“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley
I visited Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, a couple of years ago. Well, I didn’t get enough time to visit many sites but anyone who’s visited this East African jewel can attest to the fact that it’s endowed with natural beauty. From tropical rainforests to stunning landscapes and diverse wildlife, you’ll never get short of what to do on your adventure trip.
For the past year, I have been fortunate enough to be part of an amazing group of African women, The African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative (AWEC), a program empowering women from across the African continent with the knowledge and network needed to build resilient and scalable enterprises.
During the program, I met many amazing ladies running great enterprises and Initiatives, and the passion for doing what they love was so evident that I felt I was in the right corner. One such lady was Phoebe Nakiwunga from Uganda. She got me so intrigued to continue my adventure journey in her beautiful country and I couldn’t wait to know more about her and her business .
Here’s our interview;
Who is Phoebe Nakiwunga ?
Phoebe is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Mazima Adventure Safaris Uganda. I am a book enthusiast, adrenaline junkie, a freelance content writer and theatre lover. I am a graduate with a B.A in Development Economics from Makerere University Kampala.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to start Mazima Adventure Safaris.
I am the last born of eight children so I grew up like a little mayor of the village. I followed almost everybody anywhere they went and after school, I always escorted most of my friends before I walked back home. This must have been one of the indicators that I would later become an adventure seeker.
Mazima Adventure Safaris started out as a passion by then with two other friends, a lady called Matilda with whom I had had adventures for 4 years and a gentleman called Oscar. We yearned for the rest of the budget travelers like ourselves to explore and enjoy the beauty in Uganda hence started a tour business to offer more affordable, memorable travel and adventure experiences.
“If you do not climb the mountain, how are you planning to enjoy the view?!”
What does your company deal with?
Mazima Adventure Safaris offers both group and individual packages; that is community tours, volunteer trips, extreme adventures, cultural tours, wildlife safaris among others.
What would you consider as your most significant accomplishment so Far?
I’ll pose this for a while. At the moment, the opportunity to start something that I am passionate about, an enterprise that is women-led is part of the accomplishments. We are still climbing the ladder but that alone keeps us hopeful and moving forward.
What do you think is the major challenge women entrepreneurs face in Africa ?
Limited access to finances and social norms; In a typical entrepreneurial world, women have a lower rate to access funds for business because of the nature of our society. There is a mentality of ranking success basing on how male dominated the field is and how much collateral one is willing to offer even when we are more certain women have great credit scores.
What’s next for Phoebe and Mazima Adventure ?
We are evolving, finding ways to diversify and go beyond the borders, so let’s keep watch.
How can interested or potential partners /customers access your products/services?
Mazima Adventure Safaris has an official website www.mazimasafaris.com and our email is info@mazimasafaris.com or you can get us on our social media platforms ; Twitter, Facebook and instagram all @mazimasafaris.
Thinking Adventure, Think Mazima Adventure Safaris.
Leave a comment