Meet Moses Masiko

What is your academic qualification?
I am a professional journalist in print writing but now I am a business person, in fact I am about to finish my masters in something not connected at all to journalism.. in business. So I am a journalist turned business man
So how did you start as a business man?
Well, I Started off as a freelance writer for Monitor news paper where I worked for about a year and later moved to New Vision as a sports writer. After I started my own news paper called the Strip with some partners but we fell almost immediately after start due to financial challenges and also for having wrong partners. Later on I got the opportunity to go to the USA to study a course in education. That is where the doors opened for me, I could say.
Did your capital miraculously fall from above?
Most of the capital to establish my self was from my salary. While in the US and Iraq, I saved a lot. I was earning well yet I was not spending in any way. There is no way to spend your salary when you are on a mission in a war zone.
Tell us how you ended up in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Three months into my studies in the USA, I got a contract with state department which was a branch of the USA government security arm so it is like we work on contract for the US army. I got a small job which I started with. For the next 6 months I went on high desert training and I was immediately posted to Afghanistan, Kabul for the next 9 months with the same company doing force protection, securing sites and other establishments of the US army. The company later got a contract in Baghdad.
In Baghdad, I worked as an administrator controlling the air base, driving the forces. In the same year I did a tactical training in high speed shooting for 3 months and came back as personal security detail and went into high shooting drill. My next job was to escort VIPs. It was well paying; 1500 dollars and I used to save a lot.
What are the different businesses that you own?
After returning from Iraq, I started a company called Water Tight Services which was to recruit human resource like guards, IT specialists to go work in Iraq. Pinnacle Security started as a section which was for supplying dogs and dog handlers. Currently I have more than 78 dogs in Uganda, some are in South Sudan. We also deal in cement importing and supplying cement. I also have a night club.
Any business quote(s) that have guided you through;
I have none exactly, but I should say different businesses have different tactics, but four things stand out; proper planning, human resource, discipline, passion and consistency. Am 30 years old and all I can say to young men is, to first identify what they want and are interested in doing, then put themselves in disciplinary structures to achieve that and never give up. Chase your dream to the end.
Any fears/challenges in the business?
Most definitely, there is unfair competition in the sense that some people get security deals on the basis of who they know, bureaucracy is another; if you want to do something and it takes long to get a mere letter e.g I have the best dogs for bomb sniffing but failed to get the deal in African summit because of bureaucratic procedures, also the clients have not fully appreciated the role of the security guards.
What are your future plans as well as for the company?
To begin with as you know, tomorrow am getting married to my beautiful fiancé so I am gonna start a family. As regards my personal business, well, the future is ours because we have the right vision, we apply the right philosophy. I am involved in my work, I have a wedding tomorrow but I am working. Some times in the night I can put on my uniform and go out to supervise my guards which shows that I pleasure in what they are doing.
Personal qualities that have contributed to who you are...
Hard work, humility, discipline, consistence. I am also passionate about what I do. Those qualities have played a huge role in shaping me and the person I am.
First salary...
When I was a writer we were paid per story but my first real salary was 140 000
Why are you so conscious about security?
I have about 13 cameras around my house and even motion sensor lights among others but that is because am in love with security and also my background as security person. I have no burglar proof at home but I make up for that.
What should change about the Ugandan Entrepreneurs?
There are different profiles and the more successful are the foreigners because we lack financial discipline and poor book keeping, a company can make money but be in losses. I love cars but even when I buy a 400million shilling car I have to squeeze my self to compensate. Many business men in Uganda are too local and do not know how and when to expand. However we have smart people in Uganda unlike in other countries.