Three Ugandan start-ups are among the fifteen teams whose projects will benefit from the 2018 Resolution Social Venture Challenge, an initiative that is supported by the Mastercard Foundation and The Resolution Project to “provide a pathway to action for socially responsible young leaders who want to create change that matters.”
The three are: Girls Alive Uganda, which was started by Marion Apio, Lokolimoe Susan Hilda and Mutoni Suzan to address the lack of sanitary materials for vulnerable girls in Tororo District; Rabbits for Education, founded by Myres Ndyabawe and Narinda Shirah to address primary school drop-out rates in a government-aided school in Kamwenge District; and Youth Empowerment Initiative, run by David Gai and Akot Arkanjelo, who are aiming at building the capacity of youth and support primary school education in Yumbe District.
The competition was held in Kigali, Rwanda, according to an official statement, which also shows that thirty teams participated in a competition that saw half of the participants eliminated.
The winners are now part of the fellowship that includes seed funding, mentorship, and access to a network of young global changemakers to pursue impactful projects in their communities, officials say.
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The founders of Girls Alive Uganda are students at Makerere University. In the official statement, Marion Apio, who spoke on behalf of the team, was quoted as saying: “We are working for our community by keeping Uganda’s most vulnerable girls in school all month long, even during menstruation.”
Added Apio, “This opportunity will enable us to collaborate with other young changemakers around the world. Together, we can impact the lives of Africa’s leaders of tomorrow and champion other young changemakers in our community.”
On her part, Ashley Collier, the manager of Youth Engagement and Networks at the Mastercard Foundation, said: “Africa’s young leaders are brimming with talent, ideas, energy, and a deep desire to have a positive impact on their communities. Yet few young people receive the support and tools they need to ensure a project or social venture they want to undertake is successful.”
She added, “By winning the Social Venture Challenge, these young leaders have earned the resources, network, mentorship, and capital they need to implement their venture and to maximize their impact.”
Winning projects address a wide range of challenges Scholars have observed first-hand in their communities, including digital literacy, a lack of mental health supports, access to sanitation, and climate-smart agriculture.
The other 12 teams that will participate in the 2018 cohort of Social Venture Challenge are from Kenya, Gambia, Somaliland, Ghana, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Malawi, Tanzania, and Lebanon.
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