Refugee-led Innovations in Uganda: the Innovations we Need
Written by Saul Kabali and Charlène Cabot, RIL Uganda
In Uganda, refugee-led organizations (RLOs) are developing innovative solutions to everyday problems found throughout their settlements and host communities. In this blog post we shine a spotlight on 13 RLOs creating, testing, and providing new solutions for refugees and others.
Refugees and Uganda
Uganda hosts 1.5 million refugees, making it the third largest hosting country in the world and the largest in Africa (UNHCR, 2022). The majority of the refugees come from the neighboring countries of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Uganda is recognized for its welcoming open-door policy for refugees and its adherence to the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework. The majority of refugees live in one of thirteen refugee settlements around the country, with a smaller number found in the capital, Kampala. Refugees have freedom of movement, the opportunity to work and create enterprises, and the right to use public services, such as healthcare and education.
Uganda’s refugee settlements are in its northern West Nile region and in the South-Western region, where many communities struggle with chronic poverty and limited infrastructure. Refugee households can encounter significant obstacles in meeting their families' basic needs, and many rely on humanitarian aid.
Entrepreneurial activities, in Bidibidi refugee settlement, Yumbe district. Image: courtesy of U-LEARN.
“Refugees are inventing innovative solutions that drive substantial improvements in their communities”
Refugee-led innovation
Throughout Uganda’s refugee settlements, RLOs are engaging in creative problem-solving activities and creating or adapting products and processes to address daily challenges and create opportunities. This ‘bottom-up’ innovation process can lead to solutions better tailored to existing needs and that are more readily accepted and integrated into daily life. Uganda’s legal environment supports RLOs and other initiatives to become registered as Community Based Organizations, making it easier for refugees to scale their social-impact innovations.
What RIL is doing
In Uganda, alongside its core functions of convening events, matchmaking challenges and solutions, and supporting innovation pilots, RIL is a part of the Uganda Learning, Evidence, Accountability and Research Network (U-Learn). U-Learn works to generate and encourage uptake of, evidence and insights for the Uganda refugee response.
To support the creation of opportunities and partnerships, RIL created a database and interactive map with details of over 1,500 organizations involved in the humanitarian innovation ecosystem. The database is linked with information on RLOs in all settlements and Kampala collected by U-Learn for the Settlement Level Actor Mapping. Data on 68 RLOs is currently available (August 2022) and data collection continues. If your organization is not featured or you know of other RLOs, you can inform the team here.
Shining a spotlight on RLOs and their innovations
RLOs focus their efforts on areas where they have the most power and opportunity to make a difference. In Uganda we see RLO’s implementing a diverse variety of creative solutions, from digital innovations to plastic bottle buildings.
Here we feature 13 innovators across four categories: refugee-led innovation hubs, and green, digital-related, and COVID-19 response innovations.
Map showing innovation hubs around Uganda: Discover more: https://www.responseinnovationlab.com/about-news/ril-maps-innovation-hubs-in-uganda.
1- UHURU, part of Promise Hub
UHURU, meaning ‘freedom’, is an innovation hub in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. It opened in 2019 and is managed by Patrick Muvunga, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UHURU helps potential entrepreneurs gain hands-on experience with the latest digital tools and provides training and mentoring to allow them to create useful digital solutions to local problems. The hub also provides a space for co-working and creative expression. UHURU is a project of Promise Hub, an international innovative e-commerce incubator.
Website Facebook Email: hello@promisehub.com
3- Unleashed Potentials in Motion
Unleashed was founded in 2018 with the goal of empowering and educating refugee youths in Nakivale Base Camp 4 to realize their full potential, develop leadership skills, and engage in social entrepreneurship. The team at the Unleashed hub deliver empowerment-based entrepreneurship training with the goal of participants creating sustainable, responsive enterprises or gaining meaningful employment.
Website Facebook Email: unleashedpim@gmail.com
Green innovations
In the refugee settlements (and in Uganda in general, given its landlocked location), access to raw materials is limited and costly, so RLOs and other innovators are finding ways to use plastic and other waste to make needed products. Others are turning to natural resource-based innovations for their social enterprises. Both of these green approaches help improve environmental sustainability and reduce waste while creating job opportunities.
5- Generous Designs Africa
Generous Design Africa is a social enterprise in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement that turns plastic waste into high-quality products. Founded in 2020, by Emmanuel Lomoro, a refugee from South Sudan, Generous Design Africa supports refugee youth and disadvantaged women to earn a living through creating affordable and durable products from plastic waste. As well as fully plastic products such as pegs and cups, the team also combine the recycled plastic with fabric to make waterproof bags.
Website Facebook Email: generousdesignsafrica@gmail.com
7- Reform Africa
Reform Africa is a social enterprise co-founded by Mema Rachel, a Congolese refugee, in 2018. The enterprise sells inexpensive, waterproof bags made from waste plastic and local fabric. The company purchases plastic bags collected by women and adolescents and sorts, cleans, and fuses them to create a strong material for bags and accessories. Reform Africa donates one bag to a rural Ugandan schoolchild for every bag sold.
Digital-related innovations
Globally, mobile technology and connectivity have brought about a range of new solutions, and RLOs and refugee innovators are part of this wave too. In Uganda we see RLOs exploring digital solutions to a range of diverse challenges, such as skills in ICT, sensitization, and access to services.
9- Junub Games
Junub Games is a socially-minded gaming company founded in 2017 by Lual Mayen, a former South Sudanese refugee now living in the United States. Lual wants to use video games to allow children to learn and practice different positive habits and understand the importance of peace. Junub is collaborating with Unity Technologies to develop a game, Salaam, that allows users to walk in the shoes of a refugee to help promote better understanding. Junub Games is also partnering with Unity Technologies to fund a tech center in Nakivale Refugee Settlement (where Lual grew up) that will teach refugees how to make games and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Website Email: info@junubgames.com
COVID-19 response innovations
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the vulnerability and marginalization of refugees worldwide. Many RLOs, in Uganda and elsewhere, were forced to pivot their service or product delivery to address pandemic-related issues, such as supply shortages and lockdowns. RIL, in conjunction with Save the Children and with financing from the Norwegian government, introduced the COVID-19 Innovation Prize in 2020 to reward locally-implemented innovations by RLOs. Three of the winners and runners-up are profiled below.
11- Poetherapy
Poetherapy (poetry+therapy) fights depression and promotes sustainable mental health among 18 to 25-year-old adolescents in Kampala and refugee settlements. It was named runner-up for its innovative art program that promotes good mental health. Poetherapy was founded by Raphael Akonkwa, a refugee from the DRC, during the pandemic as he saw mental health issues became more prominent. Poetherapy organizes artistic events for poetry, music, and comedy, as well as hands-on workshops to allow refugee youths to speak about their life challenges and learn about appropriate coping strategies for light depression.
Facebook Email: poetherapyug@gmail.com
12- Patapia
Patapia, meaning ‘get also’, was founded by Aime Rebecca, a Congolese refugee, in 2019, and was named runner-up for its refugee-women entrepreneurship program in Kampala. Patapia focuses on enterprise training and coaching to break down barriers to women’s economic participation and on establishing loans and savings groups. During the pandemic Patapia adapted its support for women in response to the drastic restrictions on economic activities.
Refugee-led innovation hubs
In recent years, there has been an increase in entrepreneurial activity in Uganda, which has led to more innovation hubs and co-working spaces in Kampala but also in refugee-settlements. For instance refugees have access to innovation centres with equipment and technology set up by MIT D-Lab in conjunction with Kulika Uganda in Rhino Camp, Ofua 2 village, and Mvepi village in Imvepi settlement (more information on D-Lab and Kulika’s work here).
Some RLOs have created their own innovation hubs where refugees and host community members can meet to share ideas for innovations that are responsive to their needs, and pool their skills and connections as well as access resources such as internet, equipment, funding and training opportunities.
2- Opportunigee
Opportunigee (opportunity+refugee) is a learning space that helps young refugees create their own opportunities after discovering their passion. It opened in 2016 in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement and provides entrepreneurial education, life coaching, internet connections, learning resources, and lessons, such as how to use the internet for research.
Website Facebook Email: opportunigee@gmail.com
4- Refugee Innovation Centre
The Refugee Innovation Centre (RIC) is in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement and was founded by Olivier Nkunzurwanda, a Congolese refugee. RIC aims to help reverse the cycle of poverty by providing a location for young refugees and host community members to learn digital skills, have access to information, and apply for better employment.
Facebook Email: nkunzurwanda@outlook.com
Generous Designs Africa creates plastic cups out of collected waste plastic. Image courtesy of Lomoro Emmanuel
6- Ecobuildingby Sina Loketa
Ecobuilding is an environmental innovation by the RLO Sina Loketa in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement using compacted plastic bottles to create high-value, safe and durable dwellings. Using waste bottles as a building material has two immediate environmental benefits: it stops the bottles being burned or buried, and as the waste bottles replace woodfired bricks, they help reduce deforestation. Ecobuilding’s work also has beneficial societal consequences by creating job opportunities.
Facebook Email: sinaloketa@gmail.com
8- Botanica Repellent Company
Botanica Repellent Company is a social enterprise based in Nakivale Refugee Settlement and founded by Patient Baraka, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Botanica aims to help combat malaria among refugee children by providing a natural mosquito repellent cream and balm. By purchasing the major components of the repellents—such as citronella, lemon balm, and rosemary—from local and refugee women, Botanica provides them an income generation opportunity. Botanica was initially supported by Unleashed, a refugee-led innovation hub, profiled above.
10- Community Technology Empowerment Network (CTEN)
CTEN was founded in 2016 by displaced South Sudanese civil society leaders to give refugees in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement access to an ICT (information and communications technology) education as well provide other community services, such as connecting people with needed health and psycho-social services. Its ICT training includes Computer Repair and Maintenance, Graphic Design, and Data Collection and Analysis. CTEN hopes its training and other support will help refuges in Rhino Camp find employment and build their economic resilience.
Facebook Email: ctenuganda@gmail.com
Screenshots of Salaam. Players gather resources, like food and medicine, while running away from violence. Image courtesy of Junub Games
13- Community Development Centre (CDC)
The winning COVID-19 response innovation was CDC’s Soot Seme (meaning ‘voice of compassion’) audio creation project. Soot Seme was implemented in Omugo Refugee Settlement, and trained refugees and others to create local audio content that tackled misinformation about COVID-19 in a variety of languages in partnership with health service providers.
Community members listening to Soot Seme audio content being played on a speaker-box.