After much consideration, he decided on pitching the idea of starting a sign language cafe, to both empower people with hearing impairments economically not only, but to also provide them with a comfortable and friendly environment where they could interact with one another, raise awareness about the Deaf community, and interact with members of the hearing world. Nasser is a longtime coffee lover and knew that a cafe was the best way to achieve his goals.
“Growing up, my family was involved in coffee farming so I have always loved it. The aroma, the financial opportunity from the coffee value chain; I knew I had to develop an idea around coffee.”
Nasser’s pitch was successful, and he received the funding to make his dream a reality. There was only one challenge, he lacked the industry knowledge to get things started. To facilitate the professional development that he needed to launch his business, Endiro Coffee stepped in and allowed Nasser to train with them for several months to learn the ins and outs of running a successful cafe.
Endiro Coffee is a company that aims to end child vulnerability globally through coffee, and works with coffee farmers in Budduda and Bukalasi in Eastern Uganda to provide a stable and reliable market for their produce that is sold in Endiro’s coffee shops and other retailers. Endiro also provides employment opportunities to vulnerable youth that grew up in impoverished conditions; breaking the cycle of poverty in their families and communities.
“When I approached Gloria, the manager of Endiro, and told her about my plans, she advised me to first gain experience in running the business, right from service, to production, to financial management. She offered me an opportunity to work at one of the Endiro restaurants, which I did and I am glad.”
After extensive training, Nasser and Endiro Coffee together launched its first sign language cafe in September 2020 as a prototype to prepare Nasser to open a shop of his own. The cafe employed four Deaf baristas and had no hearing staff members at all. They employed a number of creative communication solutions in the branch to ensure that the customer experience was as enjoyable as possible.
Some of the solutions include a whiteboard for communicating with the waitstaff, paper order sheets on every table, and post-it notes for easy conversation. The cafe is beautifully decorated with posters teaching cafe-goers sign language and encouraging them to practice.
Sign language boards, sticky notes and order sheets are some of the means of communication used at the cafe.
Conveniently located in Nakasero, an upscale neighbourhood close to the central business district of Kampala, the cafe has been a hit for office workers in the area, has built a loyal customer base, and has become a popular spot for meetings.
The success of the cafe has had an impact on other local businesses. The Sign Language Cafe has inspired two neighboring businesses to hire employees with hearing impairments as well, after seeing the ability-in-action of the baristas at Endiro.
“Coming to the sign language café, I have learned some signs, like 'thank you' and 'good morning'!”
“The deaf community is so happy. I get wonderful feedback. Some think I am rich now but I tell them that this project is not about me as a person. This is about them. This business concept is meant to create awareness and open employment opportunities to more deaf people. If this concept continues well, many more will come on board. And that’s how we can Make the 12.4% Work.”
