At Asante Africa Foundation, we believe that transformative change is not achieved in isolation. Our work is powered by collaborative partnerships with organizations that share our vision. These alliances allow us to deepen our impact, expand our reach, and bring specialized expertise to the communities we serve.

It is through these strategic partnerships that we can truly amplify the potential of youth. We are proud to highlight our collaboration with Challenges Uganda. This partnership equipped young entrepreneurs in the Youth Livelihood Program with advanced business skills, mentorship, and the confidence to turn their ideas into thriving enterprises. Together, we are not just teaching skills. We are building futures and fostering a new generation of leaders and innovators.

SUMMARY OF PARTNERSHIP 

In 2021, Asante Africa Foundation engaged Challenges Uganda as a strategic implementing partner to enhance the entrepreneurial training component of the Youth Livelihood Program. Contracted to facilitate and judge the Enterprise Challenge Competition and lead the YLP National Summit at Nyakasura School, Challenges Uganda brought critical expertise in SME advisory, acceleration and capacity building.

Their involvement was central to the summit’s success, where they delivered high-impact, practical training sessions on business planning using the Business Model Canvas, financial literacy, proposal writing, pitching, market testing and legal aspects of business registration. Their interactive methodology (featuring one-on-one mentoring, role plays and peer presentations) proved highly effective in translating knowledge into actionable skills.

The impact was significant: youth beneficiaries gained advanced entrepreneurial skills and the confidence to apply them. This directly resulted in five enterprises receiving seed funding to expand into ventures like poultry and piggery, creating employment opportunities. A notable success story is Specioza, who secured UGX 5 million to grow her poultry business and subsequently launched a boutique that earns her UGX 400,000 monthly to support her university education.

The collaboration was successful due to a strong alignment in vision and complementary expertise. Key lessons learned include the greater effectiveness of in-person training for engagement and skill application, and the importance of targeting advanced training at older, out-of-school youth with existing businesses to maximize long-term impact.

SUMMARY OF CHALLENGES UGANDA

Challenges Group is an international enterprise development organization with a 25-year history of maximizing the potential of enterprises to deliver extraordinary impact on global challenges. Operating from offices across Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, the UK and Zambia, the organization addresses the core problem that many enterprises lack the capacity to perform at their fullest potential, thereby limiting their impact.

Their mission is delivered through a unique, holistic approach refined by decades of application. This approach is built on three core pillars. The first is being “There for the Journey” which involves providing bespoke, one-to-one support tailored to an enterprise’s specific stage of development. The second is developing a “3-Dimensional Understanding” that assesses and intervenes at the levels of the enterprise itself, its people, and its ecosystem to ensure sustainable change. The third pillar is an “Innovation Mindset” which focuses on the practical implementation of ideas and adapted design thinking to achieve incremental gains in new contexts.

To date, Challenges Group has partnered with ecosystem support organizations in 78 countries, delivered over 200,000 onsite consulting days and facilitated 30 million pounds in financing, directly supporting more than 4,000 social businesses.