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Asha Batenga is a founding partner of Cake Shop Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd, a society established to pool funds to serve as a reliable source of credit and investment opportunities for the personal and socioeconomic development of its members.
She is also a founding director of Cakely Uganda, one of the leading bakeries in the land, the proprietors of Kampala Cake Fair, which is the biggest cake festival in town, and a founding partner of Cake Shop Uganda, the biggest, online baking community in the land. Her entrepreneurial story is a vivid one – she’s tried her hand at everything – she regularly jokes that the one thing she hasn’t tried is grave digging.
But the entrepreneurial bug was one she couldn’t ignore, one she was constantly coming back to.
Dennis Asiimwe (DA) visited her at the new premises of Cakely Uganda, which also doubles as a restaurant, in Naguru, for a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and a chat.
This is her story.
DA: You seem to have tried your hand at everything, Asha. What do you think enabled you to zero in on cake?
Asha: Well I had tried everything – cake didn’t come naturally to me, if I am to speak honestly. In fact, I used to quit the business everyday – it was physically and emotionally draining. However, slowly, I slowly opened up to the opportunities it brought forward. When we launched Cake Shop Uganda as an online platform where bakers could interact with potential clients, it was something of an in ejection of energy. We immediately needed a physical space where these two audiences could meet, and that is how the Kampala Cake Fair was born.
DA: And out of cake you also got the Cake Fair magazine…
Asha: Yes – the magazine is designed to access people who cannot attend the fair, and to break down for those at the fair what the fair is all about.
The Kampala Cake Fair 2019
DA: And a whole restaurant as well…
Asha: (laughing) It’s actually a café, serving cake, pastries, cream, juices, and a continental food menu.
DA: More on that later. How’s your bakery doing?
Asha: For a long time Cakely was a home based business but now it can stand alone with its own premises and be the foundation for a restaurant business. Starting out, spending sleepless nights trying to meet orders and figure out new recipes, running to the neighbour to borrow a back-up oven because yours is full, or you have run out of gas, it was back-breaking. We are a little more solid for now – I have a dependable team I can rely on, a team I have grown with. They know where we have come from, they have grown with us, and so they are invested in this.
DA: Sounds like you are coming up for air…
Asha: I am fortunate to be regarded as a mentor on various cake forums, which are represented by WhatsApp groups. We share information on recipes, pricing, tips, and inspiration. And I feel like I have found a vocation that gives me…purpose.
DA: Does cake have anything to do with the Cake Shop Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd?
Asha: (laughs) Of course – it’s in the name! It is something that came to mind as a saving and investment platform for the baker’s platform. After COVID-19, we learnt some grim lessons. During the lockdown, a lot of them sold off their baking equipment to survive, and the same trend continued after the lockdown ended. Ironically, some of them were even trying to buy back what they had sold. It pointed me to the fact that we needed something that would provide a long term solution to the baking sector we were participating in. It would enable us create a savings culture, and with a cooperative structure, we would be able to save, and meet investment targets, offer equipment financing, create fruitful partnerships that ensure that our savings are working for us, so to speak.
DA: What is the immediate target of Cake Sop Multipurpose Cooperative Society?
Asha: It’s a simple one – to reach a membership of 1,000 registered and saving members. And we are making good progress in this regard – it’s been three months and we are more than halfway there.
DA: You have baked from the comfort of your home, and now Cakely has its own premises – what’s the difference like for you?
Asha: I feel like I am starting all over. Any business person who tries the same will tell you that the change to a more formal setting, the commute, the staffing and supervision, the new rent costs, new utility costs – in the beginning it is tougher. Everything changes, including your trading license, you have to update your website and socials, your Google Maps address, the works. Your letter head changes, your customers once again need to figure out your new location, things of that sort. But eventually you get into some sort of rhythm of things, and you are aware that you needed this solid foundation to move onto bigger things. So far, we are happy with the foundation we are building.
DA: You have pulled off something that many SMEs often struggle with: scaling up. Cakely has gotten bigger. More staff, its own premises (which are bigger as well) and it can handle more orders: bigger ovens, more ovens, that sort of thing. How have you pulled this off? What advice would you have for someone trying to scale up?
Asha: That’s a hard one to answer – we set targets like any other business. Sometimes meeting those targets is extremely difficult, and I know you will smile cynically at this. There has been a lot of support, to be honest: emotional, physical and in terms of clients. I can only say it has been support from God – I don’t have so much – I use what I have. Secondly, I don’t rush. Everyone expected us to move the bakery in our first year because the bakery grew first, but we waited. We have learned some difficult lessons in the past from being hasty, and so it was after the lockdown that we felt that maybe this was the right time for the next, big step. And it has paid off.
DA: I know you are involved in several partnerships, my food network, that sort of thing – how important are these partnerships in the world of business?
Asha: Partnerships go two ways – some can be really productive, and some can be disastrous. My favorite one example of a productive partnership is the one with My Food Network, where different professionals bring different experiences and skills to the table, with the end game being financial benefit for all. That is the kind of partnership I look out for – it needs work, it needs bonding, but the common goal makes it work.
DA: Your primary business partner is your husband, Mr. Byran Jumba. Is it easy having a husband for a business partner?
Asha: (Laughing) That is a tricky question. Yes, and no. Having your marital partner as your business partner, is one of the best things that can happen to you. It is also one of the worst things. Imagine you have an argument over something you need for Cakely, and then you go to bed. What is going to happen when you reach bed? No pillow talk, nothing. That is the down side but to me, it is the best thing that can happen to a relationship. There is no way Cakely would have gained all this, if my husband wasn’t on board. He was okay with the late hours, okay with having workers in the house, that sort of thing. And all that made things easier. He also offers me a shoulder to lean on when I want to give up. He is often in the background so many people do not realize the role he plays, but he ensures paperwork has no errors, and is timely. He offers calmness and order. He deals with the tax people, the bankers, the IT people, that sort of thing. We are constantly in sync. Business has sped up my maturity in marriage.
DA: And your family? Have they contributed to or supported your business?
Asha: I have a big family from my maternal side. My maternal side is super-supportive, and will always have my back, whatever the idea I have. They have been supportive. My father’s side – no. My father has never accepted my Christian faith, and because of that, I was ostracized from his household. Growing up, I was taken on by Mr. Sekeran and his family and they have been instrumental in my growth. I would be nowhere without the support of my maternal family and the Sekeran family which took me on.
DA: Do you involve your children in your business?
Asha: I used to, but then I realized that my business does not have to be their legacy. I now leave the choice to them – if I notice interest in my business, I will encourage it. If not, it doesn’t have to be my legacy, and they can make their own choices.
DA: Been meaning to ask – what is the name of the restaurant?
Asha: Cakely by Asha Batenga.
The café, Cakely by Asha Batenga, is located in Naguru, opposite Naguru Police Headquarters, just below Human Rights Commission and has opened its doors to the public.