July 4, 2023 – Strengthening communities and developing conditions for sustainable peace means not only focusing on social issues, but also providing a platform for economic development and stability. The areas where we operate are often lacking in the basic economic infrastructure conducive to economic growth and long term stability. Moreover, young people and women from these places are often beholden to traditional cultural values that limit opportunities for financial independence. This is why, at WPDI, we have always placed a high importance on our Business and Entrepreneurship programs, which are designed to unlock their potential as breadwinners for their families and communities.
In the first half of 2023, WPDI ran such a Business and Entrepreneurship program in the Acholi Sub-Region, Uganda, in the framework of a three-year initiative to create economic opportunities and access to entrepreneurship for 450 marginalized women and youths in the region. During the first 6 months, beneficiaries included 150 women and 60 youths.
The program is run by WPDI-trained Youth Peacemakers and has been divided into three main phases:
- Training in entrepreneurship and literacy;
- Participation in a Business Plan Competition run by a WPDI committee;
- Startup grants and financial support for 15 successful business projects, identified by a jury composed of WPDI representatives, local economic stakeholders and other key members of the community.
The Basic and Intermediary levels of the program include different topics relating to entrepreneurship, such as personal awareness, business idea generation, business plan development, marketing and market assessment, communication skills, financial management, risk management, business ethics and social responsibility, among others. This is practical knowledge that aims to equip them for creating a business or simply to better prepare them for the world of work.
Participants have been very positive about the new skills the program has enabled them to acquire, and how they have been able to develop their understanding of business operations and economic markets. Awori Harriet, one of the participants in the training program, said: “In the Business and Entrepreneurship training program, I learned that marketing is very important. My initial understanding of marketing was wrong, I thought the market was only a physical place, and little did I know that a market is any platform where I meet and interact with a customer. This understanding has changed my thinking. It has made me understand that my customer is my boss and that I need to fulfil my customer’s needs by providing the best product and services. Thank WPDI for such a lovely program.”
WPDI will be providing regular updates on the progress of the three-year program, as it has the potential to be transformative not only for participants, but for the wider community as well since economic stability is a basic brick of sustainable peace.
This program is made possible thanks to the financial support of a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous.