The dusty, sun-baked roads of Mpenja District hold the whispers of Nalubega Aidah Bukenya’s beginnings. It was here, far from the gleaming lights of Kampala, where a young girl’s imagination first flickered, mixing homemade dyes from local plants and performing for her family on a packed-earth stage.
Her journey from those quiet streets to becoming a household name in Uganda is a story of strategic vision, where art, business, and digital savvy converge.
The Foundation: A Dual Education
The first major step was a move to the capital. In Kampala, Bukenya pursued a formal education that would uniquely equip her for the multifaceted career she would build. She didn’t choose one path; she chose two. At the Kampala International Theatre School, she honed her craft in Dramatic Arts, learning to embody characters and tell stories.
Simultaneously, she pursued a certificate in Cosmetic Science from Makerere University, grounding her childhood fascination with beauty in scientific formulation. This dual training in art and science became the bedrock of her future empire.
The Digital Stage: A Platform is Born
While still studying, Bukenya turned to the emerging platform of TikTok. Creating under the handle @aidahnalubega1, she didn’t follow a trend—she created her own. Her content was a unique blend: quick-witted comedy skits that resonated with everyday Ugandans, seamlessly woven with tutorials showcasing makeup techniques.
This authentic voice struck a chord. Her following swelled into the millions. The platform was no longer just a stage; it was a direct channel to a vast audience, and she was learning to command it.
Building ABC Cosmetix: Beauty with Purpose
With a loyal community behind her, Bukenya launched her most ambitious project: ABC Cosmetix. This was not merely a beauty brand. It was an answer to a gap in the market—high-quality, affordable cosmetics formulated specifically for African skin tones.
As Founder and CEO, she applied her scientific knowledge to develop products like the popular “Matte Nile” liquid lipsticks. But the brand’s heart was its “Glow & Empower” initiative, a program providing business and skills training to young Ugandan women, ensuring her success helped uplift others.
Conquering the Screen: The Call of Cinema
Bukenya’s TikTok success and growing public profile opened the door to her first love: acting. Her talent, refined years earlier, quickly translated to the screen. She moved from a supporting role in the award-winning film “The Salon” to a lead role in the Netflix original “Kampala Beauty,” bringing stories of Ugandan women to a global audience.
A particularly meaningful moment was her role in Aromatic Entertainment’s “Best Friend,” where her character’s journey echoed the resilience and ambition of her own.
The Blueprint: A Modern African Creative
Today, Nalubega Aidah Bukenya stands as a blueprint for the modern African creative. She is not just a TikTok star, a CEO, or an actress. She is a storyteller who uses every tool at her disposal—whether a smartphone camera, a lipstick tube, or a film script.
Her story, rooted in the dust of Mpenja, demonstrates that the future of African entrepreneurship is not in choosing a single path, but in boldly building your own.
