By Gift Kalikulali
Food vendors have added a new dimension to this semester’s Uganda Christian University (UCU) bazaar, giving students more choices while creating a new market for food businesses and student entrepreneurs. The bazaar, held at UCU in Mukono, has attracted vendors selling food such as waffles, pizza and other meals alongside businesses dealing in clothes, shoes, accessories and other products.
Although UCU already has restaurants serving students on campus, the food vendors have added another option, with some offering food at prices that students find affordable.
For Racheal Karungi, a Third year law student who visited the bazaar, convenience is one of the main reasons she enjoys the event.
“Since the bazaar is within the university, it saves me the time and cost of travelling to different places,” she said.
Racheal said having many businesses in one place also makes it easier for students to find what they need without travelling to different shops or markets.
However, she noted that prices remain a big concern, saying some products at the bazaar can cost more than similar products outside the university.
For food vendors, the bazaar has provided an opportunity to reach a large student community, but the experience has also come with challenges.
Zikula Catering Service, which provides catering services at bazaars and expos in places such as Mbarara and Lukunjiri, was participating at UCU for the first time.
The team said they learnt about the bazaar through friends who gave them a contact to use when making inquiries.
“This was our first time coming here. Our friends told us about the bazaar and gave us the contact we used to make inquiries,” one of the vendors said.
However, the excitement of getting a new market was followed by difficulties.
The vendor said some of the rules and requirements were not clearly communicated before they arrived. They only learnt about some restrictions after coming to the bazaar.
One of the major challenges was being told that they could not use firewood or charcoal for cooking.
“The organisers did not clearly explain the rules and requirements to us before we came,” the vendor said.
The team said the restriction affected their preparations because their experience at other bazaars had been different.
They said they had expected the arrangements at UCU to be similar to other places where they had provided catering services.
At one point, the difficulties became serious enough for the team to consider asking for their money back, although their request was not accepted.
Their experience points to the need for better communication between bazaar organisers and vendors before businesses arrive and set up.
While established businesses are looking for customers, the bazaar is also giving students an opportunity to try their hands at business.
Daisy Nyangoma, a student vendor, said she joined the bazaar because she wanted to work, earn money and show her family that she was becoming independent.
“I have the heart of working, and I wanted my family to see that I am working and trying to become independent,” Daisy said.
But running a stall has its own financial pressure.
Daisy said vendors have to pay for tables and space, costs that can force them to increase the prices of their products so they can recover their expenses and make a profit.
Despite the challenge, she said the experience is important to her because it allows her to work and gain experience while still a student.
The Guild President said the increase in vendor participation was partly caused by a change in how the Guild mobilised businesses.
“This time round, we changed the model of mobilisation. We reached out to vendors personally,” he said.
He said the Guild is targeting Shs7 million from this semester’s bazaar, compared with a Shs5 million target in the previous semester.
The increased presence of food vendors has therefore changed the feeling of the UCU bazaar without taking the place of the university’s existing restaurants.
For students, the vendors mean more choice. For businesses, they provide access to a ready market. For student entrepreneurs like Daisy, the bazaar offers a chance to work, learn and become more independent.
Behind the food stalls are people with different hopes — vendors trying to earn a living, students looking for affordable choices and young entrepreneurs trying to build something of their own.
The bazaar is therefore becoming more than a place where students buy things. It is also becoming a space where businesses meet students, opportunities are created and young people get a chance to take their first steps into the world of business.
