Young people, mostly refugees from Congo and South Sudan are harnessing technology to create real solutions for their community in Imvepi Refugee Settlement, West Nile-Uganda. Through a partnership between Hope Foundation, a refugee youth-led organisation, and Enabel, an ICT innovation hub was established in 2023 under the Support to Skilling Uganda project. Since then, about 90 youth, of whom 70% are refugees, have passed through it.

The innovation hub, managed by Thomas Okiria, founder and programmes manager at Hope Foundation, first equips youth with three months of ICT training. After that, they are placed in groups and encouraged to turn their ideas into working prototypes that address local challenges. To support this process, Hope Foundation collaborates with other organisations that provide materials the youth need to design and test their equipment.

Already, the hub has produced several impressive innovations: a cassava grinding mill, a chapati-making machine now being used to sell chapatis within the community, a soap-making machine, and ovens for baking cakes. One group is working on a baby thermometer to help local clinics, where the only available option is the hard-to-use armpit thermometer. They hope to scale production and partner with the government to supply health centers.

“Initially, we only trained youth in ICT,” Thomas explained. “But through our partnership with Enabel, we have gone beyond training to ideation—supporting them to develop prototypes that can be turned into real products for the market.”

Enabel, through the WeWork – green and decent jobs for youth project, has strengthened the hub by providing a projector, two laptops, two tablets, a printer, and a laminating machine, along with solar power to ensure continuity of work. The youth are even using AI tools like ChatGPT to design new ideas, including motion detectors.

“We make products for people here because we understand their daily needs,” said Thomas. “We are also working with the Office of the Prime Minister and Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to ensure our products are tested, approved, and fairly taxed.”

During a recent visit to the hub, which brought together representatives from the European Union, Enabel, and OPM, Charles Okot, the WeWork project manager from Enabel, encouraged the youth to focus on everyday challenges. “Let’s think about things people need every day so the money keeps coming in,” he told them.

Prototypes such as the chapati-making machine, soap-making machine, and a grinding mill are already generating income for the developers, while others like the wheel cart, a tricycle mode of transport, are being piloted in the community. With new plans underway by Enabel to train youth in business and videography, they will soon be able to market their products more effectively.

The West Nile Refugee Desk Officer (Office of the Prime Minister), Jena Toma, noted that 50% of Imvepi’s population is youth and thanked the European Union, through Enabel, for investing in their future. “Let’s use this ICT lab to make positive change,” she said.

The refugee and host-community youth at Imvepi are proving that with the right skills, mentorship, and resources, local solutions to local problems are possible—even in displacement settings.

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