Economic Rights & Empowerment

Expanding economic opportunity, agency and resilience for rural and underserved communities

Economic empowerment is about more than earning an income. It is about whether people have the skills, resources, information, financial services, productive assets, market opportunities and decision-making power needed to improve their livelihoods and shape their economic futures.

Across Uganda, many households work hard but remain economically vulnerable. People may be employed yet earn too little or work under insecure conditions. A woman may run a small enterprise but lack affordable finance, productive assets or control over household resources. A young person may complete education or training but struggle to transition into sustainable employment. A rural farmer may produce food or commodities but capture little value because of limited processing, storage, market information or bargaining power.

For Rural Smiles Foundation, these are not simply income problems. They are questions of economic rights, opportunity and agency. Our Economic Rights & Empowerment Program works with rural and underserved communities to strengthen livelihoods, entrepreneurship, employable and enterprise skills, financial capability, digital economic participation, savings, market access and community economic resilience.

We place particular emphasis on women, young people, rural households and groups that experience structural barriers to economic participation. Our approach is not based on distributing short-term inputs without a pathway to sustainability. We seek to help people develop practical capabilities, strengthen productive activities, organise collectively where useful, access relevant financial and market systems and make more informed economic decisions.

Uganda's Economic and Livelihood Context

Uganda has continued to experience economic growth, but national growth does not automatically translate into secure livelihoods or equal economic opportunity for every household.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics reported that 16.1 percent of Ugandans lived below the national poverty line in 2023/24, equivalent to approximately 7 million people. The rural poverty rate was substantially higher at 19.4 percent, compared with 10.3 percent in urban areas. The geographic differences are also important. In 2023/24, poverty incidence was estimated at 27.7 percent in Northern Uganda, 22.5 percent in Eastern Uganda, 10 percent in Western Uganda, 6.6 percent in Central Uganda, and just 1.1 percent in Kampala. 

These figures demonstrate why economic programming cannot treat Uganda as a single uniform economic environment. A household in a remote rural community may experience very different economic constraints from a household in Kampala. Limited infrastructure, smaller local markets, transport costs, dependence on agriculture, weaker access to formal finance, lower digital connectivity and vulnerability to climate shocks can all affect the ability of rural households to increase and stabilise their incomes.

Household expenditure data also illustrates continuing economic pressure. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics reported average monthly household expenditure of approximately UGX 566,666 in 2023/24, with food, drinks and tobacco accounting for around 45 percent of household expenditure.

When such a large share of household resources is absorbed by basic consumption, families may have less capacity to save, invest in enterprises, withstand emergencies or finance education, healthcare and productive assets. This is why Rural Smiles Foundation approaches economic empowerment through both income generation and economic resilience. The objective is not simply to help someone earn money today. It is to strengthen their ability to earn, manage, invest, adapt and recover over time.

Employment, Youth and the Challenge of Economic Opportunity

Uganda has a young and rapidly growing population, creating both an enormous economic opportunity and a significant employment challenge. The Fourth National Development Plan Human Resource Development Plan estimates Uganda's youth population at approximately 9.3 million people, representing around 22 percent of the population and about 63 percent of the labour force. Drawing on the 2021/22 National Labour Force Survey, the plan reports youth unemployment at approximately 16.5 percent. 

The challenge extends beyond open unemployment. The same national planning framework reports that approximately nine out of ten employed young people are working in informal employment, often in activities characterised by low earnings, limited social protection and uncertain long-term progression. Informal work is not inherently without value. It sustains millions of Ugandan households and provides vital goods and services throughout the economy. The problem is that many informal workers and small enterprises operate with limited capital, weak business systems, little insurance or social protection, unpredictable demand and few opportunities to increase productivity.

A young person therefore does not necessarily become economically secure simply because they are “employed.” The more important questions are: Is the work productive?, Can the income support a decent standard of living?, Can the person build assets or savings?, Can the enterprise survive a shock?, Can skills and experience lead to better opportunities? This distinction informs Rural Smiles Foundation’s approach to youth economic empowerment. We focus on developing practical capabilities that can support employment, enterprise, digital work, value addition and locally relevant economic opportunities rather than training people without considering what opportunities exist after training.