How Dorothy Ntenyingi Took the Bamboo Story Back to the Classroom

Makerere alumna made a full-circle return to her alma mater to inspire tourism’s next generation about digital presence

Founder of Bamboo by Kristy, Dorothy Ntenyingi made an appearance at her alma mater this month — not as a student clutching a notebook, but as an alumni innovator with a business model to defend.

She returned to Makerere University Business School (MUBS) to speak at the World Tourism Day Students’ Conference, held on September 18 at MUBS Main Campus. The theme could not have been more pointed for her line of work: “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence: Preparing Future Tourism Professionals for an Intelligent and Innovative Industry”.

The conference was organised in commemoration of World Tourism Day, celebrated annually on September 27.

A Room Full of Tomorrow

The hall was not small. Over 500 tourism students filled the seats, drawn from universities and tourism training institutions across the country — Makerere, Kyambogo, ISBAT, Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training College, Avance International University, Mutesa Royal University, Metropolitan University, Kampala International University, International University of East Africa, Ndejje University, Uganda Christian University, Victoria University, St. Lawrence University, Islamic University in Uganda and Uganda Wildlife Research and Training College.

For most of them, tourism still arrives as a syllabus: destinations, itineraries, service standards. Dorothy arrived with something harder to grade. She spoke on how she is building a sustainable enterprise at Kristy Creatives through digital marketing — a subject that lives somewhere between the entrepreneurship course and the group chat.

It was, by her own account, a full-circle moment. Having built her digital presence ground-up, sharing practical insights with the next generation of tourism and business leaders felt personal rather than performative.

“If You’re Not Online, You Don’t Exist”

Her argument to the room was deliberately unglamorous.

“Digital drives discovery, location builds trust,” she told the students. “In today’s market, your digital footprint is where relationships begin. While a physical space anchors credibility, waiting on foot traffic isn’t a strategy. Go where your audience’s attention lives.”

The arithmetic behind that advice is inescapable. Dr. Celestine Katongole, head of the tourism department at MUBS, told the same conference that Africa is the largest part of the world where 70% of every tourist uses the internet to get to their next destination.

Katongole added that the industry is undergoing transformation driven by rapid advancements in digital technologies and AI across destinations, hotels, airlines, tour operators, museums and other tourism enterprises.

“People move with intention,” Dorothy continued. “Modern clients don’t just stumble upon businesses. They discover you, evaluate you and choose you online before ever making a physical move.”

In other words, if you are not visible online, you simply do not exist to the modern traveller.

Beyond the Podium

The wider message of the conference pushed in the same direction. Muhwezi, officiating at the opening, advised students to use the internet on their phones to develop innovative tourism business ideas and market them through the same channel to earn a living. Universities were separately challenged to introduce AI programmes across courses.

Earlier editions of the same gathering carried a similar refrain, with industry figures urging students to use social media platforms to market Uganda’s natural beauty and to venture into tourism-related businesses such as birdwatching tours and lodges.

Dorothy’s presence gave that advice a face. She is not theorising about the digital shift from a lectern. She is one of the entrepreneurs leading Uganda’s bamboo charge — a sector now being called the country’s “green gold”.

Who She Is

Dorothy Ntenyingi is a Master’s candidate in Tourism & Hospitality Management, an advocate for sustainable tourism, and Director of Kristy Creatives, trading as Bamboo by Kristy.

The company produces premium eco-friendly bamboo gifts, thoughtfully crafted in Uganda and customised to reflect a client’s brand identity. Its founding vision was to create high-quality bamboo products that celebrate Ugandan creativity while helping businesses embrace more sustainable branding solutions.

By working with local artisans and communities, the enterprise creates products that support livelihoods, encourage environmental responsibility and help companies showcase their commitment to sustainability through beautifully crafted bamboo gifts and souvenirs.

The commercial proof sits in the numbers. Since starting operations, Bamboo by Kristy has served over 120 clients, including tourism companies, lodges, schools and individual customers. Retained corporate and tourism clients include Churchill Safaris, Vibrant Holiday Safaris, Afrique Trails, Akimba Expeditions, Safari Solutions and Kaara Lodge, alongside repeat personal orders — retention that signals strong demand for locally made, sustainable bamboo products in the tourism and corporate gifting market.

“Working with Bamboo by Kristy was seamless,” reads one client testimonial. “The custom bamboo souvenirs for our guests were not only beautiful but carried real meaning — sustainable, Ugandan-made, and perfectly branded.”

That last phrase — carried real meaning — is the whole thesis. Sustainability sells when it tells a story, and the story travels only as far as your signal reaches.

Dorothy learned that lesson building her brand one post at a time. In September, she went home to MUBS and handed it back.