Abel, the Soap maker who started with almost nothing to build Klean Star Products

November 15, 2025 in Companies, Trade & Industry by Editor

When Byamukama Abel arrived in Fort Portal eight years ago, he carried little more than a backpack, determination, and UGX 40,000. At 29, the soft-spoken entrepreneur from Maguru Village in Fort Portal City now heads Klean Star Products, a growing business with branches in three districts and customers across western Uganda. But the road here has been anything but straightforward.

Abel had moved from Ntungamo shortly after completing Senior Six, hoping to help his uncle start a business. When that plan collapsed, he suddenly found himself stranded, with no home and no clear path. A friend took him in, offering him space in an abandoned house—and a lifeline. The friend made liquid soap and encouraged Abel to learn the craft as a way to get back on his feet.

With his remaining savings, Abel bought a few ingredients and started experimenting. Within months, he was producing basic liquid soap, packaging it in recycled mineral water bottles, and walking door-to-door around Fort Portal City to sell it. Accessing finance proved far more difficult. A bank turned him away due to steep requirements, and the microfinance loan he eventually secured—UGX 480,000—was far short of what he needed. Still, he repaid it, hoping better opportunities would come.

They did. A friend pointed him to Equity Bank’s Youth Loan, and for Abel, it felt like a door finally opening. At the bank’s encouragement, he formed a small group and underwent Financial Literacy training. With group guarantors and close guidance from a Relationship Officer, he secured his first youth loan of UGX 2.5 million.

“It changed everything,” he recalls. More ingredients, better production capacity, improved branding—it all helped him reach new clients. A local women’s association soon invited him to train them in soap making, boosting his visibility. Orders began flowing in from hotels, supermarkets, and businesses in and around Fort Portal. He hired his first employee, initially part-time and later full-time.

As his confidence grew, so did the business. Abel went on to take a second loan of UGX 4.5 million to expand further. Over the years, he has accessed six youth loans and six digital loans from the bank, ranging between UGX 1 million and UGX 5 million. His working capital has steadily grown from UGX 1.5 million to about UGX 40 million today.

Klean Star Products now operates branches in Fort Portal (the main office), Kyenjojo, and Mbarara. The product line has broadened significantly—liquid soap, Jik, lotions, jellies, candles, shampoo, bar soap, and even raw materials for other soap makers. The business serves 11 districts and supplies hotels, supermarkets, bakeries, factories, and retail markets. Eight full-time employees now depend on the enterprise.

As the business flourished, Abel began investing back home. He now owns 10 cows in Ntungamo, managed by a hired herdsman. He has bought land near the highway, a car, and a motorbike for distribution. From sleeping in an abandoned house, he now lives comfortably in his own home.

For Abel, the transformation is personal but also communal. Young people in his village see him as proof that persistence can pay off, even from the most difficult starting point. And for him, Equity Bank’s Youth Loan remains a turning point—“the moment someone believed in me,” he says.

Looking ahead, Abel dreams of turning Klean Star into a fully-fledged factory supplying products nationwide and across borders. It is an ambitious vision, but if his journey from UGX 40,000 to a regional enterprise is anything to go by, he is well on his way.