Growing up as a child; David Waligo remained natural and optimistic about becoming a successful coffee business merchant with a unique personality and coffee produce on market; thus living the dream as the Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Hope Coffee Uganda.
Born to the formidable parents in Christopher Joseph Kiwanuka and Mrs Kiwanuka residents of Bisanje Parish in Masaka City; Waligo grew up under the foster parent and guidance and support of Reveland Fr. John Mary Waligo to become an industrious Agriculturalist.
In his denim shirt; Ekitengi, Mr. Waligo is as calm as cucumber for this rhetorical interview to articulate his long ordeal journey which has transformed his life aspirations and surrounding environment as a producer of Hope Cofee Uganda; a delicious Ugandan made coffee product sold in Uganda and abroad.
Under the foster father in John Mary Waligo; the former grew up with a devoted heart and willingness to become a business man of his making which he achieved and thus far.
It was during that period; where Waligo became self reliant thereby investing in coffee business making with high hopes of setting up maiden Insititute aimed at nurturing and mentoring coffee farmers right mostly children ranging from primary level to old men and women with enthusiasm in coffee business.
According to Waligo; he happened to learnt a lot as an advanced Agriculturalist upon his adventures in South Africa; observing Apple and coffee farming as prefred earning business and turning fifty; the former chose to invest in coffee business.
” It was during my return from Kenya during my works as a clearing and forwarding agent that I chose to start off by making coffee,” said Waligo, 50- years old also the business man dealing in processing Hope Coffee Uganda which is grilled and processed under Multi- purpose cooperative society (MPCS).
Waligo is the lover of nature and culture and remains formidable enthusiastic about his Catholic settling life and passion to inspire and empower communities through emancipation them in coffee business .
With a black rosary hanging in his neck, Waligo is fit as a fiddle in his black glasses to articulate how becoming an industrious entrepreneur and Agriculturalist was always his calling dream.
” With the support of my foster father in John Mary Waligo I was able to form Professor John Mary Waligo Foundation Trust Limited an advocacy that brings together governors and civil rights advocacy for the marginalised;” shared Waligo.
Waligo attended East Kololo Primary School, Malkamex and Namilyango Junior School and St Henry’s College Kitovu before ceftified as a public Accountant with a SPA 2 in Extra Mural Department at Nairobi University in Kenya in 1988.
Waligo later returned to Uganda to start-off with clearing and forwarding business before attaining his maiden foreign contract at MAESK Company in Kenya in 2004.
While in Kenya, Waligo got married to Mrs Janet Mwanyale a Kenyan National whom they produced four children.
Altogether, Waligo grew under the privileged family and venturing in clearing and forwarding business demonstrated his love to work in the field with people thus investing in coffee business.
” Most of the work I do is wholly in the field. I always monitor my self in transporting goods and the Track monitoring business honed my skills to win hearts of clients as it is exemplifies in coffee processing business,” he narrates.
I owe that venturing in clearing an forwarding business requires self sacrifice and while at MAESK I learnt a lot, ” he says.
At the age of 40, as a clearing and forwarding agent at MAESK, Waligo started off by planning his retirement thereby investing his capital earnings in coffee business.
It was heavily during his tenure at MAESK clearing and forwarding company where Waligo was posted to Durban in South Africa and learnt a lot of coffee business making an processing.
Upon his return from South Africa, Waligo retired and proceeded with coffee growing and making as well as roaring for its availabilty market in foreign market and today he earns big out from the coffee produced.
” I normally map farmers from different regions within Greater Masaka and empowered them to invest in coffee business and I am certain that many have had a delicious test of Hope Coffee Uganda,” he said.
According to Waligo; they’ve empowered 3000 farmers within the nine districts that make up Greater Masaka and they wholsomely produce 50 to 60 tones of coffee processed Export Grade Robusta coffee.
He has rallied around with identifying farmers and he has cultivated 50 acres of coffee in Kyotera District and normally they provide farmers with coffee seedlings and spraying machines to boast the coffee business.
As for clarity; Waligo has been an industrious coffee business for the last twenty years under the watchful eye of John Mary Waligo Trust Limited through Progressive co-operative society that brings together all coffee farmers.
To effect the coffee business, Waligo has partnered with the Deutsche Gesellschaft for international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) a Germany based Non- government organisation that supports them to accumulate more capital and getting foreign market coffee accesibity.
Waligo has scored well by uniting coffee farmers and together they hatched Ndugu farmers Group that has expanded the working environment of farmers.
Turning Agriculture into a magnalised system by earning farmers in foreign currency is what drives Waligo to work tirelessly like a pregnant horse.
” Coffee business is the only entity that can fetch farmers a living and to this I have extended its market to foreign countries in countries such as Brazil and Ethiopia where the Auction market for coffee is more critical; ” said Waligo also the Secretary for the Anti- corruption Organisation Limited (SBACO).
Waligo shares that the Uganda Cofeee Development Association is growing at a snail’s pace which has compelled him to roar for foreign market through Multi- purpose cooperative society.
According to Waligo; Hope Coffee Uganda has impacted lives of people and the main market thereby extending Robusta Coffee.
With the working force of formidable farmers; Waligo has instituted a commercial processing machine and many farmers have been empowered to start-off coffee selling and processing business.
As the founder of Hope Uganda Coffee; Waligo has boasted the local coffee market with the store management and their investing approach remains traditional.
As a Freelantopist; Waligo has partnered with a millennium glasses Uganda company to extend eye clinics to farmers grappling with eye defects and community members within the coffee business.
As for experience; Waligo shares that coffee farmers are grappling with seeding capital as it requires over shs: 40m to have a standard Coffee plantation and well ventilated nursery bed.
He appeals to coffee farmers to adopt to foreign market as countries such as South Africa greatly invest in speciality especially in farming business.
” The foreigners are after producing finished goods yet in Uganda we could succeed well by identifying our own coffee and expounding its market accesibity,” said Waligo who has exported the Hope Cofee Uganda samples to countries; Kenya, Switzland and Canada to attract foreign market of Ugandan produced coffee.
” I have the capacity to produce 1 million ton of processed and packed coffee and already we’ve submitted them to foreign countries for dollar earnings to our farmers,” he said, before adding that they instilled a commercial processing machine and the coffee factory established in Kyotera District deserves government attention and financial support to boast coffee business in Uganda.
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