Africa

Teach A Man To Fish has been working with young people in Uganda since 2014. Together we strive to reverse growing youth unemployment and low learning outcomes from formal education.

Our programmes ignite skills in young people, giving them the tools they need for success at school and beyond. We make sure that the most marginalised young people can benefit equally from our programmes.

Through partnership and funding we have been able to work closely with young people and their teachers in schools across Uganda. We have introduced our School Enterprise Challenge into schools in Mpigi, Namutumba, Kassanda, Arua and Dokolo districts. With Education Cannot Wait, we have also been working in schools in four refugee-hosting districts.

The School Enterprise Challenge has transformed education for thousands of young Ugandans. We are determined to reach more young people in more districts in Uganda and create deeper impact for all our participants and their communities.

In Arua, Yumbe and Terego districts we are introducing an enhanced School Enterprise Challenge programme into 60 secondary schools over 3 years. 4,000 students will build their skills in a real enterprise in school and they will start savings clubs. We will set up an alumni network extending the support participants enjoy. Outstanding students will receive additional training and guidance to set up their own individual enterprises and a Savings and Loans Club to finance these.

This enhanced programme draws on our Youth Enterprise Challenge, in which we worked with some 4500 youth in farmer groups in Mityana. Collaborating with Opportunity International, Hanns R Neumann Stiftung and Opportunity Bank Uganda Ltd, the project supported youth to plan, set up and run a group business. 750 outstanding youth received additional support to set up individual businesses. Their efforts increased their families' income and created jobs in their local communities.

Trevor is a smart young man who, at just 14 years, dreams of becoming a lawyer. We are so proud that the School Enterprise Challenge is helping him overcome the challenges that stand in his way.

Trevor started at Kibuuka Secondary School in Mpigi in 2023, after graduating from Mpambire UMEA Primary School. His primary teacher helped him to secure a half-bursary towards his secondary school fees, but it is his own efforts that are keeping him in school.

Trevor is the second child in a family of seven. Unfortunately his father decided to stop paying his children's school fees but Trevor, determined to continue his education, has found a way to pay his own school fees.

At primary school Trevor joined the School Enterprise Challenge business team, producing and selling liquid soap and Vaseline. Quickly, he started to use the knowledge he gained in the School business to launch his own business at home making liquid soap.

Trevor collects discarded plastic bottles and washes them. He then makes a large batch of liquid soap every two weeks and sells it charging 1,000UGX (£0.20) for a small half-litre bottle and 10,000UGX (£2) for a five-litre bottle.

In the first round of sales he made 28,500UGX (£6) profit in just 2 weeks. In the second round he made a profit of 68,000UGX (£14.60), and by round 6 his profits had tripled and he was making 90,000 UGX (£19.00) in just two weeks.

Trevor earns enough money from his business to pay his school fees and buy school books and is determined to finish secondary school, go to University and become a lawyer.

He says that being part of the School-business taught him the technical skills to make soap and the skills for marketing his products. He says he learnt how to communicate well with customers, how to lead a team and how to keep accurate records of costs and income in a business. He has shared his knowledge with his mother. She is extremely proud of Trevor, his knowledge and his determination, which turned a family crisis into an opportunity for them both.

We work to help combat educational inequality in South Africa, and launched our School Enterprise Challenge programme here in 2014. We started by engaging teachers and students in schools throughout Kwa-Zulu Natal province to plan, set up and run educational, profitable and environmentally-conscious school-based businesses. Since that time we have supported over 5,000 young people across South Africa to gain vital life skills, business knowledge and practical entrepreneurship experience.

In 2020, in response to Covid-related school closures we created and rolled out our new programme - the Enterprise Adventure in printed workbooks to learners and strengthened teachers pedagogical skills through professional development webinars. We have developed the Enterprise Adventure into a digital programme that any young person anywhere in the world can take part in and in 2023 the programme was recognised as among the world's top 100 education innovations by HundrED.org

In 2023, we embarked on a new and exciting partnerships with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Ecubed (E3). DBE-E3 is developing South Africa's national strategy to introduce entrepreneurship education into all government schools. Together, we are introducing the School Enterprise Challenge into their model schools across the country, starting with schools in Kwa Zulu Natal and Gauteng provinces.

In 2023, over 90% of learners in the School Enterprise Challenge showed an increase in all life skills measured (teamwork, problem-solving, presenting and leadership) and, on average, achieved an Advanced skill level across all four skills areas over the year. This is a remarkable achievement given the extent of the learning loss wrought by Covid.

Through our new partnerships with DBE-E3 and the Next Up Foundation we will be working with more new schools across the country, growing our footprint and impact.

From 2013 to March 2017 Teach A Man To Fish was a partner in implementing the Rwandan Education Advancement Project (REAP), led by Health Poverty Action. With DfID support, 28 schools in Nyaraguru district in Southern Rwanda were supported to start and run sustainable School Businesses. These businesses support girls' education.

Also in 2016 Teach A Man To Fish launched our flagship School Enterprise Challenge programme in Rwanda thanks to support from the Lemonaid + ChariTea Foundation, Social Capital Foundation, Czarnikow, St. Mary’s Church Charities Committee and Fiecon. Several years later, 69% of the school businesses that were set up at the time were still running, generating a much-needed additional income for these rural schools and their students.

In 2020, we adapted the School Enterprise Challenge to launch out-of-school Business Clubs, reaching children and young people in spite of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The projects allowed young people in marginalised communities to gain essential life and business skills through the planning and implementation of businesses outside of school.

In 2018, we worked with local partners to support 15 schools in Kenya to set up, run and develop sustainable School Businesses directly benefiting more than 2,000 young people.

Our partnerships allowed low-resource schools both in rural and urban settings to participate in the School Enterprise Challenge and learn valuable skills to combat youth unemployment in their countries.

Teach A Man To Fish is partnering with PRO BONO School Partnerships for One World to introduce the School Enterprise Challenge into twelve partner schools in the Moshi and Dar Es Salaam regions of Tanzania in a three-year project.

School-businesses started in the programme are a learning platform for students, helping them to develop practical and essential life skills as well as business knowledge and experience. We have trained 23 teachers to facilitate 544 students in planning, launching and running real and profitable businesses which include a hair salon, liquid soap production, crafts and a student microfinance bank.

The profits generated by the School-businesses can be used to develop the school, offset the costs of providing education and also support vulnerable students with school fees and educational materials.

Our partnership with Resolute Mining from 2021 to 2022 aimed to improve education quality in 5 schools in the vicinity of their Mako Gold mine, Senegal and strengthen their finances. The communities around the mines are mainly rural and have high levels of poverty. Teach A Man To Fish trained and supported Resolute’s community team in Senegal to introduce the School Enterprise Challenge into these schools.

All the 5 schools developed a real business through the project, managed by 19 teachers and 177 students. The businesses generated a grand total of 409,350 CFA (GBP 542) in just 2 and a half months.

This income, over the school year, even maintained at this "starter" level, would cover all the costs of schooling 39 young people. This is significant as many young people from these communities are forced to leave school early for financial reasons.

Dialla Cissokho a teacher at Sina Keita (Mako) primary school which started a business rearing and selling poultry told us:

"Our students have gained valuable business knowledge and are eager to learn more. All 30 students on the business team improved their creativity and initiative and girls take on management roles. Grades have improved too as students are now focused on theory AND practice"

Located in Nairobi's Kibera slum - considered the largest slum in Africa - lies Shammah Children Centre, an informal school set up in response to the lack of public schools in the region. With no government funding, the centre suffers from a high student-to-teacher ratio and lacks good quality education resources.

Determined to generate income for their school and improve the livelihoods of students, a group of teachers and students at the Centre joined theSchool Enterprise Challenge and set up their own poultry and rabbit rearing businesses, as well as a vegetable garden.

In their first nine months of operation the school business team, known as the Shammah Shakers, earned a $1,200 profit and involved over 100 parents in the businesses creating a community-wide impact!

READ ABOUT THE SCHOOL ENTERPRISE CHALLENGE