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14 Apr Uganda updates

Posted at 15:30h in Uganda by
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Meet Alice, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who is now living in Kampala. Alice runs a textile business in downtown Kampala and employs 16 people, refugees and locals alike. She was able to launch her business by selling her jewellery and getting a little help from her family back in DRC. She’s now facing tough competition from Chinese companies that are importing textile products at a cheaper rate than what local businesses could produce. Alice is a savvy businesswoman who knows exactly what to do to adjust to these types of changes in the market, but she needs access to financial services to do so. A loan would enable her to buy more machinery or develop new activities, but such services for small and medium size businesses are hard to find in Uganda. As a result, she’s had to downsize her business and fire employees to keep her business afloat.

Alice is a resilient woman and appeared confident that she would bounce back from this temporary setback. What really troubles her, she told me, are the death threats she has received from a group of Congolese men who are trying to extort money from her. She has turned to the police without success, and now fears for her life and that of her children.

Safety, protection and health are some of the main concerns that refugees voiced during our conversations in Uganda – these appear to be the main factors that are conducing to economic integration. Discrimination, marginalization and lack of access to opportunities are also preventing refugees – especially the most skilled ones – to launch businesses or seek employment.

During my trip I was struck by the proactiveness and entrepreneurial spirit of refugees. Refugee youths have been particularly active in creating grassroots groups to address the needs of their communities. Some of them have reached out to refugees of different nationalities as well as Ugandan youth; they believe that by breaking down these cultural barriers, they can gather ressources and strength to launch better, more efficient initiatives.

That’s it for now – more on #RefugeeEconomics very soon!

1Comment
  • solomon abdetta shene
    Posted at 09:44h, 16 April Reply

    YOU ARE SHOWING TO THE WORLD THAT REFUGEES ARE PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE IN THE GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE NATIONS THEY ARE LOCATED AS WELL AS TO THE CONTINENT THEY ARE SHELTERED IN………SO THERE IS A NEED MORE TO DO IN THIS AREA OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES…..

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