Empowering Agriculture,
One Flock at a Time
The Namulessa Chicken Co. & Community Lift Partnership
In the heart of Jinja, Uganda, a small family-run poultry venture is making a big impact — not just on the local economy, but on the future of sustainable agriculture in Busoga. Namulessa Chicken Co., launched by a dedicated husband-and-wife team, embodies the spirit of grassroots entrepreneurship that Community Lift was created to support.
With a vision to build a thriving agribusiness starting from 100 Sasso chickens — a robust dual-purpose breed for both meat and eggs — Namulessa Chicken Co. is more than a poultry business. It is a springboard for long-term dreams, including value-added poultry products and eventually coffee farming. The business combines hands-on agricultural work with practical market insight and environmental responsibility, making use of every element of its operations, including chicken manure for future crop production.
But like many promising ventures in Uganda’s rural districts, the journey of Namulessa Chicken Co. needed a lift.
As part of its mission to foster sustainable economic development in the Busoga region, Community Lift Inc. provided Namulessa Chicken Co. with crucial start-up capital, operational guidance, and mentorship. This support enabled the construction of a poultry shelter, purchase of high-quality chicks and feed, and the implementation of essential health and biosecurity measures.
This collaboration demonstrates the core of Community Lift's approach: not simply giving capital, but walking alongside entrepreneurs with training, strategy, and long-term vision. In return, entrepreneurs like the founders of Namulessa Chicken Co. commit to reinvesting profits and supporting future entrepreneurs through a shared profit model, making the impact truly sustainable.
Thanks to this partnership:
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Namulessa Chicken Co. is already gearing up to double its bird count within the first year.
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The business is supplying nutritious poultry to local households, markets, and institutions.
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It is creating a blueprint for others in the region who seek to launch or scale agricultural enterprises.
This is what donor-supported impact looks like—measurable, replicable, and transformative.
Your Support Builds More Than Businesses—It Builds Futures
When you donate to Community Lift Inc., you’re investing in real people with real ambition. Your contributions help launch ventures like Namulessa Chicken Co.—ventures that create jobs, feed communities, and spark broader economic development across Uganda.
Join us in lifting dreams and building a future where local ingenuity meets opportunity.
→ Donate today. Empower the next Namulessa Chicken Co.
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Partnering for Sustainable Tourism and
Local Empowerment: Lumuli Tours & Community Lift
In the heart of Jinja, Uganda, two visionary organizations — Lumuli Tours and Travel Uganda and Community Lift — have come together to create a powerful model of impact-driven tourism. Their partnership represents a compelling synergy between enterprise and social mission, proving that responsible tourism can be a catalyst for long-term community development.
Lumuli Tours and Travel Uganda, a full-service tourism company, offers unforgettable experiences that showcase the beauty, wildlife, and culture of Uganda through expertly guided safaris, Sipi Falls treks, and Nile River excursions. With a core mission of sustainability and community engagement, Lumuli Tours stands out in the tourism industry by prioritizing local hiring, environmental conservation, and partnerships with small-scale businesses.
At the foundation of this commitment lies Community Lift Inc., a nonprofit organization that identifies and supports promising entrepreneurs in the Busoga region through financial support, business training, and mentorship. Community Lift saw in Lumuli Tours not just a business to support—but a model for inclusive economic growth.
Through Community Lift’s investment and guidance, Lumuli Tours has formalized its operations, expanded its service offerings, and strengthened its ability to generate sustainable income for local guides, drivers, craft vendors, and hospitality providers. From vehicle acquisition to website development and marketing strategy, Community Lift provided the tools needed to help Lumuli grow into a professionally run, socially conscious tourism company.
Donors and supporters of Community Lift can take pride in knowing that their contributions are not just helping one business — they are building an ecosystem. By supporting Lumuli Tours and Travel, they are helping establish a sustainable enterprise that directly benefits the local economy and embodies Uganda’s rich cultural and ecological heritage.
Why This Partnership Matters
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Job Creation: Thanks to Lumuli’s growth there is increased work for drivers, guides, hospitality staff, etc.
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Local Sourcing: Tour itineraries integrate locally-owned coffee farms, craft shops, and accommodations, boosting community income.
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Sustainable Impact: Both organizations emphasize environmental responsibility and long-term development goals.
This is what happens when grassroots entrepreneurship meets strategic support: a locally owned business becomes a driver of local prosperity.
Join us in growing the next success story.
Support Community Lift — and invest in businesses like Lumuli Tours that are paving the way for a more inclusive and sustainable future in Uganda.
Growing a Stronger Future Together:
Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise & Community Lift
In the heart of Kivubuka, Jinja City, a small family farm is redefining what it means to grow—both in agriculture and in impact. Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise, led by Lazarus and Phoebe Wogoli, is a family-owned initiative transitioning from modest vegetable farming to a dynamic, sustainable dairy operation. Their goal: to provide fresh milk, employment, and learning opportunities for their community while building a self-sustaining agribusiness.
Recognizing the potential of this locally rooted enterprise, Community Lift Inc. proudly partnered with Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise in 2025 as part of its mission to empower rural entrepreneurs in Uganda’s Busoga district. Through this collaboration, Community Lift provided strategic business support, training, and a soft loan of UGX 30,195,500 to enable Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise to launch their dairy expansion—starting with two in-calf heifers and plans to grow to ten cows within five years.
Why Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise?
Eastern Uganda faces a deficit in fresh milk production, with Jinja often relying on dairy shipped from surrounding districts. Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise aims to meet this local demand by offering high-quality, unadulterated milk and farmyard manure, using best practices in animal care, disease prevention, and sustainable feed cultivation. The farm is not only solving a critical supply issue—it’s setting a new standard for rural agricultural development.
With extensive training in dairy management and a deeply personal commitment to ethical farming, Lazarus and Phoebe are building more than a business. They are creating a model farm that can serve as a training center and inspiration for others in the region.
The Role of Community Lift
Community Lift identified Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise as an ideal candidate for its holistic entrepreneur support program. The partnership included:
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Business planning support to structure the farm for long-term growth
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Seed capital through a repayable soft loan, ensuring future reinvestment into other local businesses
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Ongoing monitoring and evaluation, with clear performance targets and risk mitigation strategies
This approach aligns with Community Lift’s goal to not only fund promising ideas but walk alongside entrepreneurs as they scale, professionalize, and transform their communities.
Impact Beyond the Farm
The expected outcomes of the Wogoli and Family Farm Enterprise project include:
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Increased local access to safe, fresh milk in an underserved market
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Job creation, with plans to employ community members and reduce dependence on middlemen
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Use of farm waste (manure) to improve soil health among local smallholder farmers
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A replicable model for youth and women aspiring to enter the agricultural sector
Community Lift’s support has unlocked a vision — one that could ripple far beyond a single farm plot.
Join Us
Donors like you make these stories possible. Your support enables Community Lift to identify, equip, and empower entrepreneurs like Lazarus and Phoebe — leaders who are ready to work, ready to give back, and ready to grow.
Together, we are lifting communities — one farm, one family, one future at a time.
Empowering Fashion Entrepreneurship:
The Journey of Threads by Sharon
and Community Lift
At Community Lift, we are dedicated to empowering local entrepreneurs who show promise and drive. One such entrepreneur is Sharon, a young, talented seamstress we met during our fall 2023 trip to Uganda. Sharon’s keen eye for fashion and exceptional sewing skills — largely self-taught — have led her to take on small jobs to support herself. Through her passion and determination, she has managed to secure work, including a notable contract to sew uniforms for a local hospital. Despite the challenges of not having enough funds to purchase the necessary materials, Sharon's tenacity shone through as she successfully completed the project and repaid the loan we provided in full.
This experience was a turning point for Sharon, and it highlighted a critical need in her journey: formal education and training. Through our conversations, we learned that in order to grow her business and secure consistent, well-paying work, certification from a reputable fashion and design school would be essential. This qualification would not only enhance her skills but also boost her credibility in the competitive Ugandan fashion industry.
Recognizing her potential and the importance of education, Community Lift has committed to funding Sharon's two-year fashion design program. Her progress will be monitored, and once she completes her studies and begins working, she will repay the loan based on a percentage of her monthly revenue. Sharon is already making strides—having successfully completed three semester, she will enter her final in September semester and is set to graduate in December 2025.
As Sharon continues her education, we are also helping her plan for her post-graduation career. Upon completion of her program, Sharon will need start-up capital to establish her tailoring and alterations business. This includes purchasing a new sewing machine, layout tables for cutting fabric, and eventually renting a shop in a high-traffic area to display her creations. In the meantime, she will operate from her apartment as she builds her brand and reputation.
