Uganda

Projects

Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is a public-private partnership for trade-led growth, supporting governments in developing and least-developed countries in implementing the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. By bringing together governments and businesses of all sizes as equal partners to deliver targeted trade reforms, the Alliance cuts through red tape and end costly delays at borders.

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Building Resilience through Market-led Livelihood Opportunities (Uthabiti)

The project will enable access to off-farm income-generating opportunities for refugee settlers and their host communities, reducing their dependence on humanitarian aid while encouraging self-reliance from the market-ready participants.

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Dynamic Markets for Farmers - Sustainable Cocoa and Honey

The project supports smallholder farmers in the cocoa and honey value chains by facilitating their access to extension services and markets, and by enabling them to improve their knowledge and skills.

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News

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30.03.2023

Swisscontact reinforces its commitment to fostering increased private sector engagement in refugee areas

On the 23rd of February 2023, the Livelihoods and Resilience Sector Working Group (LRSWG), a partnership hosted by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), organized a private-sector engagement event to reflect on the evolving private-sector engagement and experiences in refugee areas, challenges, and emerging opportunities. The workshop was also aimed at initiating dialogue between private sector players, policymakers, development and humanitarian actors on fostering increased private sector engagement in the refugee space.

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01.03.2023

Reducing refugee dependence on humanitarian aid

Using a market systems approach, Swisscontact in Uganda facilitates technical and business skills training in mushroom production and marketing to reduce refugee dependence on humanitarian aid.

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28.02.2023

Building Partnerships with the Private Sector for Youth Skills Development

Uganda's private sector involvement in Skills Development is low. Through our approach, we initiate relationships with private sector players, which lead various companies to partner with young people across hospitality, agriculture and construction market systems. Hear testimonials from young people who have developed their skills and have successfully secured jobs. Swisscontact has engaged with 30,000 young people in Uganda over the past seven years.

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Country Director Uganda

Pavlos Troulis

APPROACH

For over 20 years, Swisscontact has been working in Uganda to improve youth competencies, increase employability, enterprise competitiveness, and promote inclusive social and economic systems. Swisscontact leverages the Inclusive Market (IM) systems approach through partnerships with the public and private sectors. Swisscontact plays a facilitator role in developing and implementing sustainable solutions that address the underlying causes of poverty.

Swisscontact Uganda has four strategic priorities. These are:

Agribusiness/agriculture development, with a holistic focus on food systems including food security
Skills development with a focus on the youth
Diversification into trade facilitation, migration, tourism and construction
Advisory/capacity building service

These strategic priorities embody the sustainability criteria of gender equality and social inclusion, financial capability, environmental responsibility, and good governance.

Over the years, Swisscontact Uganda has reached over 70,000 direct beneficiaries (25,000 women), with over 50,000 (16,000 women) employed/earning an income worth circa CHF 10.7 million.

Services

In Uganda, Swisscontact has over 20 years of experience, with a footprint in over 70 districts. We provide services in project management, enterprise promotion, skills development, financial inclusion, trade facilitation, market linkages, capacity building and advice.

Project Management

Swisscontact has an impressive track record in developing and implementing projects. Our projects take a holistic and systemic view of the issues and the local context in addition to actively promoting private sector engagement, a learning culture, and evidence-based adaptive management. In all Swisscontact projects, we value the people we work with while fostering accountability and transparency.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development

We provide value chain advice, enterprise development and facilitate the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Skills Development

We facilitate access to market and demand-led technical and soft skills to address the mismatch of the labour force and the labour market. Through collaboration with private sector employers and other key stakeholders, we design appropriate skills development, skills upgrading and labour market insertion interventions. We offer support to school dropouts and those with limited access to formal skills acquisition and development opportunities.

Financial Inclusion

We develop adaptable financial products to address the bottlenecks that hinder marginalized groups like youth, women, smallholder farmers and startups from accessing financing. Through financial literacy, we seek to increase the knowledge of individuals, so they make sound financial decisions.

Trade Facilitation and Market Linkages

We co-create and facilitate local, regional, and international business partnerships while promoting win-win propositions where roles are delineated, and benefit is mutual for all parties involved. We do this by creating business linkages between market actors, facilitating access to business development services, and providing institutional support to trade organizations, SMEs, and the Government.

Capacity Building and Advisory Services

The essence of inclusive markets development is enabling local stakeholders to take direct ownership of development. We build the capacities of project implementers, researchers, businesses, and the public sector to strengthen competencies for developing and implementing inclusive market development interventions.

Jobs

Motivated and productive employees with initiative constitute the most important success factor in all areas of our work. We count on individuals who are looking to the future, impact- and team-oriented, and want to work in international development cooperation.

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Our Partners

Swisscontact Uganda has been successfully working with the partners below to implement projects.

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