Muhammed Dimma Mawejje is the founder and leader of Mawejje Creations, a social enterprise that creates jobs for young people in Uganda by making products out of banana fibers. 

Dimma is passionate about job creation and sustainable employment opportunities for young people throughout Uganda. He works at Kyusa, a nonprofit in Kampala “that empowers out of school youth in urban slums to turn their passions into sustainable careers.”

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND MAWEJJE CREATIONS

Uganda is the second largest producer of bananas in the world. “As much as this is great,” Dimma shares, “it creates tons of waste in the form of stems and stocks which have been left over to decompose, thus emitting a huge amount of methane gas and carbon dioxide.”

Instead of being wasted and harming the environment, the banana byproducts can be used as valuable material to make a wide range of products, from rugs to lampshades.

About banana production, Dimma adds, “In the midst of such abundance, youth unemployment stands at 83 percent. And eight out of 10 women in Uganda practice agriculture with bananas as the main crop but still live below the poverty line.”

Dimma works to solve these problems, both social and environmental, with one innovative solution: Mawejje Creations. The enterprise teaches useful skills to young people and banana farmers in rural and urban areas of Uganda.

Mawejje Creations develops affordable banana fiber products—rugs, clocks, papers, lampshades, curtains, and more—to sell to “households, restaurants, tourists, craft shops, and hotels.”

MUHAMMED’S EXPERIENCE IN THE BECAUSE ACCELERATOR

Dimma joined Because International’s Because Accelerator in the fall of 2020. “I wanted to understand my problem and product I am offering,” he shares. 

“The Accelerator came in place where I needed it,” Dimma reflects. Not only was he able to meet his learning goals, but Dimma was also surprised to be mentored by an entrepreneur who has inspired him for a long time.

In the upcoming years, Dimma hopes to change the fashion and textile industry with banana fiber, divert agricultural waste, and continue to expand sustainable employment opportunities for women and young people in Uganda.

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.