ChildFund and Street Business School are Working Together to Eliminate Poverty for Families in Uganda
Written by Nicole Powers
Street Business School and ChildFund are proud to be working together to improve the livelihoods of people in poverty.
How it all started
This partnership has been years in the making. As part of their strategy in Uganda, ChildFund began to focus on increasing income for the parents of the children they support as well as youth. The SBS entrepreneurship training was the perfect fit to teach business skills for life. ChildFund and SBS determined the timing was right to test incorporating the proven Street Business School entrepreneurship training program into ChildFund’s existing livelihoods programming. In 2023, ChildFund and three of their local Ugandan partners were certified in the SBS curriculum.
Why it matters
The need is great. In Uganda, an April 2023 report by the World Bank showed more than 42% of households experience extreme poverty, representing more than 18 million people. With an average of four children per household, this means a significant number of children grow up facing poverty. In Uganda, like many low-income countries, job creation has not kept pace with the number of people entering the workforce. The World Bank projects that globally, 1.2 billion youth will reach working age in the next decade, yet only about 420 million jobs will be created. This leaves hundreds of millions of young people without a clear pathway to income generation. Without needing handouts or startup funding, through SBS, the youth and families served by ChildFund and their partners can now confidently launch micro-businesses to sustainably support their children.
How it’s going
ChildFund delivered the SBS entrepreneurship training in Jinja, Kampala, and Kyankwanzi as part of the pilot program. In total, ChildFund and their partners have trained over 200 participants to start a sustainable business. Graduates have increased their income and continue to run successful micro-entrepreneurships, generating income for themselves and their families.
“Presently, I earn between $1.39 – $2.79 every day, which accumulates to about $42.00 – $84.00 per month.”
– Muzafaru, a young SBS graduate who runs a motorcycle parts shop in Jinja district.
A shared vision for impact
Both organizations are proud to be working together and feel that the partnership builds on our complementary strengths. ChildFund brings a strong regional presence with projects reaching 617,000+ people in Uganda annually, a holistic program model, and organizational history dating back 87 years. SBS brings a depth of knowledge on entrepreneurship, two decades of experience working in Uganda, and a proven training design. By joining forces, we can create a deeper impact on livelihoods as well as look towards the opportunity to scale.
ChildFund and SBS are looking forward to the journey ahead. We are excited to see what’s possible when two amazing organizations come together around a shared purpose!
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