Rolex vendors’ cooperative changes youth livelihoods in Busoga

JINJA CITY, October 20, 2026 — A youth group that started by selling Uganda’s popular street delicacy, known as Rolex, in Bugembe has grown into a cooperative with 845 members, creating employment and business opportunities for young people and farmers across the Busoga sub-region.

Busoroll Cooperative Society Limited started as a small group of Rolex vendors in Bugembe Trading Centre before expanding to several parts of Jinja City and Jinja District.

In Uganda, Rolex is a popular local delicacy made by wrapping an egg omelette and vegetables in a soft chapati. It has become a source of income for thousands of young people across the country.

The business later expanded into different suburbs of Jinja before spreading to Iganga and Kamuli districts, creating employment for young people while establishing links with farmers, food suppliers and other entrepreneurs along the food value chain.

The cooperative, now based in Jinja City, subsequently received training and support under the Stimulating Agribusiness for Youth Employment [SAYE] project, implemented by Heifer International Uganda.

The cooperative’s chairperson, Eve Nabirye, said the youths were initially organised into groups and trained in savings, bookkeeping, business management and record-keeping.

“The training supported by the SAYE project helped us manage our businesses better,” Nabirye said.

The members had previously operated individually from roadside spaces, but were forced to leave after local governments introduced trade-order arrangements.

Nabirye said the challenge prompted the vendors to combine their efforts and establish a cooperative.

“We realised that we were quite a number and an opportunity to join hands and form a cooperative society,” she said.

The cooperative has since established Busoroll Restaurant in Jinja City, where it serves a variety of meals, including beef and chicken Rolex, alongside other dishes.

A beef or chicken Rolex costs Shs20,000, while an ordinary meal costs about Shs 27,000.

Nabirye said the restaurant sells an average of 15 to 20 Rolex rolls a day, including orders delivered outside Jinja City, although attracting more customers remains one of its major challenges.

The cooperative currently has at least 845 members in Jinja, Iganga, Kamuli and Mayuge districts and has accumulated Shs87 million in savings.

Busoroll Cooperative field manager Mukose Alfred said the cooperative had created opportunities not only for young people but also for farmers and suppliers of raw materials such as flour, chicken, beef, vegetables and spices.

“Rolex needs a lot of products — chicken, beef and vegetables. There is a whole value chain behind this business,” he said.

Through the SAYE project, the cooperative has established partnerships with suppliers and farmers producing Irish potatoes, onions, tomatoes and cassava for snacks, as well as beef, sausages and poultry products.

Ephraim Kirya, head of the Marketing and Production Department in Iganga district, said Busoroll Cooperative demonstrated how collective action among young people could improve livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction at community level.

“This is a challenge to all of us, not to wait to be challenged before making steps that would change our fortunes,” he said.

The Stimulating Agribusiness for Youth Employment [SAYE] project is a five-year initiative established in 2023 and running until 2029 to support young people with enterprising ideas.

It is implemented by Heifer International Uganda in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and consortium partners, including ASIGMA Group, CURAD, FSME and FSDU.

The youth-focused initiative seeks to improve young people’s livelihoods by helping them access employment and enterprise opportunities in the agribusiness sector.

https://thecooperator.news/cooperatives-could-help-tackle-global-hunger-report-says/

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