Tereza Mbire (also known as Mama Mbire; born 25 December 1934) is a

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...

entrepreneur, presidential advisor and advocate. She is a co-founder of the Uganda Women's Finance and Credit Trust and founder of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs' Association Ltd.

Biography

Mbire started her studies at Butare Primary School and went to Rushoroza Girls' School for secondary school. She later trained as a teacher at Kinyamasika Tereza college. Mbire started her first business at 19 as a primary school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

in Kabale district, making dresses after school for sale. She left her teaching job to take advantage of the scholarship

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

was offering for people training in hotel management. She spent 2 years in Israel, receiving a diploma in hotel and tourism management from

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

's Tadmora hotel.After returning from Israel, Mbire became the first African executive housekeeper at the Apollo Hotel (now known as the Sheraton Hotel in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

), where she worked until 1973. She later joined Uganda Hotels and became a nationwide trainer for three years. Mbire has a professorship recognition from United Graduate and Seminar of America and was also a recipient of an honorary doctorate from Nkumba University in 2008. Furthermore, she started a flower shop, Kampala florist, becoming Uganda's first and only florist for close to 15 years. She later opened a

garments Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

' industry called Pop-in industry, a factory that tailored women's clothes, but was forced to change business after Idi Amin's soldiers looted 100 sewing machines and rendered 200 workers and Mbire jobless. Mbire tstarted "Home pride", a bakery that was the first to introduce sliced bread in Uganda. She later went into

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

with "Habitat interiors" by capitalizing on her experience arranging rooms at Sheraton Hotel. Mbire, alongside Ms Ida Wanendeya, Justice Mary Maitun, and Ms Mary Mulumba, co-founded the Uganda Women's

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

and credit Trust with a mission to offer collateral free loans to low income earners and more particularly women who had no collateral. Mbire received a global recognition Award for leading women entrepreneurs of the world from the star group of America and was recipient of the World of Difference Award at the International Global Alliance of Women Global Forum in Washington DC. She was also knighted by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

in 2021 for her work in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Personal life

Mbire was married to Possiano Mbire with whom she had 6 children and 10 grandchildren. Her husband died in 1985. The song "Maama Mbire" by

Bobi Wine Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan politician, singer, and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region. He also leads ...

and Juliana Kanyomozi was a dedication from her son

Charles Mbire Charles Magezi Mbire is a businessman, entrepreneur, and industrialist in Uganda. He was reported to be the wealthiest indigenous Ugandan, with an estimated net worth exceeding US$200 million as of January 2012. Background Mbire was born Charle ...

to celebrate her 70th birthday in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbire, Tereza 1934 births Living people 20th-century Ugandan women 20th-century Ugandan businesspeople