Musa Body Katende, the son of renowned Ugandan innovator and industrialist Musa Body Wakibi, has charted an entrepreneurial path of his own, departing from his family’s machinery and metal fabrication business to establish a company focused on career development, education and travel advisory services.
Born on June 20, 1995, Katende is the founder of Musa Body Careers and Advisory Company, which offers immigration and migration advisory services, study-abroad guidance, visa documentation support and other travel-related assistance.
His decision to venture into the service industry marks a departure from the family’s established enterprise, Musa Body Machinery Ltd, a prominent industrial and metal fabrication company based in Katwe, Kampala, known for producing machinery and equipment for various applications.
Despite acquiring practical skills and formal training in engineering and machinery, Katende says his international exposure and experience working abroad helped him recognise opportunities beyond the family business.
“As I grew up, I started travelling across the globe, studying and doing different jobs. I also got an opportunity to work at Oracle, where I learnt a couple of skills before deciding to venture away from my father’s company, Musa Body Machinery, to start my own company, Musa Body Careers Group, with the aim of helping Ugandans travel to other parts of the world,” Katende said.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from Sunny Lone University in California, United States, as well as two bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering—Machinery and Fittings, and Construction and Engineering, which he says he obtained from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
Katende’s decision to pursue a different business path came with challenges, particularly given the expectations that he would follow in his father’s footsteps in machinery innovation and manufacturing.
He recalls that while growing up in Katwe, some residents questioned his knowledge of his father’s trade. Their remarks prompted his mother to encourage him to spend more time at the family factory, where he developed practical engineering skills.
“I remember my daddy, Musa Body Wakibi, used to say I was one of the cleverest children he had. When I was about 11 years old, some residents of Katwe used to mock me, saying I knew nothing about my father’s job. This prompted my mother to start sending me to my father’s factory, where I learnt how to make machines,” he said.
Among the equipment he learnt to make were brick-making machines, charcoal stoves, maize mills and generators. These early experiences introduced him to technical work and entrepreneurship, laying a foundation that would later inform his own business journey.
His mother subsequently took him abroad for further studies and exposure. His travels included Luxembourg, Germany, Sweden, Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom, Dubai and Qatar, experiences that broadened his understanding of international opportunities.
Katende says travelling and working abroad helped him appreciate the range of possibilities available to Ugandans beyond their home country. It also challenged the notion that children must inevitably take over or continue running their parents’ businesses.
“Leaving my father’s business was not an easy decision because I had learnt everything at a very young age. However, when I went abroad, I discovered that there were many opportunities Ugandans could utilise instead of having the mentality of only working in or running family businesses. That inspired me to venture out on my own,” he said.
He adds that the practical knowledge acquired at his father’s company, combined with his international exposure and experience at Oracle, gave him the confidence to establish his own enterprise.
Through Musa Body Careers and Advisory Company, Katende says he aims to help Ugandans access legitimate education and travel opportunities abroad, particularly those seeking to pursue further studies, visit other countries or reunite with family members overseas.
The company assists clients with student admissions and visa applications, spouse visas and visit visas. It also provides guidance on application procedures and the requirements for travelling to and settling in destination countries.
Katende emphasises that the company does not recruit people for employment abroad. Instead, it focuses on advisory services and documentation support, helping clients navigate application processes and connecting them with relevant service providers and institutions.
He says the objective is to ensure that clients understand the requirements, assess their options and make informed decisions before committing money to international travel or education plans.
However, fraud remains one of the major challenges facing the migration and travel advisory sector. Katende warns that unscrupulous individuals have exploited unsuspecting Ugandans by promising opportunities abroad and subsequently taking their money without delivering the promised services.
To address this challenge, he says his company requires clients to provide genuine and authentic documents before applications are processed.
He adds that the company has incorporated digital systems into its operations, including the use of agreements, policies and memoranda of understanding with clients. According to Katende, these measures are intended to improve transparency, maintain proper records and minimise the risk of forgery, deception and disputes.
For Katende, the journey from learning to make machines in his father’s factory to establishing a career and travel advisory company illustrates the value of combining practical experience, education and exposure to new opportunities.
Although he has chosen an industry different from his father’s, he says the entrepreneurial foundation he acquired while growing up in a family business continues to shape his approach to business.
His journey offers an example of how Uganda’s next generation of entrepreneurs can draw lessons from family legacies while pursuing independent ventures that respond to emerging needs in education, travel and international mobility.