Amplifying Business Development Services in Uganda: How Enigma Kreative is scaling impact

Duncan Katambo Kato, a former finance professional based in Kampala, founded business development service (BDS) company Enigma Kreative Limited during Covid to help Ugandans avoid poverty and unemployment by providing business skills and support services.

As Duncan says, “Enigma helps beautiful business stories emerge out of a difficult place.” His company achieves this by offering an “ecosystem” of services via five separate businesses, each providing a critical service at each stage to achieve a sustainable business model; skills and mentoring for youth and underserved entrepreneurs; online market access to consumers; access to capital and investment; marketing and branding; and legal compliance and business registration.

Focused on Uganda’s large population of individuals who “deserve a second chance at prosperity,” Enigma has 150,000 individuals currently active in their ecosystem across Uganda. Many of these individuals have been referred by the first 400 businesses who completed the full Enigma Kreative cycle since launching in 2022. Enigma’s ultimate goal is to serve 1.5 million individuals across Uganda by 2028.

When Duncan enrolled in AMI’s Business Development Standards training programme – a collaboration between AMI, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the Mastercard Foundation – he thought Enigma’s own training materials were sufficient. Instead he learned how much more he could be offering his ecosystem of entrepreneurs.

“When you look at the models we learned, for example the financial management tools, we discovered our own models weren’t as good. As we learned these new models, I decided to improve our own training. Now we are looking to see who in our ecosystem would be ready for AMI business training.”

Duncan also credits AMI’s tools with helping to streamline his operations and amplify his business’ BDS focused impact.

As Duncan continues to expand his reach to new communities and inspiring change, he’s focused on carrying out an approach as a BDS provider that can cascade and be amplified to hundreds of thousands of Ugandan entrepreneurs.

“AMI’s training was a revelation. It wasn’t just about the skills; it was about seeing our work through a new lens, understanding our potential impact, and refining our approach to making a lasting difference.”

To read more stories in our 2023 Impact Report click here: ‘10 Years as an African Champion for Africa’s Business Champions’.