Talk about displacement in most rooms and the conversation turns to need, aid, and vulnerability.
But that story feels incomplete when you see what forcibly displaced people are building in their communities.
Take Uganda, which hosts nearly 2 million refugees. It has one of the largest displaced populations on the continent, 80% of them women and children.
We followed six women in Uganda from the Amahoro Coalition Fellowship, each building a scaling business. Together, they have created 62 jobs across sectors ranging from organic beauty and infant nutrition to menstrual health, leather goods, mental health, and ecological farming.
The Businesses Behind the Numbers
Leather, Jobs, and Education
Vanessa Ishimwe
Vanessa Ishimwe founded Authentic African Works, which produces leather goods such as sandals, bags, and wallets for local and international markets under the Ddala African Works brand. The business has created 13 jobs, with a focus on refugee women and youth who have limited access to formal education.
She resettled in Uganda from Rwanda in 2008, and her model ties income to opportunity, with part of every sale funding secondary education for displaced girls.
She resettled in Uganda from Rwanda in 2008, and her model ties income to opportunity, with part of every sale funding secondary education for displaced girls.
Beauty, Built for Scale
Catherine Isaiah
Catherine Isaiah founded Black Girl Magic Naturals in Uganda in 2021 after arriving from South Sudan. Her organic hair and skincare products are now sold in more than ten countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany. The business employs nine people and runs a skills programme for refugee women.
She has also built a strong distribution base, with over 260,000 followers across her platforms, and that gives her a direct line to customers that many brands spend years trying to build. What started as a belief in natural beauty has grown into a business with a supply chain, trained staff, and consistent demand.
She has also built a strong distribution base, with over 260,000 followers across her platforms, and that gives her a direct line to customers that many brands spend years trying to build. What started as a belief in natural beauty has grown into a business with a supply chain, trained staff, and consistent demand.
Solving for Childcare and Work
Gloria Asiimwe
Gloria Asiimwe built the Ademaria Initiative around a simple constraint. Many women cannot work because they have nowhere safe to leave their children. Her model brings both together. Women receive vocational training in areas like hairdressing, fashion, metal fabrication, and bricklaying, while their children attend an on-site early childhood centre.
The initiative has created 31 jobs and operates across Kampala, Busia, and Tororo. Gloria, who is originally from the DRC, also produces affordable menstrual pads for underserved communities, addressing a gap that directly affects whether girls stay in school and women stay in work.
The initiative has created 31 jobs and operates across Kampala, Busia, and Tororo. Gloria, who is originally from the DRC, also produces affordable menstrual pads for underserved communities, addressing a gap that directly affects whether girls stay in school and women stay in work.
Nutrition Meets Market Access
Esther Kitumaini
Esther Kitumaini’s venture, Afya Moms and Tots, works across food systems and maternal health, supporting mothers and smallholder farmers in refugee camps to improve child nutrition. She employs nine people.
She joined Amahoro’s second cohort with an idea, and within a year she had a product in the market, employed nine people and operations running across borders. The fellowship supported her growth, but the business was already taking shape.
She joined Amahoro’s second cohort with an idea, and within a year she had a product in the market, employed nine people and operations running across borders. The fellowship supported her growth, but the business was already taking shape.
Mental Health as Infrastructure
Nyibol Racheal
Nyibol Racheal founded the Refugee Mental Health Network to support women and young girls dealing with trauma linked to displacement and gender-based violence. She is also a published author, content creator, and documentary maker.
Her work shows how mental health shapes economic participation, because without stability it becomes much harder to sustain work or build anything long term.
Her work shows how mental health shapes economic participation, because without stability it becomes much harder to sustain work or build anything long term.
Environment and Livelihoods
Ansiima Rolande Casinga
Ansiima Rolande Casinga runs For the Love of Nature (FOLONA), a venture focused on ecological learning, permaculture, and sustainable livelihoods among refugee and host communities in Uganda.
She started out conducting livelihood surveys, collecting data on people’s needs, but over time she saw that the same problems kept showing up. So she shifted her focus to building solutions.
FOLONA connects land, knowledge, and sustainable practice to income, and that foundation matters because displacement often disrupts all three.
FOLONA connects land, knowledge, and sustainable practice to income, and that foundation matters because displacement often disrupts all three.
Beyond Potential: The Economic Reality of Displacement
Across six diverse ventures, 62 jobs have been created by women within a single country and across multiple high-growth sectors. While investment programs often question the viability of displacement-led economies, the evidence is already on the ground. These businesses are not speculative; they are built on lived experience, driven by verified market demand, and anchored in the trust of their communities.
The Amahoro Fellowship was the catalyst, providing the visibility, critical mentorship, peer learning, and networks to accelerate their growth. Today, the opportunity is undeniable. It is now time for capital and institutional partners to engage with this untapped economic engine.
The Amahoro Fellowship was the catalyst, providing the visibility, critical mentorship, peer learning, and networks to accelerate their growth. Today, the opportunity is undeniable. It is now time for capital and institutional partners to engage with this untapped economic engine.
