Small Bakery Rises

Petralina Babirye’s little bakery in Kampala, Uganda, wasn’t making the kind of dough she needed to make a good living. She lived in a small space and made doughnuts in an even smaller space. Her business needed a boost, but Babirye didn’t know where it would come from.

Then a friend told her about an announcement on the radio promoting the city government’s Women Entrepreneurship Program, which offers female business owners interest-free loans and financial training.

That radio spot was made possible in part by Kampala’s participation in the Carter Center’s Inform Women, Transform Lives project. Through this initiative, the Center partners with cities around the world to make women aware of city services they might not otherwise know about.

Babirye used her newfound knowledge to get a loan to buy equipment and ingredients and expand her business. The bakery is now thriving, providing festive cakes for weddings, birthdays, and other special occasions. Babirye wants to pass her good fortune along to others.

“My hope and my dream,” she said, “would be to help ladies, girls out there — the young generation, single mothers.”

Now she has the scratch to do it.

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