Business, Technology and Innovation Research

Economic and Community Development Research Part 1

Using an Effectuation Framework to Evaluate an Entrepreneurship Training Program for Disadvantaged Youth in Kampala, Uganda

Uganda remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with one in five citizens living in abject poverty, and more than a third earning less than $1.90 a day. Eighty percent of the country’s population is under 30, with most youth unemployed or struggling to get by with odd jobs. According to the World Bank, this situation is only intensifying, as over 700,000 young people reach working age every year, but only about 75,000 jobs are created. Research evidence suggests that entrepreneurship can play a significant role in helping to alleviate this problem (Shepherd, Parida & Wincent, 2020). In addition to yielding widespread economic benefits, entrepreneurship also gives agency back to youth themselves, as opposed to leaving them dependent on charity (Abdelnour & Saeed, 2014).

Since 2017, Caring Hands Uganda (CHU) has been engaged in using entrepreneurship education to empower disadvantaged youth in Kampala. The Youth Livelihood Empowerment Program (YLEP) was developed to teach basic entrepreneurship skills, along with ways to access credit sources and global markets. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of YLEP’s 302 graduates to-date have started new ventures and generated positive effects in their communities. Prior to scaling this program, CHU has requested a program evaluation to better understand where YLEP can be improved. Using an effectuation framework, which focuses primarily on opportunity identification and new venture creation under conditions of uncertainty (Sarasvathy, 2001). Our research to this end has 3 main objectives:

1. To survey and document the experiences of graduates of YLEP, successes as well as challenges, as they struggle to establish new start-up ventures.
2. To identify ways to enhance the effectiveness of the training provided in YLEP, using an effectuation framework.
3. To determine what additional supports are needed by YLEP graduates in the field to help them achieve greater success.

Funding Source: SSHRC Partnership Engage 2021-2022

Research Lead: Dr. Akbar Saeed, Wilfrid Laurier University

Community Partner: Caring Hands Uganda