Empower 1,200 Ugandan women to start businesses

This fall we hosted graduations for two major projects at Street Business School. Each project advances our work by testing new ways of delivering SBS to Ugandans experiencing deep poverty. We were so proud to see so many newly empowered entrepreneurs already growing businesses and achieving financial self-sufficiency.

• Project Kunihira – Meaning “Hope” in the local language, this partnership experiments with delivering SBS in distant, rural communities by empowering community members to act as SBS Community-Based Trainers (CBTs). 268 individuals graduated from our first round of training in a rural community in Western Uganda. 84% of graduates started businesses, and their income grew by 1.68x on average. We expect another 300 or more individuals to graduate in our second round of training on January 30th.
  
  
• Project Ayimalu – Meaning “Rise Up” in the local language, this partnership with the Empower and Shine Foundation experiments with delivering SBS in distant, rural communities by providing funding directly to local, grassroots organizations. 671 individuals graduated from the project through the efforts of six Non-Governmental Organizations certified to deliver SBS in their communities in Northern Uganda. 87% of graduates started businesses, and their income grew by 1.81x on average.

These two graduations have allowed 939 Ugandan women to grow their income and increase self-sufficiency. We expect to reach our goal of 1,200 women when our second round of Project Kunihira is completed on January 30th, 2026.

One Woman's Story:

At 58, Mande Lucy from Makobyo, a village in Fort Portal, joined the Street Business School training with skepticism, unsure if it could help her after past business failures. Guided by Community-Based Trainer Davis, she embraced every session, applying lessons immediately to her boutique, which she started with support from her brother. She learned vital skills like bookkeeping, customer care, and the importance of starting small, which helped her expand into wholesale and vegetable sales. Lucy now reinvests her profits, runs her businesses with confidence, and takes pride in her growth.

Beyond financial success, the training transformed Lucy’s outlook and status in her community. She pays school fees for her grandchildren and mentors others who seek her advice. She fondly recalls engaging role-plays during training and is grateful for the free resources and dedication of her trainers. Today, she not only supports her family but also inspires neighbors to pursue entrepreneurship. From self-doubt to becoming a thriving entrepreneur and role model,

Lucy shared, "Thanks to this program my mind has broadened. Now I see opportunity everywhere I turn."

Our project to reach 1,200 women in Uganda with Street Business School training is off and running this year.

Project Kunihira is a collaborative initiative aimed at helping 600 women in the Fort Portal region of western Uganda to launch businesses. The project uses a Community-Based Trainer (CBT) model, working to create broader impacts in the Fort Portal region and explore impacts beyond individual income generation. The CBT model was previously tested by SBS in the summer of 2024, and is being tested as a potential model for a more cost-effective delivery mechanism that could be scaled across the country.

In addition to improving income for participants, specific objectives include improving school attendance and nutrition for children, increasing household financial stability, and fostering collaboration between local NGOs and international partners through Learning Circles. The private foundation providing resources for the project is playing a catalytic role, funding the pilot phase and guiding integration with local stakeholders, including a local school and network of active NGOs, to ensure that the initiative supports long-term, sustainable development. 

“Kunihira” means “hope” in Rutooro, the local language. The SBS hub in Fort Portal will serve as a proof-of-concept, demonstrating the potential for replicating and expanding this model across other regions in Uganda. The project will be delivered in two rounds of training with a "Pause and Reflect" approach that will allow for any adjustments at the midway point, to enhance the project’s success. 

As of the end of June, Project Kunihira had enrolled 365 individuals in Fort Portal in training with the support of 20 CBTs. The first graduation is scheduled for July 2025, with the second round of training set to kick off in September targeting an additional 400 women.

In a similar model to Project Kunihira, Project Ayimalu seeks to uplift 400 women in the Murchison Falls area of northwestern Uganda by doubling their incomes. Home to a predominantly rural population, the region faces significant poverty, especially in communities dependent on subsistence agriculture.

In contrast to Project Kunihira, Ayimalu is building on the existing pool of small NGOs operating in the Buliisa district in Uganda. SBS provided a Training-of-Trainers workshop to six selected NGO partners, and is providing direct funding to these groups to carry out SBS implementation in the community. 

The project launched in May with a dedicated training workshop, and as of the end of June certified partners had begun conducting mobilization and recruitment activities. The anticipated completion date is in October 2025.

“In this community, people are still struggling with outdated ways of thinking. But this training will help move people from where they are to where they need to be. People are very eager to attend and break free from poverty.” Byaruhanga Emmex – 56 years, Chancellor of the PWDs, Kako Town Council