The 24 year old graduate is the proprietor of  His Mercy internet cafe that earns him a net profit of over 1 million shilling monthly.

Tumushabe Ivan graduated with a degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Nkumba university two years ago.

Located a few meters away from Nkumba university, the cafe is a bee hive to many university students  who keep using and enjoying Ivan’s services.

Tumushabe Ivan shared with The Campus Times how he used 3M to kick start his small business that is currently valued at over 13 million shillings.

“I have never thought of looking for a job. I had the love to be self employed and when I graduated from campus, it was obvious to start up my own business thus becoming my own Boss,” Ivan narrates.

I started with three million shillings from the savings I made while still at campus. I used it to buy a printer, 3 desktop computers and then paid some rent. That was in 2012.

But it was not a smooth ride since I was a new entrant in the field of business. Power black out was a big challenge because I never had a generator. And whenever electricity went off, it meant no working.

Truth be told, I was not making profits during the first months, I was injecting in more money.

I had to get internet providers and also pay other dues and at the end there was nothing.

I just stayed focused on what I wanted and the losses did not obstruct me from attaining my set goals. With time, the business stabilized and started paying off.

I can now easily pay rent, electricity, salaries plus other expenses and at the end remain with a net profit of over one million shillings. This is enough for me other than looking for a job.

I see many graduates on streets looking for jobs, others being paid as low as shs. 300,000 per month. This can not work for me. 

Tumushabe Ivan says he has never taken an application to any office that he is seeking for a job.

He advises graduates to be focused and determined to start their own businesses. “You must be determined that however small it is at the beginning, it will finally grow and pay off with time,” he says.

  person of the week, Tumushabe Ivan