William George Amanyire had already started a poultry business before joining the WeWork – green and decent jobs for youth project. At the time, he was rearing 100 layers, but the business was proving difficult. “The layers were eating a lot, but after four months they had produced very few eggs,” he recalls.

When a friend shared information about the project, William applied and was selected. The WeWork project is implemented by Enabel in partnership with Ile de Paix and The Association of Rwenzori Community (RCA), with funding from the European Union and the Government of Belgium. Before attending the bootcamp, project staff visited his farm to understand his business and prepare him for training. According to Lamark Muhindo, a project officer from RCA, these visits help staff assess where each entrepreneur is starting from before the training begins.

During the five‑day residential bootcamp and the practical sessions that followed, William learnt more about poultry production and was introduced to broilers. “The training was very interactive. After learning about broilers, I realised they bring returns much faster than layers,” he says. Motivated by this new knowledge, he decided to change direction completely. William sold all his layers and used the money to buy 100 broiler chicks, adding another 100 chicks that he received as a start‑up kit through the project.

His enterprise grew further when he received a UGX 1 million micro‑grant (€239). The grant was awarded after Ile de Paix carried out assessments during mentorship sessions to identify youth with strong potential to expand their businesses, with the evaluation and selection process conducted by an independent firm to ensure fairness. William invested the grant in 200 Rainbow Roosters, a fast‑growing breed with strong market demand, which gave his business a major boost. Today, he keeps about 450 birds and has already placed an order for another 500 chicks. “The layers gave me a starting point, but broilers have helped me grow,” he explains.

One of the biggest challenges he continues to face is the high cost of feeds. To address this, Lamark introduced him to Azolla and hydroponic fodder, technologies he has started testing on his farm to reduce production costs. Azolla is a genus of tiny, fast-growing aquatic ferns, which float on the surface of freshwater and is highly prized in sustainable agriculture as a nutrient-rich livestock feed. On the other hand, Hydroponic fodder is fresh, sprouted cereal grain (like barley, maize, or oats) grown without soil using only water and trace nutrients. With these innovations, William is steadily building a more sustainable and profitable poultry business.

William has also built a strong customer network.He supplies restaurants, receives walk-in customers and regularly markets his birds door to door. He also exchanges customers with fellow poultry farmers he met through the bootcamp.

“If one farmer runs out of stock, they refer buyers to another", he says. The training also improved the way he manages his business. "Before, I was writing some records, but not in a systematic way. "Today, he uses a laptop to keep detailed records of income, expenditure, bird weights and even mortality. "When birds die, I record the cause so that I can avoid the same problem in future." William also saves UGX 30,000 (€7) every week through a savings group and hopes to access youth financing from Centenary Bank to improve his poultry structures.

A graduate of Industrial Art and Design, he chose poultry farming instead of pursuing his profession. Looking around his growing farm, he says he has no regrets!

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