Global Sistergoods Blog

Here at Global Sistergoods, we are lucky to be part of a growing movement of change for women the world over. I recently had the honor of meeting Liz Forkin, founder of SSkeo Designs. Sskeo makes the cutest sandals ever while providing young women in Uganda with an income and a bridge to university.

If you happen to find yourself in Kampala, Uganda, make your way to the Old Taxi Park. From there, grab a taxi van to Matuga. Jump off at the end of the line, and hop on a boda boda to the Cornerstone Leadership Academy. After a (bumpy) ride along a dirt road, you will find yourself in the company of some of the most intelligent and committed young women in Uganda. These women are graduates of the Cornerstone Leadership Academy and employees of Sseko Designs.

Sseko {say.co} Designs was created as a Not-Just-For-Profit business that will help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko Designs is a for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country’s educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.

Tell me about sseko designs. What inspired you to create this business benefitting young women in Uganda?

Sseko Designs was really born out of a desire to see the bright young women who had become dear friends during my time in Uganda have the same access and opportunity to pursue a higher education that I was afforded. The girls are so equipped to succeed and become the leaders of their country. However, in order for that to happen, it is vital that they have the same access to training and education as the men around them.

How many girls have you helped so far? Can you share any success stories?

We currently have three girls who are making Sseko Sandals.  We just found out that two of our women (Mercy and Rebbecca) have been accepted to their first choice universities and will be starting this fall.  We are waiting to hear if Mary has been accepted, but we are very confident she has!

What are the challenges of starting up this kind of social enterprise?

Trying to manufacture a product in a country that manufactures very little means there are a myriad of challenges in the way of supply chains, logistics etc.  We incur much higher costs and decreased efficiently because of where we have chosen to work, our model, and our commitment to making the women a priority. The communication to Uganda, as you can imagine, is quite unreliable, which means that even everyday tasks can become a challenge!

What has been your biggest lesson learned?

Wow.  That is hard. I have probably learned more in the last 6 months than I have in my entire education! My eyes have really been opened to how when you are creative and willing to take higher-than-normal risks, businesses can be such a powerful force for social change. I was very adament that I would work exclusively in the non-profit sector, but have really been challenged in this thinking because of my experience.  I have really been influenced by people such as Jacqueline Novogratz (founder of the Acumen Fund and author of the book The Blue Sweater) who are using micro-finance and venture capitalism as a means to economic development in developing economies. When you give someone an opportunity to work and save for something greater, there is a level of dignity and trust that really changes the dynamic of a relationship.

Any advice for others who would like to start something similar?

Take the first step! You will never feel like you know enough or have a solid enough plan.  There are things you can only learn by diving in and taking risks.  If you wait until you think you have it figured out, you will never do anything! I would say, up until this point in my life, I was terrified of failure.  It has become such a part of my everyday life, that I have no choice to see failure as an opportunity and signal to be even more creative, persistent and innovative.  It feels nice not to have the monster hiding in the closet any more.

What are the next steps for Sseko?

The next step for Sseko is expansion.  We would like to invest some capital into the company and grow to the point where we would be able to offer any young woman that graduates from the leadership academy an opportunity to work for Sseko Designs to earn money towards their education. We are also excited about growing our in-country internship program and allowing more young women to participate in Sseko in ways that align with their future goals: accounting, management, fashion etc.

Thanks, Liz, for making a difference in the lives of women!