Food is medicine," declares Scoviah Nakuti as she arranges shelves of nourishing food products at Abba Quality’s headquarters. The story of Abba Quality began in 2018 right from her home, born out of a deeply personal health crisis.
After giving birth to a fragile premature baby weighing less than a kilogram due to severe anemia, doctors tasked Scoviah with eating specialized nutritional foods to recover and produce milk. But finding accessible, nutrient-rich options proved shockingly expensive.
Determined to find a way forward, she consulted a nutritionist and began experimenting with affordable, locally available foods that could deliver the vital nutrients she and her baby needed. Within just two months of incorporating eggs, mukene (silver fish), coated peanuts, and a custom composite porridge into her diet, her blood levels rebounded, and her tiny newborn quickly climbed from 1 kilogram to a healthy 5 kilograms.
That personal triumph became her calling: the spark that ignited Abba Quality and a mission to transform the health of women of reproductive age and children across Uganda.
Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face
As the sole founder, Scoviah quickly took on multiple roles as a salesperson, a production person, accountant, and delivery person, all while balancing her responsibilities as a mother. The demand for Abba Quality products outpaced supply, leading to financial strain as many customers were accumulating debt.
“You walk into a financial institution seeking a loan to boost your business, but often the loan suffocates you, or you don’t receive the funds necessary for growth” Scoviah explains. Furthermore, Merab Twimomugisha, Team Lead at Finding XY, an entrepreneur support organization in Uganda, highlights that many women lack the collateral needed to secure financing.
IYBA WE4A Interventions: Women Entrepreneurship for Africa
When Scoviah Nakuti joined the IYBA WE4A programme by GIZ in February 2026, it marked a turning point for Abba Quality. Benefitting from tailored advisory and business development support, Scoviah marvels at how far her enterprise has evolved.
"In the past we were not keen on bookkeeping, but from the training, we have over five books in place, and the most amazing thing is that we have been able to separate personal finance from business finance," she reflects. For the first time, she learned the importance of founders paying themselves, a milestone she proudly reached in May 2026. Equipped with robust pricing models and up-to-date profit-and-loss tracking, her financial foundations are rock-solid.
Strategic support from Finding XY has simultaneously supercharged her market access, taking her from local shelves to international trade fairs like the Uganda Manufacturers Association Exhibition in Uganda and the Jua Kali East African Trade Show in Kenya. "I had never taken a flight, and I got an opportunity to go and sell my products in Nairobi. That made me feel like my business can take me to different nations. I also got a client that I send products to in Nairobi every week," Scoviah shares.
As Merab notes, "We are seeing businesses get their trademark and lots of improved financial access and management." Beyond business metrics, the training also champions sustainability. The need for cheaper fuel and exposure from various trade shows inspired Scoviah to recycle her food waste; into eco-friendly briquettes, creating a cheap alternative fuel source used both in her own operations and additional income from her sales local community members.
