The Shoeshine that Shaped a Dream

When Enoch Muwanguzi stopped for a shoeshine on the streets of Kampala, he had no idea this would be the spark that shaped a dream. Despite using the same polish as the shoe shiner, his shoes looked better than when he polished them himself. Curious, he asked for the secret. “It’s all in the brush,” the shoe shiner revealed, holding it up for Enoch to see. The brush was imported from China.

“I couldn’t believe Uganda wasn’t producing something as simple as a shoe brush,” Enoch recalls. Growing up, he admired the craftsmanship of goods made in the country. However, he noticed how imported products flooded the market over time, diminishing the number of locally made items. This shift prompted Enoch’s desire to restore pride in products bearing the “Made in Uganda” label, fostering local innovation and job creation. But it remained a dream until that fateful day of the shoeshine in November 2018, when he decided to produce and market high-quality Ugandamade brushes.

His decision was met with an immediate challenge: to find a local alternative to the horsehair used in the imported Chinese brushes. As an Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering student at Makerere University and a Mastercard Foundation Scholar, Enoch had the skills and resources to rise to the challenge and pursue his idea. Though horses are scarce in Uganda, cows are plentiful, and after months of experimenting, he discovered that their tail hair is softer and more durable, making it a viable alternative. “That was my lightbulb moment,” Enoch says. “I realized we could tackle a local problem with local solutions.”

He secured seed funding from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program to set up a small factory and, in 2019, founded Ugabrush. With a mission to reduce Uganda’s reliance on imports and champion local production, his small business set to work on its first batch of brushes, making its first wholesale delivery in February 2020. The response was overwhelmingly positive. The brushes were praised for their quality and sold out quickly.

However, just as the enterprise gained momentum, the COVID-19 pandemic halted progress. Lockdowns forced Enoch to close his physical sales channels. “It felt like everything was slipping away,” he shares. Determined to keep going, Enoch pivoted to online sales, using social media to stay connected with his customers. During this time, a friend tagged him in a post about the NSSF Hi-Innovator Program, an initiative by the National Social Security Fund and the Mastercard Foundation providing funding and mentorship to young entrepreneurs.

Enoch applied and was accepted into the program. In 2024, he secured $20,000 in seed funding. This enabled him to expand his factory, increase production, and employ more workers, many from underserved communities. “For me, it’s about more than making brushes: it’s about creating jobs and giving people a chance to rebuild their lives," he explains. Enoch plans to expand Ugabrush across Africa, introducing new product lines such as bathing, hair, and scrubbing brushes. He plans to collaborate with schools and shoe manufacturers to make Ugabrush a household name.

Enoch’s mission is clear: uplift local production, empower communities, and show that Ugandan businesses can thrive globally. He is also committed to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and became a mentor to young business owners after completing the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship. He advises them to focus on refining their product and honing their skills because he believes “true success comes from perfecting your craft every day.”

Reflecting on his journey, Enoch credits the support he received for enabling him to pursue his vision. “The scholarship allowed me to think beyond my circumstances, and the Hi-Innovator program gave me the means to bring my dream to life,” he says.