Juliet Namujju is the founder and CEO of Kimuli Collections, an eco-fashion enterprise in Uganda that employs people living with disabilities to create upcycled clothing, bags and accessories.
Processing cement bags to make laptop bags, shopping bags and backpacks.
“I grew up in poverty as an orphan with my single grandmother in a remote and rural village in Uganda,” shared Juliet.
Juliet's grandmother lived with disabilities and cultural stigmas impacted her opportunities for work. Her grandmother worked as a tailor, so as Juliet grew up she was inspired to create her own things. Due to the fact that they could not afford toys, Juliet recalls using cut-offs and plastic waste that she gathered from the streets to produce her own dolls. “What others threw away, I started to use as available resources to create something. This changed my mindset towards waste.”
In 2017, Juliet founded Kimuli Collections “to fight for the conservation of the environment and inclusion of persons with disabilities.” Juliet and her team train tailors living with disabilities in crafting everything from raincoats made from sugar sacks to hand-woven sun hats.
A Kimuli Collections team member sews a garment.
In the few years since its creation, Kimuli Collections has trained 96 tailors, upcycled 40,000 kilograms of plastic waste into 15,000 garments, and sold products in 15 stores with multiple large partners.
Juliet joined the Because Accelerator to develop her business strategy and reach an international market through more sales partners. She hopes to expand their market to Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania with more large shipping and fashion partnerships. Additionally, Juliet anticipates that Kimuli Collections will have their own production and training center by 2025.
The Because Accelerator is a completely free online training and mentorship program for entrepreneurs who have product-focused ideas and businesses in areas impacted by poverty.
