Uganda
A country of abundant potential, facing pressing realities
Uganda is a country rich in natural resources, fertile land, and a vibrant, youthful population. Yet despite this potential, many communities face persistent challenges - high poverty levels, climate-related shocks, and limited access to employment and essential services. At Ripple Effect, we work alongside Ugandan communities to turn this potential into lasting progress, helping families build resilient livelihoods and create brighter futures.
Key challenges
As of the 2019/20 Uganda National Household Survey, 20.3% of the population lives below the poverty line. This is worsened by high fertility rates and the impacts of climate change on agriculture, which remains the main source of income for 62% of Ugandans.
Nearly half of Uganda’s population is under 18, but the economy is struggling to create enough opportunities for its growing youth. Unemployment stands at 12.3%, and 42.6% of young people (around 4 million) are not in employment, education, or training. This widespread youth disengagement threatens to deepen poverty and increase the risk of social unrest.
In Uganda, agriculture employs 80% of the labour force and contributes over 40% to the GDP. However, it is highly susceptible to climate shocks, making it challenging for farmers to sustain their livelihoods. For instance, 30 to 40% of Ugandans experienced at least one climate-related shock in the past eight years
Pamela Ebanyat, Ripple Effect Uganda Country Director
Creating opportunities for Uganda’s youth and farmers through sustainable development
Ripple Effect supports Ugandans to build sustainable livelihoods through a range of focused initiatives. We strengthen market systems through enterprise development, linking communities to financial and non-financial services, while our skilling for employment equips people with practical and soft skills via on-farm and off-farm models. We prioritise inclusion, especially for refugees, youth, and persons with disabilities. Through farmer institutional development, we help establish cooperatives, milk collection centres, and business hubs to improve market access. We also promote sustainable agriculture, such as climate-smart soybean farming, and drive new solutions through our innovation challenge fund.
Current projects:
- Youth Inclusive Dairy Market Systems (YIDAMS) - 11 districts in Southwestern Uganda - 2022-2027
- Soybean Inclusive Market System - Isingiro district - 2022-2025
- Agriculture and Market Support - 3 districts in Southwestern Uganda - 2023-2025
Recent projects:
- Living with Wildlife - Pakwach district - 2020-2023
- Kyotera push-pull - Kyotera district - 2020-2023
- Kamuli inclusive livelihood project - Kamuli district - 2019-2022
- Lamwo integrated refugees project - Lamwo and Palabek districts - 2018-2021
- Amuru disability mainstream project - Amuru district - 2018-2020
- Agriculture for women & girls with disability - Kamuli, Luuka, Namutumba and Buyende districts - 2016-2019
- Rakai orphans project - Rakai district - 2015-2018
Isingiro district in Uganda is home to many refugees, who struggle to earn an income and feed their families. We work closely with refugees and smallholder farming communities in this area to increase household incomes. We do this by training them in soybean growth, harvest and trade. Soybeans are relatively weather-resistant (can withstand extreme heat and heavy rainfall) and they can be transformed into various products, such as soya milk and soya flour.
Ripple Effect is working with over 20,000 smallholder farmers and refugees in Kyegegwa, Isingiro and Kikuube to support them in strengthening their livelihoods. This project focuses around nutritional value and income generation, including training farmers on best-practice and sustainable techniques to increase their harvest yields, post-harvest management, and skills for setting up and maintaining trade.
Uganda is faced with high levels of unemployment, mainly caused by a lack of market relevant skills, competencies, and knowledge to access competitive employment. As a result, young people are less economically active in their communities - this perpetuates the cycle of poverty. The dairy sector is slowly inching its way into Uganda’s top exports, highlighting a great employment opportunity for young people. Ripple Effect is working with young people in the Bushenyi district of Uganda to improve their technical skills to start and grow dairy enterprises, as well as supporting them to access internships and attachment in the dairy agribusiness. Funded by Mastercard Foundation.
Our partners
Ripple Effect works closely with a network of expert partners in Uganda to deliver lasting impact, drawing on their deep local knowledge and specialist expertise.
Current implementing partners like ADROIT and Ankole Private Sector Promotion Center Ltd, play a crucial role in supporting business development across communities. Light for the World strengthens our work with people with disabilities, ensuring inclusive approaches. Financial collaborators such as Equity Bank, Vision Fund, and Financial Sector Deepening Uganda help extend access to vital financial services. Research conducted with IDEAL was key to ascertain sustainability of the volunteer farmer trainer.
These partnerships are key to the success of Ripple Effect’s programmes, creating sustainable change through shared vision and local leadership.
Our current projects are funded by:
Previous funding partners:
Get in touch
Plot 1, Ssemawata Road, Ntinda,
P.O. Box 23627, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 702 700 627
Email: uganda@rippleeffect.org
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