96

Newsletter - September 2021

September has been an incredible month here at Finding XY, filled with a number of activities. We are pleased to share last month’s newsletter with you!

Finding XY is an Innovation Centre, Management and Advisory firm. Our focus is on Research, Project Consulting, Investment services and Business Development services to SMEs and Eco system builders.

PROJECTS UPDATES

Entrepreneurship Institute of Africa

Cente Ya Kikazi

We just concluded our first call for applications for Cente Ya Kikazi! We received 60 applications of female entrepreneurs for this pilot cohort. Training commenced  on 23rd September 2021!

Cente Ya Kikazi is a women empowerment initiative improving access to finance and technical assistance in form of business trainings and mentorship. Female entrepreneurs face challenges in accessing finance due to their inability to meet collateral requirements. This has greatly impeded the growth and sustainability of their enterprises. The Cente Ya Kikazi programme bridges this gap by providing low-cost capital in addition to business strategy and Investment readiness-focused trainings facilitated by experienced business coaches and mentors. This programme is supported by Village Capital,ENVenture, and Finding XY, the parent body. The programme is delivered through the Entrepreneurship Institute of Africa platform .Entrepreneurship Institute of Africa (EIA) is a business institute providing Business Development Services to entrepreneurs and Innovators in Uganda. Interested in the program, simply click the link below to book yourself a slot in the forthcoming cohorts.bit.ly/CYKregistration

SEED Workshops

This September, our team facilitated the seed accelerator workshop for Peec Energy. Peec Energy was named winner of the 2021 SEED Low Carbon Award! The enterprise provides PAYG meters to local mini-grid developers, allowing them to sell energy in off-grid locations and to remotely monitor their utility assets and collect bill payments via a central software. The Accelerator workshops provide SEED Award Winners with a one-year support package that includes tailored needs assessment, capacity-building workshops applying the hands-on SEED Accelerator Toolkit, and one-on-one advice. As an Accelerator participant, the enterprise is empowered during business development workshops and expert consultation to improve their investment readiness and optimize their financial resources, including the Accelerator SEED Grant which is given as a SEED Award Winner. After the trainings, Peec Energy will be able to take the next steps to scale up

Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator - UGEFA

Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator (UGEFA) launched partnerships with three banks:  Yako Bank Limited, Equity Bank and Opportunity Bank Limited. Through this partnership, UGEFA Green SMEs will be able to access green finance and contribute to Uganda’s green growth strategy. In addition, these collaborations affirm the role of commercial banks in the green sector.

“The partnership with UGEFA is aligned with our purpose to make lives of people and communities better and the sustainable development goals on poverty and climate action,”- Robert Okware, CRO, Opportunity Bank Limited.  As UGEFA partners, the banks will benefit from privileged access to UGEFA pipeline of 200+ green small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and will deliver 6.1 million USD in debt financing by 2023 to green SMEs across sectors. UGEFA is fully funded by the European Union Delegation to Uganda and implemented by Finding XY and Adelphi Research gGmbH. 82 enterprises were accepted to join the UGEFA 6-months catalyzer with loan matchmaking. The next call for application starts October 4 2021. Apply now:  https://ugefa.eu/register

Entrepreneurs with disabilities - LFTW

Finding XY conducted a four-day training of trainers (TOT) workshop for the Disability Inclusion  Facilitators (DIFs). The training on entrepreneurship and replication of the business models that have been tested and proven to work in the different areas of Arua, Lira, Kitgum, Mukono, and Kampala, took place in Lira. This Replication programme was developed by SEED. The areas covered during the dynamic training included business concepts such as: conceiving business Ideas, target market identification, value proposition, the lean enterprise blue print, finance topics, among others.

The participants were also trained on replication and adaptation and how this concept can be used to implement models that have been tested and proven. The DIFs will implement roll out of the trainings in the areas assigned to support Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) towards establishing climate-smart and inclusive businesses with sufficient profitability and wage margins. Finding XY works with Light For The World (LFTW) to provide entrepreneurship training to PWDs and linking them to financing opportunities. LFTW is a Disability and Development organization with a focus on Eye Health, Inclusive Education and Economic Empowerment. In Uganda LFTW runs Child Eye Health and Inclusive Economic Empowerment programs.

TEMARIN - Uptake of Captive PV Webinar 

UNEP DTU Partnership in collaboration with Finding XY conducted a webinar on the Uptake of Captive PV in Uganda. During the webinar, the event speakers presented the recent market study in Uganda and facilitated a discussion on how to address challenges and capitalize on opportunities in the Ugandan Captive Market segment. The participants included policy makers and government representatives, solar companies, investors, financial institutions, development partners, BDSs providers, among others. The TEMARIN project is a three-year, Danida funded project covering Kenya and Uganda, with the overall aim to support countries in accelerating the transfer, diffusion and uptake of specific climate technologies

NEW PROJECTS

Executive Innovation Course

Finding XY and Tinkr have joined forces to develop an Executive Innovation Course (EIC) aimed at strengthening the Innovation ability of entrepreneurs in Uganda. EIC targets growth-oriented leaders and managers in different established organizations from all sectors in Uganda, with a strategic ambition to invest to create sustainable development through innovation. The Program can be tailored to the needs of your organization! Stay tuned for updates on the first call for applications!

Healthy Entrepreneurs and Lifestyle Education (HEAL-Ed)

A scholarly-led organization from the University of Minnesota in partnership with EIA is designing a course to help entrepreneurs and employees improve productivity at their workplaces. The course will mainly focus on how to identify and address pressures that arise from running a business as an entrepreneur. Among others, the course will have content on stress management techniques to help entrepreneurs develop personal and healthy coping techniques for different circumstances. Alongside the course, this concept will be introduced to EIA programs to not only ensure sustainable enterprises, but also enable the teams to productively and steady-headedly run their enterprises.

1920 Bukoto,

Ntinda, Kampala,

Uganda