Molly Baiga, loading a baking tray into the oven at JP Management Foundation where she utilizes advanced baking equipment to meet the demand for bread in schools. (PHOTO: Nathan Ijjo Tibaku for The IRC)  

Molly Baiga, 37, is a Ugandan mother of five who also cares for her sister’s child, making a total of six children under her care. They all go to school, and she fends for them by providing food, housing, school fees, and general upkeep, thanks to her bakery business in Kampala.

In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Molly lost her husband to cancer, leaving her with the huge responsibility of running the young family. Alone and vulnerable, Molly made a difficult decision: to use UGX 500,000 from the bereavement money she received from well-wishers to buy a cooker with an oven in the hope of starting a baking business. Unfortunately, the oven did not perform as expected, and she later discovered that she had made a loss, compounding her misery.

However, shortly after the Covid-19 wave, Molly’s hope was restored. She registered for an apprenticeship placement under the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Re:BUiLD program. Between 2021 and 2022, Re:BUiLD partnered with private sector businesses to enable 151 urban refugees and vulnerable hosts in Kampala to learn hands-on business skills, such as baking, catering, tailoring, and welding. Molly was placed in a bakery business where she learned how to bake and design cakes. Upon finishing her apprenticeship, she invested UGX 1.3 million start-up kit she received from the program to open a bakery business.

As the business grew, Molly turned the house she was renting in Nsambya (a Kampala suburb) into a bakery, while the family moved to Busabala.

“I was able to buy a dough mixer, cake molds, and a charcoal oven to boost my baking. I decided to shift to Busabala and let the bakery stay and still operate from Nsambya,” said Molly

In 2023, at one of her children’s schools, Molly sniffed an opportunity to supply freshly baked bread for the school. She approached the teachers and was asked to bring samples.

“I took about four packets. I gave the teachers, the bursar, and even the headteacher. They liked it; they told me my bread is soft,” Molly recalls.

In a week, Molly supplies about 80 packets of freshly baked bread to Cinderella Nursery and Primary School. However, Molly soon realized that her capacity was limited to keep her supply consistent. She said that being a supplier requires a lot of capital and machinery to produce in large quantities.

Luckily for her, Re:BUiLD’s partnership with JP Management Foundation offers clients an opportunity to increase their production capacity. Clients in the bakery and catering businesses can access specialized baking equipment such as electric mixers and electric bread provers at the Foundation’s facility in Nsambya.

Molly says she is not only benefiting from using the equipment at the Foundation but also expanding her recipe knowledge.

“These people’s (JP Management) recipe is the easiest. The person who first taught me to bake bread told me to make a pre-dough, then the main dough. It was so tiresome even if I was using 1kg of baking flour,” Molly said, praising her working relationship with JP Management Foundation.

Molly is expanding her business. Two other schools get their breakfast bread from Molly. She says the times of being a housewife are behind her because she can afford rent and basic needs for the family.

“I get some support from the children’s aunts, but I can buy school requirements and pay my rent. I no longer need to call someone if I need 10,000 shillings. Those days as a housewife, looking for 10,000 was so difficult,” said Molly.

She hopes to set up a shop and train other bakery enthusiasts in the future. “I also hope to open up a pastry shop where my products can be on display for customers.

At home, not many people are aware of the products I sell,” she says. She tips aspiring entrepreneurs to love what they do. 

“You first have to love it. This business has its challenges, but when you love it, it is really good. You have to be persistent and be open to learning more because new recipes come into the market every day,” Molly advised.