Tshani Foundation, weaving hope through hair. Vocational training for refugee women and girls in Kampala, Uganda.

Portrait of Nicole Tshani, founder of Tshani Foundation

Hello, I'm Nicole Tshani. A braider, a builder, a mentor, and the founder of Tshani Foundation, alongside my husband and co-founder Claude Tshani. I came to Uganda from the DRC in 1997 with nothing but my mother's hair braiding skills. I built a salon, then a training school, then a SACCO, so that every woman who arrives after me has a way through. Scroll down and get to know the Foundation.

The Tshani vision · in her own voice

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© 2023, 2026 Tshani Foundation Limited  ·  Registered in Uganda

The full story

Sit with Nicole for half an hour. It will stay with you.

Episode one · 27 min

From one braider in 1997 to more than 250 women trained.

Nicole tells the Chilling Show how she arrived from the DRC with her mother's braiding craft, built one of Kampala's most respected salons, and turned it into a school.

Episode two · 28 min

"The old people have the money, the young ones have the vision."

Inside the Foundation itself. How Nicole keeps her girls focused on bigger goals, how she picks her team, and where she wants to take all of it.

2026, so far

This is what the work looks like this year.

The founders Nicole and Claude Tshani. Thirty years married, and the two people the whole Foundation rests on.
On the main stage Nicole, guest speaker at the Women in Business Conference in Kampala, 2026. From a street corner to the podium.
In the community An outreach session with mothers in the neighbourhood. We listen first, the training follows.
Why we do it Watching these women come in as refugees and evolve into beautiful, confident women always touches my heart.
More than braiding At the end of the day, braiding is just one of the hands-on skills we give these women.
We also have fun The work is serious. The people make it joyful. Nicole and the team, off the clock.

Career highlights

  • In 2023 Nicole and her husband Claude founded Tshani Foundation, formalising a braiding training programme that had been running informally since the late nineties.
  • Over 250 women trained. 85 percent running their own businesses.
  • In 2025 Tshani Foundation Limited earned its first audited accounts, an unqualified opinion from Mok and Associates.
  • The Foundation's SACCO now provides UGX 100,000 to 500,000 in launch capital to every graduate.

Fun facts about us

  • We braid, train, fund and scholarship all under one roof.
  • Our founder once braided clients on a Kibuli street corner to pay rent. She still braids.
  • We operate in Kampala, Wakiso, Jinja and Mukono, with outreach to Nakivale, Kyaka II and Adjumani settlements.
  • 76 percent of our graduates support three or more dependants, so every woman we train lifts a whole family.

What do you want to do now?

Connect With Us

Find us online, write to info@tshanifoundation.org, or call +256 787 391 380 (Uganda) or +353 85 762 4323 (Ireland).

© 2026 Tshani Foundation Limited  ·  Registered in Uganda