Ignite Change: Uplift African Women Entrepreneurs

The Business for Better Society (BBS) microbusiness incubator for women continues to grow, with program launches in South Sudan and Malawi. In this report, we're excited to highlight the incubator in Bor, South Sudan, sharing program adjustments shaped by participant feedback and tailored to the local context.

A key distinction from the Kenya-based incubator is Bor’s focus on the fishing sector, an industry vital to South Sudan’s economy and a source of livelihood for more than 1.7 million people. By centring on fishing, the incubator not only creates a pathway to sustainable income and food security but also opens doors for women who have long been excluded from this sector. Equally important, participant feedback led to a shift from individual enterprises to three women’s group, containing five women each, fostering mutual support and shared leadership. Together, these changes strengthen women’s economic independence and amplify their collective voice within the community, underscoring our commitment to context-specific, community-driven solutions.

All participants receive dual-track training with financial literacy workshops and the Street Business School program. Delivered by our local nonprofit partner, SPEAK Uganda, this approach ensures participants develop both technical knowledge and financial acumen for long-term business success.

A revolving micro-capital loan system provides startup funding to each women’s group for the start-up business requirements, with the loan rotating to the next group after a fixed period. This sustainable financing model builds participants’ understanding of loan management while allowing the program to support more women over time.

Leadership development is another key component. Each group elects a Group Leader, Treasurer, and Secretary, creating formal roles that build confidence and accountability. By coordinating group activities, managing finances, facilitating meetings, and preparing progress reports, participants gain practical leadership experience, transforming them into confident community leaders with transferable skills for future initiatives.

The incubator participants come from clans with long histories of conflict, yet their collaboration in shared economic activities builds trust, support, and social healing, showing how targeted development can address multiple community needs at once.

This launch in South Sudan reflects our commitment to adaptive, community-driven development that meets urgent needs while building long-term resilience. By linking economic empowerment with conflict resolution and focusing on a vital local industry, we are creating a model that can be scaled across the region.

In our next update, we will share progress on the Malawi expansion and its unique opportunities and challenges. Until then, we extend heartfelt thanks to our donors because your support enables us to break the cycle of generational poverty and create meaningful opportunities for some of the most vulnerable women in the various communities we serve.