Time elasticity in Uganda and other cultural specialties

After working together for some weeks now we know each other and the other “side’s” culture pretty well.

Our team consists of Louis, Isaac, Liza and Christina.

Louis and Isaac both study their Master in Accounting and Finance at MUBS, and Liza and Christina come from CBS, where they study Business and Development Studies.

It took us quite some time to settle on a research question but after some days of contacting people we finally settled for women entrepreneurs in the handicraft sector and the role of the associations they are members of. Little did we know that this might drive Liza and Christina into personal bankruptcy and that they might have to plead for reimbursement for research expenses from CBS later… The amount of basketry acquired is quite astonishing and there is not missing much for them to order a container to ship the goods back to Denmark!

Thanks to Isaac’s widespread contacts – he apparently knows everyone in this country and is very important, judging from his constant phone calls ;-) – three team members could make an excursion to Fort Portal to visit rural handicraft groups there, and on the upside see some more of this beautiful country. On this trip Liza and Christina also learned Ugandan time elasticity the hard way: We were supposed to meet at 5:45am at the bus to Fort Portal and of course the northern Europeans were there 5:42 sharp, sitting in the bus, ready to go – Isaac nowhere to be found.

15 “I’m on my way”-Ugandan-minutes later (translated that means he probably woke up with the first call he got at 5:45am and was on the Boda Boda, the motorbike taxis, when he got the third phone call 45 minutes later) at 6:45am he finally reached the bus and of course the bus, that was scheduled to leave at 6am did not move until 7am. The Danish-German Alliance also learned and punctuality is not one of their best traits anymore – we definitely came closer in terms of time interpretation. 

Unfortunately Louis had to stay home so she missed all the fun of being lost in translation among a group of women producers trying to talk to you in their local language, as well as food misunderstandings for dinner. The concept of having only salad for dinner and not something very extensive like Matooke and/or a huge pile of meat is somewhat strange to the locals, therefore Liza and Christina’s question for “just some salad” was commented with some serious eyebrow action that was hardly interpretable, since a single lift of the eyebrows is commonly understood as a “yes” in Uganda.

Meanwhile the research went pretty well and we gained some interesting insights, paired with serious continuous expenses on basketry and interesting Matatu and Boda Boda rides. At some point one Boda driver explained to us that Boda Boda loading is a little like playing Tetris – and we believed every word he said, especially after seeing a Boda being transported on a Boda, thus resulting in a Boda Boda Boda? Additionally, taking the right Matatu taxi is a challenge for Liza and Christina, because they just cannot understand how Louis and Isaac can make out “Bugolobi” as a destination when it sounds to the rest of us more like “slap slap slap”…

We are all very sad that our time together is almost over but we will never forget how much fun it was to learn from each other and work together on this awesome project!

A GROUP THAT DEFINES DIVERSITY TO THE DOT

Our group is made up of Marco Pedro Enrique Rodriguez from Mexico, Alison from France, Grace the Ugandan and Steve from Rwanda. Our research topic was business to business impact on knowledge and technology transfer. Working on this research has really been an experience indeed that it became interesting that approaches to the research are so different it became so real at the beginning when we had to form the research question and then the MUBS group had a very structured method whereas the CBS group had a more liberal approach to designing the whole research. We had a lot a lot to learn from each other which was so interesting.

 

The research was very interesting in that we even had to move on bodabodas (motor cycles) in the rain to go to one of the companies to get our data. From Bugolobi to kinawataka at standard signs. It was a story to create memories

The whole field joint experience was very good because some members had never gone to the field to carry out research hence they got the feel of the whole research and the challenges involved.

On the other hand we had an opportunity to get to know ourselves more. This involved finding out about ourselves for example one of us has a name like ‘US MAIL’ and it is pronounced as “USMAIL”. We got close and hang out together too. The MUBS team took the CBS team around town for some coffee and African craft shopping. 

And last but not least..

The fantastic 4 – or Mercy, Brian, Christina and Viktoria, as people also tend to call us J During the past 2 weeks we have been researching about youth entrepreneurship with a particular focus on the KCCA Youth Fund, a government initiative from 2011/12, launched to fight youth unemployment in Kampala.

Christina and Brian during the group interview at Natete market.

Throughout the field research we have talked to both government officials, Youth leaders from Kampala’s different divisions as well as young entrepreneurs, who have been involved with the Fund. And in spite of a limited time frame we have learnt a great deal about the challenges that young entrepreneurs face. During a group interview we held at Natete Market we asked the entrepreneurs to make a priority list of skill they found important to become a successful entrepreneur. The discussion between them was lively and even though the interview was in Luganda, everyone could feel the engagement and heat. After the interview the group asked us how we would prioritize the list, and in that way they involved us. Given the different cultural backgrounds we had all different opinions on which skills was more important than others, which made it very interesting. 

The Muslim family – the Gadahfi mosque.

But in between our hectic field research we also had time to eat lunch at the ministry of finance and planning (fancy fancy) and also visited the Gadaffi mosque, where we got a chance to play Muslims. The girls got dressed up from top to toe: Christina as the “barbie muslim”, Mercy the “Masitula” meaning  something in Muslim that we have already forgotten (sorry) and Viktoria just as “muslim Viktoria”– only Brian was allowed to walk around in his normal clothes. A fun experience.

Being the last group posting our experiences on this blog, we would like to thank everyone for making this trip and this collaboration between MUBS and CBS possible. Webale! Tak!

Mercy, Viktoria and Brian working very hard at Annex.

Blog Post Entry by Mathieu, Edwin, Filip and Mary

The group consisting of Mathieu, Edwin, Filip and Mary was researching about access to finance and we were dealing with SACCOS.

The group first had to come together and put forward a clear framework to be followed while in the field. This involved knowing clearly our objectives and what we wanted answered.

We were at the Uganda cooperatives and savings society in Maganjo, the headquarters of SACCOs, where we were seeking information in regards to activities, contacts, and the role of SACCOS.

We received valuable information that helped us have a more clear understanding of the SACCOS.

Our next visit saw us at Wandegeya market SACCO which is one that is composed of traders from Wandegeya. Despite the rains that at times made it tricky to visit the markets, we  were able to visit various traders and we were taken to members by a member of the SACCO management who was the Manager and this was very helpful with cooperation from many of the traders. The respondents were dealing in foodstuffs, there were special hire drivers, saloon, matooke and restaurant owners who all were benefiting from the SACCO.

We also visited Nakawa market which also had a SACCO that consisted of traders who were dealing in a variety of commodities including fruits, vegetables, household items and foodstuffs.

The enthusiasm of the team and the determination of members also had us utilize any opportunities to deepen our understanding o our research area and this involved meeting of numerous individuals who  had been in SACCOS.

However, this is not to say we had a smooth ride all the way, we were facing some unwelcome interruptions and inconveniences like the rain, sometimes we some team members were kept waiting in different places like it was in Wandegeya so as to link up and do the work together, but that surely could not stop the team from settling the issue at hand which was to understand the workings and impact of SACCOS.

Edwin Napakor

Team member

Experiences by Group 7- Sharon, Gerald, Karoline and Cecilia

“What drives me is the change I can make for this person” –Monica-

And what drives us are these kinds of stories when we are racing around out in the field trying to catch the stories of Kampala’s social entrepreneurs. This, in addition to, a fantastic group spirit and collaboration! But doing interviews in Kampala’s heat can also be tiring:

Siesta-time!

 We, Sharon, Gerald, Karoline and Cecilia, are investigating the understanding of social entrepreneurship in Uganda and trying to find out what motivates these entrepreneurs. Our project has already taken us on several adventures in and outside Kampala, including a visit to Buloba where one entrepreneur has set up an additional business to his coffee roasting. By using agricultural residues such as g-nut (peanut) shells to make fire briquettes, he is not only conserving the environment, but also empowering women who help collect and supply the production.

 

Gerald and the G-nut shells

The next visit led us to Makerere campus where the “Muzungos” were surprised to find a community of approximately 500 support staff and families living inside the campus area (under rather precarious conditions). Monica, a very inspiring lady, is through her catering business, training and employing the community women in making ‘fireless cookers’. This not only provides them with an additional income, but also gives them a name and makes them feel important, when muzungos like Karo and Cecilia come to visit!   

Mary and Karo bonding, with the fireless cookers in front. Sharon busy documenting on the left. 

The group with Monica (in front) and two of her female collaborators

We are looking forward to a new week full of action and hopefully a lot of interesting interviews!

No day will pass by without seeing the sun

Us after the field

Buon Giorno, Grüß Gott, Osuzotya from the italo-austrian-Ugandan group.

We would like to focus in todays blog post on the differences and difficulties in intercultural group work. Before coming to Uganda we were taught about challenges in intercultural group work, about language barriers and different mentalities.

To be able to do so, we will give you a brief introduction on our team members.

Moses, 30, from Arua in Northern Uganda, working as an accountant for an NGO and studying Finance at MUBS.

Gloria, 26, from Arua in Northern Uganda, working as lecturer at Makerer University Business School in Statistics and studying Economics.

Massimiliano, 26, from Modena, Italy, working as Pizzarista and studying Business and Development Studies.

Johannes, 25, from Nenzing, Austria, volunteering at BetterNow and studying Business and Development Studies.

Well, what were the biggest challenges after 10 days of working in a multicultural team?

Skin color – as „Muzungos“ Massimiliano and Johannes are definitely attracting attention on the market and interviews get interrupted by marriage proposals and attempts to kidnapping.

Speed – while the Austrian way of walking is pretty fast, the Ugandan speed is more comparable to a snail about to fall asleep. Even finding a middle-way is almost impossible.

Language barrier – working with Ugandans not able to communicate with local Ugandans due to different languages in North and Central Uganda, but also missing English skills on Italian-side are a challenge we have to overcome.

But life in this amazing country, with amazing ever-smiling people and not a single day without the sun smiling down on us and giving us severe sunburns, would be almost boring without those little challenges making work in the field fun.

Moses in the Field

Experiences by Group 4 – Shakira, Deborah, Anna and Hanna

It’s Wednesday March 20 and it’s now our turn to introduce ourselves and our area of research.  Our group consists of Shakira and Deborah from MUBS and Anna and Hanna from CBS. Shakira and Deborah are both doing a Master in Business Administration, while Anna and Hanna are studying Business and Development Studies back home. We are a group of four women, doing our research project about women. The topic we decided to focus on is successful female entrepreneurs in Uganda since we wanted to understand what barriers entrepreneurial women in Uganda are facing and how they have overcome them.

Finding ourselves having worked together on the project for a week and a half now, progress can definitely be seen (apart from the fact that all the MUBS students are still having some problems differentiating Anna and Hanna from one another). We have managed to interview some of the most interesting and determined women in Uganda, and more interviews are scheduled. With the project deadline in less than one week, it seems like all groups are doing well but feeling the pressure.

Coming from different countries and cultural backgrounds definitely contributes positively to the research. Without Deborah and Shakira’s help, especially with regards to contacting companies/organizations and finding the way to meetings, it is safe to say that Hanna and Anna would have pulled their hair out long ago!

This experience and the new-established friendships will not be forgotten.

Interview with the Ms Julian Adyeli commonly known as Maama Cheers!!