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In this interview with Muhereza Kyamutetera, the Executive Editor of the CEO East Africa Magazine, she shares important insights on why God and business mix so well and how best, the faithful can leverage their work to build “God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven”.
What is the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Program about and why now?
The Faith Driven Entrepreneur movement is dedicated to partnering with Churches to support and equip their Christ-following entrepreneurs to find community and fulfil their God-given calling. This non-profit is on a mission to help shape and equip entrepreneurs who are shaping marketplace culture.
Just as the clergy are called to shepherd and meet the needs of their flock through the church, entrepreneurs are called to create solutions that meet the needs of their clients through their businesses. When entrepreneurs understand that their work is an act of worship and that God can work through them and their businesses to build His Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven, everything starts to change – outside and inside the walls of the church.
We believe that business has an enormous role to play in the economic, social, and spiritual transformation of the African continent and that the local church is a vital driver of supporting entrepreneurs. Uganda entrepreneurs have huge potential to transform their sectors and country for Christ and as one of the most entrepreneurial countries in Africa, we can and should be continental leaders in faith-driven entrepreneurship.
What challenges are you trying to solve?
Faith-driven entrepreneurs face a unique set of challenges that are often intertwined with their religious beliefs and values. These include;
- Balancing Faith and Business Ethics: Faith-driven entrepreneurs often grapple with ethical dilemmas in their business operations. They may face decisions that conflict with their religious principles, such as issues related to honesty, integrity, environmental stewardship, or social responsibility.
- Access to Capital: Like any other entrepreneur, faith-driven business owners require capital to start and grow their businesses. However, they might face challenges when seeking investment from secular investors who may not understand or share their faith-based vision.
- Maintaining Work-Life Balance: Balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with personal and spiritual commitments can be challenging while managing the demands of a growing business.
- Bridging the Gap Between Faith and Business: Faith-driven entrepreneurs may face challenges in integrating their religious values into the core mission and operations of their businesses. Striking a balance between faith and profitability can be difficult.
- Finding Support Networks: Connecting with like-minded individuals and support networks that understand the intersection of faith and entrepreneurship can be challenging. Building a community of peers and mentors who share their values is crucial.
- Staying Resilient: Entrepreneurship is inherently challenging and lonely. The faith-driven entrepreneurs may face additional spiritual and emotional challenges along the way. Maintaining resilience and faith in the face of adversity is critical.
How did it all start and who is championing this agenda?
Two years ago, I got together with a couple of friends and created the Uganda Chapter of the Faith-driven Entrepreneur movement. We registered a non-profit called the Kampala City Network. We are passionate about supporting the local church’s efforts at discipling and equipping entrepreneurs to be marketplace ministers through three main strategies: offering content, building community among entrepreneurs, and forming connections with like-minded partners. We offer a variety of group events, and content all of which are free. Our heart is to empower the church to see their entrepreneurs pursuing Christ fully in their businesses. The goal is to;
NSSF records UGX 2.53 trillion in revenue, savers to get competitive interest rate- Accelerate: Where we connect Christian entrepreneurs, investors, churches and organizations in the movement to go further and faster together.
- Encourage: Curate and share stories in person and on video to highlight what God is doing locally through the faith-driven community. Offering those stories up as an act of worship and encouragement.
- Reinvigorate: Bring new life to existing Christian groups that are lagging or entrepreneurs who are disconnected from the community locally or in their church through our various meaningful activities.
- Partnering: To see the church empowered and equipped to serve their entrepreneur community and engage deeply with a community of entrepreneurs in their local church which will see our city and communities transformed by a mobilised, courageous, and empowered entrepreneur community, walking in unity in their strong identity in Christ.
From the time of launch, what key milestones have you registered?
From the time we launched, we have seen entrepreneurs develop a deep community⏤ often they will unite across the church to form a network that includes investors, entrepreneurs, capacity builders, and others in the ecosystem who want to see their church and beyond transformed to see God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.
Our community is currently made of 122 entrepreneurs with a number of churches incorporating Faith-driven entrepreneurship principles in their marketplace ministries and a number of collaborations across different Christian associations.
These statistics show what impact the Faith Driven Entrepreneurs has on the community when the Church rallies to support them.
What insights have you gathered from the marketplace in terms of the need out there?
There are 582 million entrepreneurs worldwide and of these, we estimate 180 million are Christ-following entrepreneurs. If you add up all Christian organisations ministering to entrepreneurs across the world, they are only serving 0.3% of the entrepreneurs.
That means 99.7% of Christ-following entrepreneurs don’t have a community or resources to help them on this journey.