Kampala — When Eunice Namugerwa, an 18-year-old living in Kampala's Kisenyi slum, decided to start a business to support her family last August, she scrawled three ideas down on a bit of scrap paper: a piggery, a fashion boutique and a chicken farm. Little did she know that her entrepreneurial spirit would lead her to inspire others by speaking at TEDx Kampala.

Namugerwa began her business out of need. Her father, the family breadwinner, died of an HIV-related illness in 2004. And by 2012, her HIV-positive mother was too ill to work any longer.

"It was really so difficult because there were so many challenges for me," Namugerwa says. "There's child abuse. The environment is not good, it's too dirty. You're always affected by disease. We could have starved at home. I didn't want this kind of thing, begging for money. I looked for a way out."

All three ideas would be hard, but Namugerwa had overcome many hurdles before. Despite being thrown out of school several times when her family could not afford the fees, she learnt to play the flute and guitar through The Butterfly Project, which trains young people to become social entrepreneurs.

After discovering her singing talent, the project decided to pay her fees and Namugerwa became a student at the Kampala Music School. In 2011 she established her own project to support disadvantaged children by training them in singing, dancing, acting and sports.

The chicken farm

But for her next venture, she had to do something for her family. So she drew up three budgets, one for each idea. The student, who is in upper form six, the equivalent of a finishing school, was not sure there was a market for a clothes shop and thought buying piglets for a piggery would be too expensive. After looking over her plans, Namugerwa concluded that a chicken farm would require the least capital.

Around the same time she met Tiarna Elmer, a British primary school teacher and volunteer for Mengo Youth Development Link, which works in Kampala's to enhance the education and sporting talents of children. Elmer gave Namugerwa 1.5 million Ugandan shillings (576 dollars) to buy some chicks and rent a small piece of land in Wakiso District, which is a 30-minute drive from the Kisenyi slum. She started the farm with broilers last December and she later bought layers.

"Nowadays in Uganda eggs are expensive to buy; one costs 400 Ugandan shillings (15 cents)," Namugerwa explains. "Whenever they lay eggs, I sell the eggs, bringing in some money."

Today Namugerwa has 200 chickens on her farm, which she runs on the weekends and during holidays. The rest of the time her 23-year-old brother holds the fort. Rent for the land is 11 dollars a month and the pair, along with their 22-year-old sister, have also started a DVD shop near the farm.

Hurdles and support along the way

The budding entrepreneur has not made any money yet, but hopes to starting earning about a million Ugandan shillings in two months' time. She will give the money to her mum, who used to fry chips at the local market for an income, but is now bedridden

"She is ever so sick, but says she's very happy with the idea because now we no longer struggle much with food," says Namugerwa, who still lives in Kisenyi."Most of my friends are proud of what I do. Some want to be like me, they say 'I want to do the same things you're doing.'"

Of course there have also been hurdles along the way. Namugerwa mentions the problem of disease taking its toll among the chicks, as well as the cost of feeding them.

"They eat so much, so you always have to buy food for them. But it's not hard. Everything has its challenges," she explains.

It is important, Namugerwa says, for young women to have support. "I'd like to see more women engaging in farming and also in business. I'd like to encourage more Ugandans to come up with solutions [to problems]," she says.

Popular Ugandan entertainer Annet Nandujja is one of Namugerwa's role models. The musician, in her 50s, has had a chicken farm for eight years in Kampala.

Meanwhile, many of Namugerwa's friends have left school and become pregnant.

"They've dropped out because they cannot afford the school fees. They can't afford to eat," she says. "Boys disturb them. They decided 'maybe let me go to this man and get some money'. They end up getting pregnant. That's a big challenge."