Our multi-year grant to Street Business School had proved a worthwhile investment. Since our original grant in 2020, the organization has continued to go the extra mile to further their mission, which is to bring entrepreneurial training to women all over the globe, sharing the skills and resources they need to lift themselves from poverty.
We are happy to lend our continued supported with an additional 3-year commitment in 2025.
Beginning with local impact in Uganda, SBS has kept their eye on the ultimate goal to scale their impact through customized partnerships with large organizations including “cascading” (train-the-trainer) models and multi-year collaborations with varying levels of training, implementation, and evaluation support. Among other initiatives, they have assembled cohorts of small nonprofits to efficiently bring SBS to multiple communities while developing the programmatic muscle to ensure long-term implementation and monitoring capabilities. To date, they have trained over 300 partners in 37 countries and counting!
Along the way, SBS is making a real difference in the lives of talented, deserving women. One example is Scolastic Mpasa Yakosya (pictured above), a Ugandan woman who owned a laundry business. When the business began to fail, she faced a critical moment. With five children depending on her, she needed a solution—fast. At 58, most would have given up. Instead, encouraged by other refugees, Scolastic joined the Street Business School (SBS) entrepreneurial training program, a decision that would completely transform her life.
During the program, she was particularly inspired by one of the coaches, a graduate of the program who had no hands but successfully ran her own business. “I was motivated by the disabled coach who didn’t have hands but had her own business. I thought if this coach can work, what about me with both hands?”
For Scolastic, the most impactful topic was on saving. Before the training, she had never considered the importance of saving money. “I never used to save. Every penny I made, we would just use it all.”
After graduation, Scolastic partnered with another program graduate to start making hair products and baking. Her life changed dramatically. “My life changed a lot after the training. I am a busy woman now. I used to think a lot and did not know what I would eat for the next meal. But now, I don’t worry anymore. I can take care of my family and afford all the basic needs.”
Scolastic is also a member of a savings group, allowing her to save regularly. She dreams of becoming a successful businesswoman, selling her products in bulk and expanding their hair product company.
She urges other women to work hard and stop feeling sorry for themselves. “I advise women to work. I saw a woman without hands who could work and can train. Women need to wake up and work. There is no excuse.”
Street Business School’s (SBS) livelihood training curriculum provides women living in poverty with the tools they need to successfully start and grow microbusinesses. The program is designed for localization and for those who may not have a significant formal education, plus it includes critical confidence-building components.
