{UAH} Success Story: How Mpaata Nelson defeated poverty to become Country’s top Car dealer

In a village where he grew up from, down in Kamuli, driving was a preserve for the superrich only heard about in stories. At home, it was hard to dream even at a small length. There was never time for dreams as he preoccupied himself with sourcing for daily food.

Mpaata revealed that his parents were very poor to an extent that the family could go for several days without having food. "We had to work blue jobs in the village to be able to earn some nickels to buy food," Mpaata said.

However,Mpaata has left that life far behind, foggy and almost erased from memory. Things have really turned up on a good side for Mpaata . He doesn't only drive; as matter of fact, he doesn't only drive, he deals in car importation and exportation of goods under his company, Mpaataneel Company Ltd, a business that has gained trust as one of the best car dealers in Uganda.

How it all started

Mpaata told Kampala Sqoop that after he left the village, his first job was working in an internet café where he was employed by a friend. The business according to Mpaata, deteriorated when the owner used the money from it to invest in a pyramid scheme, losing all money in the process. As a result,the business collapsed and this meant Mpaata had to hit the road in search of a new job. This led him to KFC in 2014 where he worked as a waiter.

At KFC, Mpaata recalls doing pretty much everything; waiter and worked in the kitchen as well. "That wasn't all, I also went around vending chicken," Mpaata narrates.

Mpaata goes ahead revealing that he acquired a loan of Shs1M at KFC which he used to set up a small salon in Kinawataka, Kireka a Kampala suburb where he worked as a nail technician, a skill he had acquired from a friend.

The salon though wasn't making money as he had expected and that prompted him to apply for a job at Caduum, a company that deals in importation of cars.

Fortunately,let's say luck was on his side, Mpaata was successful and was let in to work at Cadum and while there,he worked as a sales person for a short time before he would be fired.

Mpaata told our reporter that he was fired only after three months having failed to hit the targets.

"We were expected to sell at least 30 cars every month. I never even sold half of that while I was there," he said.

"My dismissal at Cadum was a blessing in disguise," he recalls. He remembers using the knowledge gained from Cadum to establish himself as a car dealer.

After successfully Indulging in the business of importation for some time. One of Mpaata's friends suggested that it could really look cool if they registered 'Mpaataneel,' as a company and start trading professionally. I didn't take it serious at first,but I finally thought it necessary that It was high time I took his advice and registered it in 2018.

Why Mpaataneel of all names?

Well, Mpaataneel comes from a combination of my name, Mpaata Nelson and I decided to call it my name following what I went through way back when I was completely hopeless.

Mpaataneel he says has has grown from employing one person (himself) to over 10 people today. They do not only import cars, but also help anyone who would want shipped in or out of the country. Importing cars, however, stands as the flagship service for the company.

The company is a certified BE FORWARD agent in Uganda. Mpaataneel also deals is tours and travel.

What do you think put Mpaataneel where it is?

"When I joined the business, I figured that there was a challenge of delayed
delivery of cars from Mombasa to Kampala. Most companies or traders will take a month or more to import the car here from Mombasa. At Mpaataneel, we take only three days or even less," said Mpaata.

Why do makes people trust your company that much?

Trust is something you gain from doing want is right to people and this case clients, it's something you buy or pay a bribe for,no,it automatically comes from people who see you and how you do about different things in life. And the reason many trust Mpaataneel is simply because we never disappoint, People give us alot of money to bring them cars, and we deliver."

Most people look at car business lucrative,what do you make of it?

Well,for sure,there is no smooth business in this World more so one that involves clients trusting you with huge sums of money.but like I said before,it all goes back to trust, dedication and consistency.
Mpaataneel,just like any other company out there faces a number of challenges on daily basis, but the most persistent is the inconsistent systems at Uganda Revenue Authority.

"Many times the system goes off and takes weeks to be restored. This affects the clearance of imports. URA also keep increasing taxes, and this puts us in a bad situation with clients especially after we have already discussed the price to import the car."

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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