The power of entrepreneurship creates lasting change. To drive enterprise in East Africa, business development should bring the biggest positive impact. Strong partnerships take work in finding, vetting, and testing for campaigns that make a difference.

That’s why Not For Sale joined with CIYOTA. It’s a leading refugee-founded and run education organization. Together, we launched the Entrepreneurship Challenge in Uganda, nurturing new enterprise in East Africa.

The mission? To empower bold, young innovators to transform their communities through sustainable businesses. The challenge equips refugee entrepreneurs with the tools, training, and funding they need to tackle pressing social issues.

For years, Not For Sale has worked tirelessly to offer vulnerable and exploited individuals the opportunity to change their future for the better through impactful enterprise.

Join us in driving this journey for people such as Esther and Benard – your support can fuel the next wave of entrepreneurial leaders in Uganda.

A new initiative from a proven concept

CIYOTA stands for COBURWAS International Youth Organization to Transform Africa. The Not For Sale team first approached them in 2018 with the concept of doing the Entrepreneurship Challenge. COBURWAS covers the regions of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Sudan.

The challenge used some of the thinking and the process that originated as part of another initiative called Montara Circle. This had launched successful business around the world, such as breakfast and brunch restaurants Dignita and award-winning plant-based beverages REBBL. It was a proven concept.

How did the process work with the Entrepreneurship Challenge? The idea was to bring in Not For Sale’s knowledge, business background, and network, with CIYOTA leading the way as the best partner to run that with.

Who benefits? Refugees fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to forced child soldiering and forced labor and slavery in the mines. Ultimately, these businesses build better communities, united.

Attracting the attention of refugee entrepreneurs and future business leaders

Not For Sale put a call out to all the refugees that CIYOTA had connection to in Uganda – it was a lot! The team asked for people’s business plans, and would then select and pay for 30 people to come to a hotel in Entebbe for a three-day entrepreneurship challenge. What followed was a flood of hundreds of applications.

The challenge involved training participants in elements such as the core BUILD approach (Believe, Understand, Invent, Listen, and Deliver); encouraging engagement between members of the cohort, instilling direct programming, expanding on their networking skills, and developing their businesses overall.

What does the challenge bring to enterprise in East Africa and entrepreneurs?

This “Shark-Tank” style approach sees Not For Sale advising young, bold, and passionate social entrepreneurs to pitch their social enterprise ideas. The sessions take hours of workshopping and preparation.

The benefits are tremendous! The Entrepreneurship Challenge encourages networking opportunities, offers business development workshops and awards seed funding for every participant involved.

Many young entrepreneurs are taking action to improve their lives, and the lives of their community members, through this social entrepreneurship.

Ongoing business support from a strong start

The work that these participants achieve is amplified to help many others – it’s not just the entrepreneurs themselves that benefit. Not For Sale helps set the floor for economic empowerment and each individual is doing additional support training. We need help and support to ensure that this continues.

We need $50,000 to help support 50 more entrepreneurs like Benard and Esther.

We’re continuing to work with and support previous attendees, but there’s more learning to be done and more businesses to grow.

Anyone that comes to take part in the challenge and pitches their idea – everyone gets funding. Winners receive two or three years’ worth of salary, but everyone gets some form of financial support.

Empowering enterprise in East Africa with CIYOTA

CIYOTA is a Ugandan not-for-profit refugee-education organization. Their mission is to empower young people living in Uganda, and across Africa, to be socially responsible entrepreneurial leaders to solve the root causes of their community problems.

For more information visit coburwas.org

Spence Diamonds

Based out of Canada, Spence Diamonds also partners with us on the Entrepreneurship Challenge, helping to financially support the work being done in east Africa, both in Rwanda and also in Uganda. Specialists in laboratory-manufactured diamonds, Spence is helping to clean up the problems and concerns created by the industry of mined diamonds.

Their work is helping those impacted by diamond mining feel as valued as what’s being mined.

For more information visit spencediamonds.com

Read the success stories of two stand-out participants from the Entrepreneurship Challenge – Esther and Benard.