Insights and opportunities from Uganda's Refugee Entrepreneurship Support Convenor"

A few days ago, I participated in the National Convenor on Entrepreneurship Support within Uganda's Refugee Response, organized by U-Learn, The Innovation Village, the USAID Uthabiti Activity, U-RIL, and the Livelihoods and Resilience Sector Working Group (LRSWG). The event aimed to foster reflection and dialogue on entrepreneurship support experiences and practices within Uganda's refugee response.

The intricate and comprehensive nature of entrepreneurship support for refugees necessitates dedicated spaces, such as this convenor, to encourage cooperation among different stakeholders in promoting the prosperity of refugee entrepreneurs. It was indeed an engaging and interactive gathering, rich with valuable insights.

Here are some key insights that caught my attention during the saturation exercise:

1. ?There's a notable abundance of actors, providing training and Business Development Services.
2. There was a noticeable scarcity of support for digital opportunities and the creation of enabling environments, particularly during the scaling phase.
3. Additionally, while access to finance and markets was available, it was evident that such access was provided by only a limited number of actors, each with varying levels of engagement across the start-up, growth, and scaling phases.

Here are some key insights that were particularly notable to me from the panel discussion:

1. ?One panellist highlighted the issue of "value neutrality" as a significant challenge in entrepreneurship support. They aptly highlighted how many Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) often adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, neglecting the unique needs and circumstances of refugee entrepreneurs. This has led to standardized training programs that fail to deliver meaningful impact. However, the effectiveness and credibility of such programs remain uncertain in the absence of agreed-upon syllabi, implementation standards, and coordination among trainers.
2. Another panellist emphasized the importance of understanding the specific needs of the refugee population, highlighting how current programs often fall short, resulting in ineffective training sessions that fail to address the real needs of participants.

?Here are some of the remarkable insights from the Reflection exercise:

1. ?Government bodies like the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and UN agencies leading sectors should improve coordination among partners to build on existing programs and prevent duplication.
2. Clear and comprehensive needs assessments by ESOs are essential to avoid duplicating efforts, identify specific challenges, and develop inclusive, flexible long-term initiatives.
3. ESOs should collaborate with refugee entrepreneurs to design entrepreneurship support programs, ensuring they address the entrepreneurs' identified needs.
4. Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should offer English language training
5. ?NGOs should develop innovative financing products such as revenue-sharing models and impact financing.

Overall, the synthesis of insights from various exercises underscores the urgent need for tailored, collaborative approaches to entrepreneurship support, particularly for refugee populations. Key themes such as localized assistance, on-going follow-up and monitoring, enhanced coordination, and a focus on digital opportunities emerged as central pillars for driving impactful interventions.

In conclusion, the following reflections encapsulate personal spontaneous thoughts derived from the collective insights presented above:

1. ?The insights gathered underscore a glaring lack of data and research utilization in decision-making processes within both refugee response and development initiatives. This inefficiency leads to significant resource wastage due to duplicated activities and a lack of effective impact measurement. I believe many organizations still prioritize superficial deliverables such as well-written reports over tangible outcomes, perpetuating a cycle of business as usual.
2. ? However, amidst these challenges lie opportunities for innovation, particularly in the realm of education technology (Edu-tech). Collaborating with organizations involved in refugee response to digitize financial and digital literacy curricula presents a viable solution, given the increasing accessibility of digital resources, even in rural areas. Would digitizing the curriculum reduce expenditures on training while simultaneously enhancing digital literacy among our population?
3. Additionally, there's a notable gap in the provision of digital solutions and services. This presents an opportunity for innovative companies to collaborate with refugee response actors to digitize transactions, laying the foundation for formalized financial systems and empowering businesses to leverage transactional data for accessing loans.

Despite Uganda's predominantly collateral-based credit system, the declining reliance on traditional credit scoring methods opens avenues for alternative approaches, with transactional data emerging as a promising asset in this regard.

4. An alternative strategy to offering English language training could be setting up specialized refugee service units within financial institutions to streamline? service access