Uganda: Microfinance and Entrepreneurship

Examine the roles of entrepreneurship, innovation, and business financing in Uganda. Write a collaborative business plan and develop entrepreneurial skills through a local business practicum.

Examine the factors that have made entrepreneurial activity and small businesses among the most important dimensions of Uganda's economic development.

Students can expect to:

Learn about entrepreneurship, indigenous innovation, and the financing of new and expanding businesses in a post-colonial African context
Appraise the role of microfinance and its relationship to poverty alleviation
Explore the dynamic relationships between the global economic environment and local entrepreneurship
Write a business plan, debate lessons learned from Ugandan business case studies, and partner with local entrepreneurs
Assess the impact of social entrepreneurship on economic development
Study the interaction between microfinance and social enterprise
Compare the economic gains and challenges in neighboring Rwanda

Students will learn from Ugandan and Rwandan scholars, business leaders, and entrepreneurs from institutions such as Makerere University Business School, Capital Markets Uganda, Entreprise Urwibutso, and Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurs Association Limited. Through the program’s practicum, students will work directly alongside Ugandan entrepreneurs at a local NGO or business.

The program provides instruction in the Luganda language and homestays with Ugandan families in both urban and rural areas, helping students integrate into daily life. Students learn business planning methods and discover the opportunities and challenges of conducting primary work on microfinance, entrepreneurship, and social development in an African context.

The program is based in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.