Investing on the Uganda Securities Exchange....UMEME IPO

Hey Dolls,

Hoping to raise capital on the Ugandan market, Umeme, a power distributing company, has made an  Initial Public Offer (IPO) following approval from the Capital Markets Authority and the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). About 622.38 million shares are being sold at Shs 275 each. The last time the USE had an IPO offer was 3 years ago. I was living hand to mouth then and had no savings to speak of. This time round I am well equipped.I have been religiously putting aside money for the baby. I don't believe in just letting it sit on a bank  account making the institution richer while it earns pitiful interest so this is a superb opportunity for me/baby(It's not my money technically).

I am quite reliably informed on the happenings of the stock exchange as a result of my own research and taking part in a few financial workshops so this is an easy decision for me to take. But this morning, I decide to look at this IPO from a layman's point of view. So I set about reading up on the offer and the USE in general. At first I was shocked, then alarmed, now am truly sickened. The level of financial illiteracy in this country is deeply waring. It has been barely covered by the country's dailies of which many of them are giving biased information. Do they not have an economic analyst in their employ? Then there's hardly any information about investing on the USE aside from basic how to's from their site and a few articles from bloggers here and there. Compared to our Kenyan neighbor's, this situation is pathetic but I guess it makes sense since half(yes, half) of the retail investors on the USE are Kenyan(unreliable info from a broker on the USE).

 I weep for my beloved country.

If you are interested in the USE, try the links below. They should give you a good head start;

http://www.use.or.ug/

http://www.paulnjuguna.com/

http://investinginafrica.net/2012/03/how-to-invest-in-ugandan-stocks/  (This article is NOT written by a Ugandan)

For the UMEME IPO;

http://www.umeme.co.ug/

Laters dolls (Yes, I read Fifty Shades of Grey *runs and hides*)


Update:

More on the UMEME IPO. Ugandans are waking up or so it seems;

http://eatrader.blogspot.com/2012/10/umeme-ipo-thinking-aloud-herd.html

http://matookenation.com/you-meme/#more-5581

http://www.hipipo.com/5star/business/all/umeme-ipo-i-dream-mtn-trading-use

http://investinginafrica.net/2012/10/is-the-umeme-ipo-a-bargain/  

Fractured moonlight on the sea

Hi Dolls,

Was cleaning out my closet this weekend and I found titbits from my past that just took me a rollercoaster of emotions that I needed to blog about.Here's two of them;

1. My Baby's album:

This took me back. From my pregnancy to now 15 months later. It's been quite an experience,I cannot even begin to describe it. From the tears when I had just found I was pregnant, telling my friends then my parents, then my boss. To feeling baby's first kick. In the scan where I swore she waved at me. When I first held her. Holding her the entire night when she couldn't sleep because she had colic. Her first immunisation shot. Her first illness. Her first smile...ooohhh so many first. We've come a long long way. We can now confidently say three words: mom,sherry,bye. We are HAPPY!


2. A poem I had written for the boy:

I am not a composer unless am telling a story. But borrowing words is an art I have come to acquire. I sent this poem to the boy (I don't know when).It is written by Elizath Barrett Browning. I am awed by the emotion and devotion that had completely devoured me. Will I ever love this deeply again?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.


I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.


XOXO
Have a love filled week.

Situation Update.

Hey Dolls,

Been a minute, right? Not much going on (understatement of the year)...but here's a brief breakdown of most of what has been going on.

1.The IT dream was assassinated and completely annihilated by ambitious business plans. Am still a network management engineer(Gotta make that milk money) but am slowly but surely building a small chain of baby apparel and supply stores called The Baby Store. Check us out on Facebook;https://www.facebook.com/thebabystoreug

2.The boy and I are no more. Quickly moving on.

3.Lastly,but not least...am still the fiercest mommy around. Baby is now 1 year and 3 months. That's us below. Picture taken now.

Oh...Uganda(as defined by the British) turns 50. Do not let the age fool you. We are still a highly immature lot!

xoxo

New Mantra....

8 Months Baby!!!!

Hey dolls,

First post of the month. Happy happy March. It's a pretty special month for me cause 2 people I love dearly were born in this month. First, my sister from another mother, Lillian. She went bungee jumping to celebrate growing older. Pictures when my camera behaves. Second, my heart...my soul and everything in between baby-daddy. Most likely this will go unnoticed cause he believes celebrating birthday's is fickle. In the main good news, my BABY turns 8 months today at 12.30pm. I can't believe it's 8 months already. Time really does fly. And she gets prettier, funnier and of course bigger each day. I am truly truly amazed by the love that overflows out of my heart. I am more amazed at the woman I have become. Her nanny took a few days off and I failed to find someone to babysit for me. I worked the night shift and took care of her during the day. Though my nerves were left raw and every cell in my brain seemed to be on fire from sleep deprivation, I could not be any happier spending all that time with baby. I truly envy stay at home mums now.

Happy week people.

January 2012's 10%

Ola Dolls,

So this is the monthly pay it back forward post. This month the 10% went to contributing tuition for a dear friend's daughter's fees. Her family is suddenly with only one bread winner and in this economy, that just doesn't cut it. And usually, the children are the ones who suffer the most. Being a mother, I cannot imagine the untold suffering my friend must have gone through thinking that her lovely child had to stop school. Her phone call telling me my 10% had completed the money she needed for her baby's school fees did more for me than 10 christian louboutins would have. I now eagerly await February's 10%.

Much love,

XOXO

I was here......

Hi Dolls,

Been awhile ain't it. Oh well, You can't blame me. I have a baby(my favourite excuse these days for not engaging in any activity!) Anyhow, straight to the point this time, no dillydallying in tales of where I have been or what I have been doing.

Ever since I had my baby, I have received,stumbled upon various projects raising social awareness especially here in my homeland,Uganda. It was like something was reminding me about my purpose here on earth. I have always had plans to give back/pay it forward. But I have been putting them off because they are grandiose, require a lot of both money and time. I have wanted to set up a girls school just like the one Oprah has(and this dream was even before Oprah built hers, it was like right out of my head into hers). I want to start a scholarship scheme for orphan girls to go to the best universities in the world. And the last one was to adopt a baby.

But something has been pushing me to do something NOW. No matter what resources I have for if I keep pushing it, I might never do it. So I started, every month I find someone or a cause to give 10% of my salary to. Much like tithing but I refuse to give my money to the churches around me. I trust them as much as I trust the current government(that is a story for another day). I know it is not much but I know that one by one, that 10 % will manage to change some one's life..if it is by making that person feel beautiful for a day or paying a child's education for a term.

So far, I have done this twice. I wish I had detailed profiles of the people I payed forward to but I don't. That is just as well. I want to chronicle every monthly 10% deed here. I am not gloating. I am just hoping to inspire.

And I leave you with the lyrics to Beyonce's song; I was here. It spoke so greatly to me about this cause and every time I falter or feel discouraged in my mission. It lifts me right back up.

I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of time

Know there was something that,

meant something that I left behind

When I leave this world,

I'll leave no regrets

Leave something to remember, so they won't forget

I was here

I lived,

I loved

I was here

I did, I've done everything that I wanted

And it was more than I thought it would be

I will leave my mark so everyone will know

I was here

I want to say I lived each day, until I died

And know that I meant something in, some body's life

The hearts I have touched, will be the proof that I lived

That I made a difference, and this world will see

I was here

I lived, I loved

I was here

I did, I've done everything that I wanted

And it was more than I thought it would be

I will leave my mark so everyone will know

I was here

I lived, I loved

I was here

I did, I've done everything that I wanted

And it was more than I thought it would be

I will leave my mark so everyone will know

I was here

I just want them to know

That I gave my all, did my best

Brought someone some happiness

Left this world a little better just because

I was here.

xoxo