HatHats Links Uganda Coffee Training to Planned Outlet Expansion

Uganda grows coffee, but relatively little of it is consumed at home. HatHats Coffee Company Uganda Limited wants young Ugandans to help change that—and supply the workforce for its planned coffee outlets. Its new hospitality and barista academy has started with more than 20 young people from Kampala communities, linking practical training to the company’s ambitions in coffee service and tourism.

According to Nile Post Uganda (direct), the HatHats Hospitality and Barista Academy was launched on October 5, 2026, at the era92 grounds in Kampala. British High Commissioner to Uganda Lisa Chesney attended as guest of honour. The first group has completed intensive training with professional baristas—specialists in preparing and serving coffee—from HatHats in the United Kingdom. Participants are due to receive certificates recognising their coffee preparation and hospitality skills.

From coffee production to coffee service

The academy’s focus is on what happens after coffee is grown: preparing it, serving customers and building businesses around it. Uganda is a coffee-producing country, yet domestic consumption remains relatively low. HatHats Uganda says it wants to strengthen the local coffee culture while creating work for young people in coffee and hospitality. Organisers say the training is designed to improve employment prospects as the country’s tourism and hospitality industries expand.

Louis Hurst, founder of HatHats Coffee Company in the UK and co-founder of its Ugandan business, said more than 15 years of visits had repeatedly brought that contrast into view. He wants young Ugandans to prepare and serve the country’s coffee, and explain its story to tourists and people in their own communities. His case for the academy centres on practical skills that can lead to jobs or help graduates start businesses, rather than training alone.

Hurst said the academy was designed to offer practical skills, a recognised certificate and a route into the industry.

The first cohort was taught by baristas who travelled from Kent in the UK. The academy was developed by HatHats Coffee Uganda Limited and the HatHats Foundation with era92 Group. It also received support from the British High Commission and the British Chamber of Commerce Uganda, bringing together the company, its foundation and organisations backing UK-Uganda business links.

Expansion plans give the training a business role

Chesney said she first encountered HatHats through the British Chamber of Commerce Uganda. She described the academy as an example of cooperation between the two countries that could support young people and Uganda’s coffee industry. In her view, practical hospitality and coffee-service skills could create routes into employment, entrepreneurship and future leadership.

The academy is part of HatHats Uganda’s broader plans for education, innovation and promoting Ugandan coffee. The company intends to establish outlets in different parts of the country and develop coffee experiences for tourists. It says academy graduates will make up part of the workforce for those planned operations, giving the training a role in its expansion strategy.

The next development to watch is the rollout of those outlets and tourist experiences. Hurst presented the academy launch as a starting point for a wider Ugandan presence, with graduates intended to help staff the businesses that follow.