Oregon Company Changes Lives of Ugandan Women

The women Sseko Designs supports today will not make sandals forever...

Ugandan women who have completed their Sseko work program earning funds to support their university education.

(PORTLAND, OR) - Some of the brightest and most committed young women in Uganda are getting a chance to continue their education thanks to Sseko Designs and the sale of their unique handmade sandals and fashion here in the U.S.

Every year, women in Uganda struggle to fund their university education after completing secondary school.  Though the nine-month gap between the two education programs is designed to allow students time to work and save for their education, it doesn’t always work out that way.  In an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time and often miss out on completing their schooling.

Enter Sseko Designs, a footwear and accessories company based in Portland with offices in Uganda and a mission to use fashion to empower and educate women in Uganda to end the cycle of poverty.

Sseko recently won the “Jumpstart Campaign,” a national contest hosted by Blue Collar Interactive to find an inspirational small business and give them a jumpstart in 2013. They will receive $100,000 in free agency services from Oregon-based digital marketing agencies, Blue Collar Interactive and SwellPath, to help them grow their business online and take their e-commerce business to the next level.

"Sseko demonstrated their passion as an emerging company in a challenging market with an incredible mission that carries through to their brand and products. It's refreshing and inspiring to see a company creating beautiful, handcrafted products while making a positive impact on the world. We're excited to help them grow their business," said Rob McCready, partner and account director with Blue Collar Interactive.

“Sseko-Blue Collar” – Sseko Designs and Blue Collar Interactive develop strategies to take Sseko’s ecommerce business to the next level.

Sseko’s program supports and hires recent secondary school graduates for a nine month period to live and work together to create handmade sandals and other fashion items, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. 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.

Sseko spent the last three years creating an infrastructure for manufacturing and export to build a sustainable new industry for the East African community. Since their launch, demand for Sseko products has always outpaced supply. Now that Sseko employs 40 women and is the largest exporter of footwear in the country, it is positioned to produce at a larger scale to meet demand.

Winning the JumpStart campaign will help Sseko fuel their online marketing strategy to increase their sales and employ more women. They will be using their $100,000 in-kind award to work with Blue Collar and SwellPath to give their website a complete overhaul to integrate a scalable e-commerce platform and mobile design along with a digital marketing push that will include social media integration and SEO.

“This is super exciting for us. The $100,000 will help us establish a stronger online presence to tell our story, create more demand and potentially employ thousands of women in Uganda,” said Liz Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs.

The women Sseko Designs supports today 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.