The Issue
Uganda has the world’s youngest population and is also the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa with over 1.5 million refugees, of whom 60% are young people. In refugee and host communities, young people face several challenges such as high poverty and unemployment rates attributed to several barriers in finding or creating employment. These barriers include limited access to quality and market-driven skills, limited access to credit, lack of learning opportunities to develop practical skills, limited business/entrepreneurial skills, lack of industry connections, discrimination, and long periods of inactivity due to conflict and displacement.
The Project
DCA and a consortium led by Muni University are implementing the Refugee and Host Community Youth Empowerment and Transformation Initiative (RETI) program in Uganda. Funded by the Mastercard Foundation, the program addresses unemployment among young people aged 15-35 in 15 refugee hosting districts, reaching 100,000 (60,000 female) and 70,000 (42,000 female) individuals. It provides educational and job opportunities, mentorship, internships, counselling, and mental health services to help refugees transition into the labor market.
The program also fosters networking and resource sharing among the youth. It aims to provide quality training and skilling to 100,000 young people in refugee and host-communities (70% refugees and 60% female), addressing the growing demand for education and skills development. More specifically, the program will train 100,000 young people in life skills; train and certify 88,000 in non-formal vocational and business skills; skill 6,000 through short courses in the three universities; skill 2,000 through internships/apprenticeships; and 4,000 young people will receive digital literacy and innovation skills.. Thereby, the project contributes to reaching the increasing demand for education and skills development for young people.
On the supply side, the program will strengthen the capacity of universities, local organizations, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs) to be responsive to the needs of young people including refugees, hosts, and those with special needs.
The Change
The program aims to improve young people’s access to financial products and markets by providing financial literacy, utilise digital platforms for employment, supporting the formation and digitalization of 1,700 youth savings and loan associations (YSLAs), linking 1,000 existing YSLAs to youth-friendly financial services and products; provide 20,000 young people with business incubation support, provide 7,500 with innovation grants and link at least 10,500 to formal employment.
The key interventions include training and skilling, financial inclusion and market access, enterprise support, and employment support provide the framework through which refugee and host community young people will attain market responsive and transition skills to work. This will result in young people demonstrating improved skills acquisition, an increased number of young people linked to formal employment and starting or expanding their businesses.
Additionally, the young people will receive life skills like psychosocial support, mentorship, and sexual and reproductive health to equip the young people to mediate challenges in their lives and enable a smooth transition from the learning phase into employment. Thus, ensuring that young people are productive and transition to both wage and self-employment opportunities. In doing so, the program will contribute to strengthening the individual capacities of participants, and subsequently capacities of their employers and families.
The project also works toward systemic changes such as shifts in policies, resource flows, positive mindset-change, relationships, and power dynamics. However, while it may take time to realise these systemic changes, there is a need to intentionally work towards them.
The Results
Key Achievements in 2025:
- Interviewed 2,232 youth for vocational skilling across the three districts.
- Enrolled 1,982 refugees and host community youth in market-relevant trades.
- Delivered business plan training to 1,622 graduates.
- Conducted three joint monitoring visits that confirmed active youth enterprises and increased district ownership.
- Formed 51 new Youth Savings and Loans Associations (YSLA) groups, bringing the cumulative total to 203 active groups.
- Digitised 36 additional Youth Savings and Loans Associations (YSLA) groups, reaching a total of 91 groups with 1,927 members.
- Linked three mature Youth Savings and Loans Associations (YSLA) groups to credit financing, with one group receiving a loan of Uganda shillings 5,000,000.
- Awarded innovation grants to 215 young people.
- Verified 1,567 youth for start-up kits to support enterprise initiation.
More broadly, a functional community-based feedback mechanism for the RETI project has been established. This includes a toll-free line and a smartphone for capturing community complaints and feedback, and distributing registration forms for complaints and feedback to community-based facilitators and project staff. It has received 2,717 applications from young people for vocational skills training and work-based learning in Yumbe, Koboko, and Terego districts, and identified 91 local artisans to provide these training and learning opportunities.
The Partners
The program is implemented through a consortium of nine partners, including three universities: Muni University, Gulu University, and Bishop Stuart, as well as six other partners: DanChurchAid, Finn Church Aid, Community Empowerment for Rural Development, PALM Corps, Meeting Point Kitgum, and Young African Refugees for Integral Development. The Consortium is led by Muni University, and together, the partners have vast knowledge and experience in working on skilling initiatives based on market needs.
Our Work
Through the goal of “Building Resilient Communities“, DCA focuses on building the economic, social, and environmental resilience of marginalized communities by increasing their production, income, and employment opportunities. DCA economically empowers marginalized young people by equipping them with marketable skills that enable them to become competitive in the workplace.
About this project
Title: Refugee and Host Community Youth Empowerment and Transformation Initiative (RETI)
Period: 1st June 2023 – 31st May 2027
Partners: The program is being implemented through a consortium of nine partners: Muni University, Gulu University, and Bishop Stuart University, as well as Finn Church Aid, DanChurchAid, Community Empowerment for Rural Development, PALM Corps, Meeting Point Kitgum, and Young African Refugees for Integral Development.
Amount: 27,358,466 USD
Number of people reached: 100,000 (60,000 female)
Donor: Mastercard Foundation
