TeamUp Innovation Fund
Local initiatives for improved livelihoods in rural Uganda
The TeamUp Innovation Fund strengthens local initiatives for better living conditions in rural areas of Uganda. Together with our partners, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung and Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung, we are promoting solutions for more equal opportunities, sustainable basic services and economic prospects over a period of three years.
Project scope
Embedded in the Team Up Uganda program
With the Innovation Fund, the three cooperation partners are deepening the objectives of the joint TeamUp programme, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The TeamUp Innovation Fund focuses on innovative strategies for the equal participation of young people, women and people with disabilities, especially in rural areas. The focus is on the topics of climate and the environment, health and income opportunities.
TeamUp takes a holistic approach, combining health, structural, social, educational and economic components to sustainably improve young people’s prospects for the future.
© Siemens Stiftung
Innovation Fund
Supported initiatives
Funding is available for initiatives that promote the equal participation of young people, women and people with disabilities, and that contribute to the areas of climate and the environment, health and income opportunities:
- the Women Income Generation Opportunities Initiative
- the Social Innovation Academy’s Changemaker Program
- the Disability Inclusion Project
Women Income Generation Oppurtunities Initiative
The Siemens Stiftung works with the local partner Capital Solution on the Women Income Generation Opportunities Initiative (WIGOI). The two-year project provides 100 young women between the ages of 18 and 30 with the opportunity to increase their income, improve their career prospects, and start their own business through vocational and career training. The more than 1,000 applications show the enormous demand for such support, training, and mentoring programmes for young women throughout Uganda.
So far, 20% of the participants have been placed in jobs and professional networks through our partners in Uganda. ‘WIGOI taught me how to get paid for the services I provide and to believe in myself,’ says participant Barbra Amutuheire.
© Siemens Stiftung / Fotograf René Arnold
Social Innovation Academy's Changemaker Program
Through an intensive three-year coaching and mentoring programme run by the Social Innovation Academy (SINA), ten young people will have the opportunity to develop into social entrepreneurs and change-makers. In a second step, individual participants will be trained to replicate the programme in other regions. To ensure gender parity, at least 50% of the participants will be women.
SINA’s low-cost, self-managed approach at the community level provides marginalised youth with tools and mindsets to develop a vision for their future and create new solutions in the form of social enterprises that benefit society and the environment.
Participants share their experiences in the SINA Changemaker programme.
© SINA
Disability Inclusion Project
Together with the Uganda Society for Disabled Children (USDC), the Siemens Stiftung is supporting a process to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities. These individuals continue to face discrimination, which is further exacerbated by the high cost of living and unequal access to education and health services. The Disability Inclusion Project works to break down social barriers and promote self-determination. USDC works with experts and influencers in the disability movement.
The project is implemented in collaboration with team-up partners, local district administrations and local communities. The skills of team-up employees, partners and leadership structures are developed with the aim of sustainably including people with disabilities. Tailored strategies for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the health, agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene sectors are being developed. Close collaboration with community members, stakeholders and partners is designed to advance the inclusion of persons with disabilities at all levels.
© Siemens Stiftung / Fotograf René Arnold
Business Sprint zur Förderung einer ländlichen und grünen Wirtschaft in Uganda
Möchten Sie als etablierte*r Unternehmer*in die Lebensgrundlagen in ländlichen Gebieten Ugandas verbessern? Möchten Sie Ihre innovative Idee in einem Business Sprint validieren und sich um eine Finanzierung im Rahmen des TeamUp Innovation Fund bewerben?
Contact
Projektleiterin
Elisabeth Biber
elisabeth.biber@siemens-stiftung.org
Partners
The three German foundations – Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung and Siemens Stiftung – are working together with the Ugandan partner organisations Capital Solution, SINA and the Uganda Society for Disabled Children on the project.