Overview:

Over UGX 1.7 billion was awarded to 72 youth-led social enterprises at the I-UPSHIFT Summit. Read how ILO and UNICEF are empowering young Ugandan innovators.

KAMPALA, Uganda — More than 1.7 billion Ugandan shillings in seed funding was awarded to youth-led social ventures at the National I-UPSHIFT Youth Social Innovation Summit 2025, which concluded Friday, Nov. 14.

The award ceremony served as the grand finale of the Integrated Upshift, or i-UPSHIFT, project, which supported young innovators in creating sustainable change in their communities. The program is a social innovation and entrepreneurship skills-building initiative for marginalized youth, jointly implemented by the International Labor Organization and UNICEF Uganda.

The funding supported the most innovative social enterprises developed through boot camps and mentorship, which equipped young people with key 21st-century skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking.

Evans Lwanga, chief technical officer for the International Labor Organization, stressed the importance of finding new solutions. “Social innovation is a commitment to find new ways to solve problems,” Lwanga said. “It gives us tools to tackle the problems to ensure lives are changing.”

The i-UPSHIFT project worked with several implementing partners across multiple refugee and host communities in Uganda, aiming to empower 1,200 young people to become successful entrepreneurs.

Solomon Kayiwa Mugambe, executive director of Wezesha Impact, praised the participants. “We continue to believe that when you empower young people with the right skills, they not only participate in creating the future but are actually creating the future,” Mugambe said.

Seventy-two outstanding youth groups were recognized and awarded Innovation Development Grants, with individual grants ranging from 7.37 million to 18.4 million shillings.

Guest of Honor Timothy Ssejjoba from the Ministry of Education and Sports noted that the summit aligned with government efforts to improve and create opportunities.

The event attracted government officials, development partners and private sector leaders, providing a premier platform for young innovators from both refugee and host communities to showcase their solutions and network for future collaboration and investment.