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."