This week in Kampala, some of Uganda’s brightest young minds came together for the 2025 National Enterprise Challenge finals, showcasing student-led solutions to real community challenges. After a year of training, digital simulations, and regional competitions, Mityana Secondary School earned top honors with their Mitesco Uni Plastic Solutions initiative. St Thereza Secondary School and Kisojjo Secondary School followed closely with innovative projects in charcoal briquettes and reusable sanitary pads.

Organized by Asante Africa Foundation in partnership with King’s Trust International (KTI), the program equips students with entrepreneurship skills to navigate a competitive job market and turn local problems into opportunities.

“We work with young people from last-mile communities who often lack access but have incredible potential,” said Asante Africa Foundation CEO Geoffrey Kasangaki.
“By giving them the right skills and mindset, we are raising job creators at a time when the country struggles with unemployment. Entrepreneurship becomes not just an option—it’s a necessity.”

The program’s impact is evident in the students themselves. Agasha Owen from Makokoto Seed Secondary School shared:

“These programs have helped me work with others and believe in my ideas. I no longer see myself as a job seeker—I’m a job creator now.”

Presiding over the event, Commissioner for Youth and Children Affairs, Mr. Ngabirano Fred, praised the students’ creativity and confidence:

“These innovations show that schools can be the starting point for solutions to community challenges. The language, clarity, and courage we’ve seen today are exactly the qualities this generation needs.”

With more than 10,000 students participating annually across East Africa, the Enterprise Challenge is building a new generation of entrepreneurs—students ready to innovate, lead, and transform their communities.

“Their ideas remind us that solutions to national challenges can start in a classroom,” said Kasangaki.

The 2025 finals were a vivid reminder: Uganda’s next generation of problem-solvers is here, fueled by creativity, purpose, and a drive to make change.