Uganda

**About the Programme**

iUPSHIFT is UNICEF's youth social innovation and entrepreneurship programme, implemented in Uganda by StartHub Africa in close collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development. The 2026 cycle targets 500 young people aged 18–24 across Kampala and Isingiro. Participants are mobilised from a pool of 2,000+ applicants and selected based on commitment and potential.

The programme moves participants from training through to enterprise: four-day bootcamps are followed by a four-week growth sprint, pitch days, and seed and innovation grants for top-performing teams.

**Skills Participants Gain from the 4-Day Bootcamp**

The bootcamp is hands-on from day one. By the end of four days, participants will have:

**Problem identification and community empathy**: conduct direct observation and stakeholder interviews to map real needs in their community, then used structured tools like the Problem Tree and the 5 Whys to define problems worth solving.

**Idea generation and validation**: work through rapid brainstorming techniques to generate and filter ideas, then assess the financial feasibility of their best options before committing.

**Prototyping and real-world testing**: build a physical prototype or service concept and test it in the market through the 50K UGX Challenge, a live exercise where teams start a real business and generate revenue within 3 hours using a small starting amount.

**Basic bookkeeping and financial literacy**: learn to record income and expenses and understand the unit economics of a business idea.

**Marketing and sales fundamentals**: get hands-on exposure to customer communication, pitching a value proposition, and collecting feedback.

**Business planning**: complete a Business Model Canvas and develop an action plan outlining next steps, required inputs, and growth milestones.

**Pitching and presentation**: prepare and delivere a business pitch covering the opportunity, their idea, progress made, and planned next steps.

English

Brand Marketing

Business Marketing

Business Presentations

Communication

Entrepreneurial Finance

Financial Literacy

Ideation

Prototyping

UNICEF iUPSHIFT equips Ugandan youth with innovation, business, and pitching skills through bootcamps, mentoring, and seed funding opportunities

iUPSHIFT Uganda

iUPSHIFT Uganda

By Start Hub Africa