As soon as Liz Bohannon graduated from MU, she moved to Uganda. There she met a group of women who could only dream of the chance for a university education. The women were from impoverished areas of the country where many women were not able to make enough money to attend university.

“It seemed completely ridiculous to me that these women who were so bright and really committed and had already shown a lot of promise and success could potentially go back to their villages and not go onto university,” Bohannon said.

Bohannon began brainstorming an idea to send these women to university.

“We landed on sandals, which is totally random,” Bohannon said. “I’ve never had any particular interest or affinity towards footwear.”

That fall, Sseko Designs began informally. The first three girls were hired on a simple verbal agreement – if they made sandals from local Uganda products for the next nine months, they would contribute to the local economy and have the opportunity to attend university. As the next nine months continued, the company ended up making more than enough money from the sandals to send the three women to secondary education.

“The way that they see education is just very different than the way a typical American student sees education, which is very much so like an entitlement,” Bohannon said. “This was something that these women definitely knew their whole lives that they wanted to do but didn’t necessarily know how that was going to happen.”

Sseko Designs officially started as a “not-just-for-profit” business in July 2009. Today the company employs a total of 17 women.

The sandals can be bought online or through various retail partners throughout the country. In Columbia, the sandals are available at Swank and The Mustard Seed.

Cameron Crake, who is the International Development Director in Kampala, Uganda, said she first got involved with Sseko Designs after buying her first pair of Sseko sandals.

“I love that I get to work so closely with the girls,” Crake said. “The relationships and interactions I have with them have changed the way I think about economic development, management and my culture.”

Sseko Designs Country Director Julie Beckstrom said she has found her dream job.

“I wake up every morning passionate about what I’ll be doing, even though it doesn’t look like a traditional job,” Beckstrom said. “Riding on motorcycles, exploring hectic African markets and working around regular power outages isn’t part of most typical jobs.”

Crake said Bohannon’s success is admirable considering the challenge of running a business in Uganda.

“Many people come to Africa and want to start projects but get discouraged by the challenges they face,” Crake said. “If Liz hadn’t been so determined to create a company to give these girls in Uganda an opportunity, Sseko would never have gotten off the ground.”

Bohannon will speak at the annual Women’s Leadership Conference on March 19.