Kamusenene Investments Ltd was started in May 2009 by Ivan Lwanyaga and other young people in Kamusenene village, Kibaale District, as a construction company. However, the company made a loss of 6.3m in construction works at Rwensasi and Nkooko livestock markets due to under quoting the materials and over-estimating the number of livestock in the market per market day. This caused the company to re-evaluate: “After all this, we sat down and thought of next steps and after making a business survey, we realized that buying and selling of maize, beans, rice, groundnuts and cassava was more reliable and sustainable.” The company began trading maize with an initial inventory of 5100kg. This maize was sold at Ush 920 per kilogram. “We opened up a store in our village Kamusenene, and later Kakumiro Town Council, Mpasana and Igayaza.” By December 2012, the maize inventory had increased to 29000kg.
Ivan Lwanyaga
However, the company was facing some challenges, such as working capital, means of transport, business networks and professional management skills. This is where the Mara Foundation mentorship programme was able to assist. At our third cycle matching event in October 2012, Ivan met Ted Pantone of Mango Fund. Thanks to this meeting, the business was able to secure an investment of Ush 20 million to help it grow and meet its challenges.
Ivan’s vision for the business is to build and maintain Kamusenene Investments Ltd into a professionally managed, profitable, self sustaining and socially responsible enterprise providing leading, globally recognized Engineering, Logistics and Agroprocessed products at one simplified source point.
Mara Foundation 