Students from Makerere University Business School teamed up with Kampala Capital City Authority officials and market vendors on Friday to clean Bugolobi Market and engage traders on entrepreneurship, business growth and practical skills development.
The exercise, led by members of the Makerere University Entrepreneurship Students Association, involved sweeping stalls, clearing waste and opening drainage channels around the busy market. The students described the activity as part of a wider drive to promote hygiene, community development and stronger links between the university and local businesses.
Association leader Rwogamu Hagayi said the outreach is one in a series of market-based community activities the group has conducted across Kampala. He noted that many Ugandans start businesses but close them within a short period because of limited entrepreneurial and managerial skills.
He said this reality has pushed the students to work more closely with government agencies and communities to champion entrepreneurship as a path to reducing poverty and unemployment.
“We want to ensure that students and market vendors learn from each other. Practical engagement helps us understand the challenges businesses face and how we can innovate to address them,” Hagayi said.
Dr Christopher Kusemererwa, a lecturer at MUBS, said the initiative gives students hands-on experience essential for starting and sustaining enterprises. He added that such exposure helps reduce overreliance on formal employment and cultivates a spirit of self-reliance among graduates.
Another supervising lecturer, Maureen Mukoda, said learning does not stop in the classroom. She explained that interacting with real businesses allows students to apply theory, think creatively and understand how small and medium enterprises operate.
Bugolobi Market chairperson Juliet Mbabazi welcomed the initiative and thanked the students for their dedication. She said the market benefits from these collaborations because they improve cleanliness and build stronger relationships between academic institutions and local traders.
After the cleaning exercise, the students held a discussion with market vendors focused on entrepreneurship, business growth and sustainable business practices.
