The POWER (Providing Opportunities for Women in Entrepreneurship and Reproductive Health) PILOT PROJECT is a new joint initiative developed by Action for Health Uganda (A4HU) and Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) for women entrepreneurs and business leaders who are addressing Family Planning (FP) and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) challenges in Uganda. The call for applications was launched through partners, key stakeholders, youth clubs, youth groups, and social media platforms. The Pilot will run from June 2022 to February 2023.
With the support of Capital Solutions Limited (CSL), a Ugandan-based social enterprise company, the POWER project will provide twelve young-women business leaders with training, coaching, capacity development, and mentoring to grow their enterprises in the field of FP/SRHR. The women entrepreneurs will be linked to a mentorship program, an alumni network, local business networks, academic institutions, the public sector, and international networks to ensure access to ongoing information and services to help expand their enterprises.
The 2018 Mastercard Index of Women's Entrepreneurship showed that Ugandan Women are the third most enterprising globally behind Ghana and Russia. Through POWER, we hope to capture the passion and drive of these women to create sustainable business models while addressing SRHR challenges. This Accelerator project will not only transform the SRHR landscape in Uganda but also provide innovative ways to tackle poverty among the youth in Uganda.
This pilot's success will allow for an Incubation Hub to be set up at our Bonita Training Center, where women-led FP/SRHR business start-ups can be developed and launched. The POWER project's climax will include a "Demo Day" where candidates will get an opportunity to pitch their ideas to a broad audience of influencers to attract public interest, new investors and partners. The "Demo day" will also feature the presentation of award certificates to each innovator, with the winning enterprise receiving a monetary prize to accelerate their business.