Village Enterprise

Village Enterprise 🌍 We equip women, refugees, and youth in rural Africa to launch small businesses and end extreme poverty. We believe it is possible to end extreme poverty.

Join us in building brighter futures through the power of entrepreneurship. But climate change, conflict, and other shocks are threatening the progress that has been made. Backed by rigorous evidence, we have a solution that lifts families in rural Africa out of extreme poverty, improves their well-being and resiliency, and ensures a brighter future for generations to come. Partnering with governm

ents, nonprofits, United Nations agencies, conservation organizations, and private sector companies, Village Enterprise equips women, refugees, and youth living in extreme poverty with the resources and skills to become first-time business owners and start climate-smart businesses and savings groups. For over 30 years, we have worked in rural African communities where most people live on $2.15 a day or less. Over 96% of our team is African, and more than 80% of our entrepreneurs are female. To date, we have impacted the lives of more than 2 million people in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Nigeria. To learn more about our work to eradicate extreme poverty and how our model empowers women, youth, and refugees, cultivates resilience against climate change, and protects the environment and endangered species, visit our website.

What happens when refugees are equipped with the tools and resources to start businesses?For Mariam, it meant no longer ...
06/16/2026

What happens when refugees are equipped with the tools and resources to start businesses?

For Mariam, it meant no longer relying on food assistance to support her family.

🐓 Through DREAMS, Mariam launched a poultry business that now allows her to buy food, pay school fees, and better provide for her household.

Designed to help refugees and host communities become entrepreneurs, DREAMS was recently evaluated through a rigorous independent study, which found that the program significantly reduced extreme poverty among participating families.

Check out Mariam's story and learn what the evidence tells us about helping refugees rebuild their lives. ⤵️

"The results indicate that we're increasing incomes, we're increasing consumption, we're increasing assets, we're improv...
06/11/2026

"The results indicate that we're increasing incomes, we're increasing consumption, we're increasing assets, we're improving food security, we're improving savings, and all of this is happening at quite a significant level." - Winnie Auma, Chief Operations Officer at Village Enterprise

Winnie Auma recently joined the AfricaLink podcast from DW News to discuss how Village Enterprise and Mercy Corps are helping refugees launch life-changing businesses through DREAMS.

The conversation provides insight into the groundbreaking new results from IDinsight's independent study of the DREAMS program in Uganda and Ethiopia.

Listen today by using the link in the comments below.

06/11/2026

"Now my family is respecting me as Mom." 🌻

Through her sunflower business, Rahima has been able to build a thriving livelihood in Uganda's Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement. She's paying for her children to attend school, her family is eating a more balanced diet, and she has big dreams for the future.

Rahima is one of thousands of whose lives have been changed through DREAMS, an award-winning program from Village Enterprise and Mercy Corps. Not only has DREAMS been proven to increase consumption, savings, and assets for and host community members in rural Africa, but it's helping families live happier and healthier lives.

💡 The impact of DREAMS was recently researched through two high-quality, independent studies from IDinsight. Learn more about the life-changing results: bit.ly/4uwt5Vd

We’ve got big news to share! Groundbreaking new evidence released today shows that DREAMS significantly reduces extreme ...
06/10/2026

We’ve got big news to share! Groundbreaking new evidence released today shows that DREAMS significantly reduces extreme poverty among refugees and host communities in East Africa.

Two high quality studies found that DREAMS—which combines Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation model with Mercy Corps’ expertise in market development—significantly increased consumption, savings, and assets among refugees and host communities in Uganda and Ethiopia.

The two randomized controlled trials, conducted by independent evaluator IDinsight, found that compared to a control group, DREAMS participants increased:

💵 Monthly consumption by 17% in Uganda and 9% in Ethiopia, meaning families spent more money on food, medicine, and other essentials like soap, firewood, and school supplies

💰 Savings by over 90% in both countries, strengthening household safety nets and resilience to economic and climate shocks

🏠 Household assets by 20-24%, as entrepreneurs bought livestock, built homes, and bought solar panels, tools, furniture, and more

At a time of unprecedented cuts to humanitarian aid, these findings offer powerful evidence that refugees and host communities can move beyond aid dependence when they have access to entrepreneurship, stronger markets, and economic opportunity.

Recognizing the program’s success, we are thrilled to announce continued support for DREAMS:

🇪🇹 In Ethiopia, the IKEA Foundation is funding the program's continued implementation and growth as DREAMS further embeds in local government systems

🇺🇬 In Uganda, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is funding the next stage of DREAMS, as well as an evaluation of how DREAMS can embed into existing early childhood development programs across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique

We're incredibly grateful to all of the funders who have supported DREAMS to date and made this impact possible: Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Gates Foundation, ICONIQ Impact, IKEA Foundation, LeverforChange, and the generosity of anonymous donors.

Read our press release to learn more about these life-changing results: https://villageenterprise.org/blog/dreams-rcts/

Village Enterprise is at AidEx 2026 in Nairobi! This morning, our CEO Sazini Mojapelo joined a panel of experts to discu...
06/03/2026

Village Enterprise is at AidEx 2026 in Nairobi! This morning, our CEO Sazini Mojapelo joined a panel of experts to discuss building resilient livelihoods among vulnerable populations.

The panel, “Economic Inclusion as Anticipatory Action: Building Resilient Livelihoods in Fragile Contexts,” was moderated by Janet Ngombalu of Christian Aid, Kenya and included the following leaders: Rozina Haque of BRAC, Susan Lado of African Development Bank, Maike Striffler of Relevant Ventures, and Elizabeth Mukami of International Rescue Committee.

During the session, Sazini highlighted the importance of moving beyond aid dependency and investing in long-term economic resilience in fragile and last-mile communities.

Drawing on lessons from our DREAMS project in Uganda, she shared how refugee entrepreneurs built successful businesses that expanded trade beyond their communities—demonstrating how entrepreneurship can create sustainable livelihoods even in highly vulnerable settings.

Sazini also called for stronger collaboration with the private sector, particularly telecom companies and digital service providers, to make entrepreneurship training, financial literacy, and digital tools more accessible through platforms free from data fees.

We'll be at AidEx again tomorrow—keep an eye out for the Village Enterprise team!

From selling produce to running a bakery and raising livestock—meet Margaret, Teresa, and Rebecca, three new business ow...
05/28/2026

From selling produce to running a bakery and raising livestock—meet Margaret, Teresa, and Rebecca, three new business owners in Uganda 🇺🇬

After receiving business training, seed capital, and mentoring from Village Enterprise, the trio of women identified a new opportunity in their community: baking mandazi to sell to a nearby primary school.

🥯 Their mandazi business was a hit, and looking to diversify, they quickly reinvested their profits into livestock and farming.

🐐 Margaret, Teresa, and Rebecca started with just three goats, but now the group owns more than 20—and they also have chickens and turkeys. They’ve further diversified their future income streams by planting peanuts to harvest and sell. As a result of their business success, they have each been able to better provide for their families and have income to purchase more nutritious meals and essential household items.

🏡 Their next goal: for each member to build a permanent home by next year!

📸: Jjumba Martin Photography

05/26/2026

Entrepreneurship is an art 🎨

Every small business starts with creativity—fabric transformed into handmade clothing, a basket wove by hand, a market stall built from a single idea.

For the entrepreneurs we work with, that creativity becomes something even more powerful—a source of steady income, opportunity, and hope. Through business ownership, entrepreneurs are able to provide for their families, invest in their children, and build a path out of extreme poverty with dignity and determination. ✨

05/21/2026

We're bringing the power of digital innovation and entrepreneurship to rural Uganda 🚀

Through our SPRINT program, entrepreneurs are gaining access to digital tools, training, and mentorship that strengthen their businesses and communities.

From WhatsApp mentoring to digital savings tracking, technology is shortening meetings and making recordkeeping faster and more accurate. The result? Entrepreneurs have more time to focus on running and growing their businesses.

There’s still time to double your impact ⏰A gift of just $25 helps equip an entrepreneur with training and startup suppo...
05/20/2026

There’s still time to double your impact ⏰

A gift of just $25 helps equip an entrepreneur with training and startup support. And right now, your gift is still matched dollar for dollar!

When you provide an entrepreneur with startup funds and training, your investment does more than launch a business. It fuels dreams, builds dignity and hope, and empowers women with the agency to determine their futures.

Give a $25 gift today: bit.ly/4eA9OgZ

05/14/2026

Will you give today to support entrepreneurs like Agnes?

Through Village Enterprise, Agnes has become a successful business owner and farmer. Along with her business partners, she now grows multiple crops across dozens of acres and has expanded to raise chickens—1,300 and counting!

Today, Agnes has a thriving business. She's using her profits to pay for her children’s school and better provide for her family.

She's one of thousands of Village Enterprise entrepreneurs in rural Africa proving that entrepreneurship is limitless.

Donate today: bit.ly/4eA9OgZ

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