Samuel Niiwo Center (SNC)

Samuel Niiwo social entrepreneur, he founded the Samuel Niiwo Center for Humanity and Sustainable Development (SNC), one of the emerging scale up in Africa, creating large-scale opportunities for the poor and fighting social injustices. SNC implements several initiatives notable among them are: 1) Africa growth through Rural inclusiveness in Sustainable Agribusiness value chains and Entrepreneurship (AGRISAVE) uses climate smart agriculture vocational education, appropriate technologies and work readiness training to empower household farmers  in Africa majority being women and youths to participate efficient markets ; 2) the Uganda National Entrepreneurship Development Institute (UNEDI) involved in Education, training and research. In addition Samuel serves as the Executive Vice President of the Professional Urban Planners of East Africa (PUPAEA) a body of 19 member countries and Co-Founder and President of Africa Council of Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship (ACOSBE) involved in MSMEs policy advocacy at the continental level. More about SNC visit: www.samuelniiwo.org 

SNC is committed to solving problems of child poverty, discrimination and marginalization of women, financial exclusion, hunger, climate change and inefficient markets systems that are supposed to guarantee inclusive and share prosperity. SNC is proposing to develop a self-sustainability mechanism that guarantees consistent quality of her interventions, durability and in provision of scalable solutions. This will entail developing the institutional capacity of SNC’S income generating project of the Uganda National Entrepreneurship Development institute (UNEDI) to become internationally certified and competitive institution in provision competent entrepreneurship faculty support, training, consultancies, research, development of innovative solutions and collaboration with other global institutions. This will elevate resource-poor farming and peri-urban poor families with improved access to appropriate, acceptable and affordable business culture mindset change education, training, technologies and engagement of policy debate to spur inclusive and efficient market-led productivity to earn income through the market, reduces health care challenges, elevate education better outcomes.   

Child poverty, gender parities couple with lack of access to appropriate business culture and technological innovation continue to fuel intergenerational poverty, hunger particularly undermining job prospects in Uganda. According to WFP Uganda produces more food than it consumes yet poverty limits access to nutritional food. Poverty is the root causes of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect of children. When women have unequal access to resources, this perpetuates food shortage and poor health. One study of WFP showed that women's education contributed 43% of the reduction in child malnutrition over time, while food availability accounted for 26%. GoU/UNICEF report 2019 indicated that “Uganda with close to 60% of the population below 18 years of age, and over 75% below the age of 35 years, children’s cognitive development represents Uganda’s greatest natural resource. Uganda’s vision of becoming a middle-income country by 2040 remains dependant upon our collective ability to safeguard children’s right and potential to contribute to national development.” Globally the number of hungry people continues to grow with 821 million people lacking adequate food and 150 million children stunted (state of food Security and Nutrition in the world 2018) undermining progress on progress of the sustainable development Goal on Zero Hunger.  

Uganda National Entrepreneurship Development Institute (UNEDI) is an entrepreneurship education, training and research institution, spearheading entrepreneurship movement throughout Uganda with a belief that entrepreneurs need not necessarily be born, but can be developed through well-conceived and well-directed activities. UNEDI strives to provide innovative training techniques, competent faculty support, consultancy, research and quality teaching. This includes developing  training models and materials that reform mindsets towards creating new generation which is socially conscience, ethically –minded, principle- centered decision-makers with integrity and a global perceptive in the world of business. The development of entrepreneurs that suit the industry requirements of the 21st century needs a revamp Africa’s traditional processes with innovative models that guarantee safety and growth of business particularly small businesses, their savings with efficient and inclusive markets, proper governance procedures and income boost incentives. UNEDI seeks to transform individual businesses, vulnerable and marginalized groups while building stronger and more effective organizations. This approach recognizes that an effective enterprise facilitates change across multiple levels i.e. Individual: transforming the leadership and Entrepreneur skills of the individual; Community: mobilizing communities to prioritize needs and participate in decision - making; Organization:     building institutional sustainability and effectiveness; and Society: challenging gender inequality and strengthening Civil Society.

UNEDI serves youths and women, majority of whom are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) either on farm or off –farm.  For example UNEDI in partnership with Graca Machel Trust implemented social enterprise savings model were over 250,000 people — 60% of them women — were given tools to help become confident in their financial management skills and security. (http://awdf.org/wp-content/uploads/AWDF_NFNV.pdf). UNEDI mobilizes persons from village to village per district to enables participation of smallholder farmers for sensitization and training to adopt new skills and technologies, access banking services for increased production, productivity and profitability. Participants are organized into Alumni groups and Entrepreneurships Associations to provide feedback and input into UNEDI planning and development. This approach involves knowledge and technology transfer, the end user of scientific knowledge and technologies working together with service providers and the knowledge centres to exchange skills, practices that will lead to optimized for outcomes those being served.  UNEDI together with other institutions and small business associations in Uganda and Africa founded the Africa Council of Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship (ACOSBE) which is continental platform for the business education and small businesses development including participation and engagement in business climate policy debate and fora. 

Born 1971 in rural Uganda in a situation of deprivation, my humanity Journey started in 1996 after moving to Kampala city in search for odd jobs as school dropout. I mastered the skill of savings culture and together with my colleagues began a secondary school for poor people in the slum area of Kampala.   In addition, I started to share my savings habits and entrepreneurship skills with the women majority who had children in our school. Skills shared excitement many vulnerable women and male counterparts who started to flock in for the sessions. Around 2000 I launched SNC as a humanity organization to sponsor vulnerable children with education. As number grew in the same years together with the community members we resolved that SNC sets up business institute hence the birth of UNEDI. The training program attracted the attention of the First Lady of Uganda Hon. Janet Museveni who hire us to train women in Uganda Police Force and Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF), Kampala city areas and Northern Uganda among the widows affected by Kony insurgence, Ministry of finance on rolling out prosperity for all program and the Graca Machel Southern First Lady to the late President Nelson Mandela.  

I am motivated by the resilience of poor communities to thrive, being a product of the rural poor communities and I am deeply connected to their lack necessary tools, knowledge and implements to achieve success.   

I am well position to deliver the project due the experience i have gained over time which evidenced by the impacted and number of returnees to our training program. UNEDI has a potential market given its built brand in Uganda and Africa by evidenced by partnership like Graca Machel. 

In 2005, UNEDI experienced a serious setback and we were being attacked by politician who sought We were politically inclined to ruling regime because the training contracts we had received from the first lady, however managed sail through and survived even contracts were cancelled. 

I can associate my leadership abilities with the products I have mentored, over 10 youthful social entrepreneurs I have mentored began projects and are sustainable. More information can be found on http://samuelniiwo.org/?page_id=230, Notable among them is Ms. Praise Nalubwama mentored to start and run a succesful youth social enterprises the Youth Achievers International also called Miasha Africa at https://www.maishaafrica.org.nz/.  and the Maurine Kitimbo of PROWE at http://www.theresilientwomen.org/