Kampala–On February 3, 2014, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan signed a grant worth approximately 50 million Ugandan Shillings. This grant, funded by the American people, is awarded to alumni of President Obama’s Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) to support youth entrepreneurship efforts in Uganda.
Entitled Empowering Youth Entrepreneurship through Hands-On Innovation, Creativity, and Skills Training, this project will educate young people about entrepreneurship and help them build the skill set necessary to start their own businesses. YALI Alumni Rusia Orikiriza Bariho of Oribags Innovations, Ltd., Grace Nanyonga Mugisha of Grana Fish Supplies, Ltd., and Arthur Tumusiime Asiimwe of Makerere University will teach product development, organizational leadership, fish processing skills, and design principles to Ugandan secondary school students. Five four-day trainings will be carried out at schools in Kalangala, Mukono, and Jinja districts over the next six months.
During her remarks, Assistant Secretary Ryan stated, “This project will not only teach young Ugandans the skills they will need to begin a life as entrepreneurs, it will help them create a vision for themselves and their country as a nation of job-creators. By the time they finish this program it is our hope that they will be infused with the entrepreneurial mindset that has done so much to make the United States what it is today. I believe this sprit is crucial to the future of Uganda.”
She continued, “The United States is committed to the future of Africa and African youth. YALI is just one example of that commitment. We do not see youth as a problem to be solved, but rather a resource to be tapped.”
Applications for the Young African Leadership Initiative’s 2014 Washington Fellowship closed on January 27, 2014. A total of 500 young leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa will travel to the United States in June for six weeks of skills and leadership training at top U.S. universities and a summit with President Obama. Upon return from their fellowship, they will have opportunities for networking, ongoing professional development, seed funding, and community service.
For more information, please contact:
Eriki Peter
Media Program Assistant, U.S. Mission Uganda
Tel: +256-414-259791 x6418
+256-752-973372
ErikiPP@state.gov
