Social businesses get Shs6b funding to boost investment

Kampala.

Nine promising social businesses have received funding to scale up their operations having completed a three-month accelerator training.

The training run by Yunus Social Business (YSB) and the USAID programme targets social businesses impacting communities. Under the partnership, the most promising 20 social businesses with combined potential to create more than 2,200 full-time quality jobs and networks of 1,800 suppliers and distributors along their value chains will receive investment funds ranging from $200,000 - 350,000 (Shs675m - Shs1.2b) each.

The nine graduates completed a three- month accelerator training and business refining to operate social businesses in the health, renewable energy, apiculture, and agribusiness sectors. The graduates received mentoring from local and international partners and a minimum financing of $200,000 (Shs675m) to grow their businesses; making an aggregate of over Shs6b in funds.

Speaking at the passout of the graduates last week in Kampala, US Ambassador to Uganda Deborah R Malac in her remarks, said: “The three-year partnership with Yunus Social Business leverages more than 30 years’ of lessons learned and experience that can and does directly benefit the people of Uganda as they work to build the prosperous future they want and deserve.”

One of the beneficiaries of the accelerator programme said the training has given him skills to scale up his business. Mr Brian Mugisha of Golden Bees said before he enrolled into the programme, he had small plans but on completion he has learnt to dream big enough.
Golden Bees, which received Shs676b, works with farmers across the country to encourage them to rear bees through providing market for the honey bees.

Mr Eriab Kizza, the executive director YSB, said under the three-year partnership with USAID, 1,500 social entrepreneurs will receive training, coaching, and mentoring.

The lucky 135 entrepreneurs will be assisted to scale up businesses by improving and testing their business models and accessing linkages to markets.
“Let this graduation ceremony renew the commitment and energy to continue our mission of social business,” he said, adding that the accelerator programme will ensure 40 per cent of social businesses supported are women-led while 30 per cent of direct employment opportunities and 50 per cent of supplier/distributor opportunities are targeted to youth.
Mr Kizza said the previous investment in three social businesses created 222 jobs with 25 per cent female employment.

What they are
Social businesses are formal entities created to solve social problems in a financially self-sustainable way by working with local service providers and farmers to create thousands of new full and part-time jobs. YSB is a social business accelerator that incubates and finances local entrepreneurs to build solutions.

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