Social Innovation Academy (SINA)
Improving the lives of displaced persons, refugees and asylum-seekers
Location: Mpigi, Uganda / Kyegegwa District, Uganda
Sponsors: Ann McStay and Kermit Eck
Social Innovation Academy (SINA): New Grantee 2022-23
The SINA network consists of eight independently registered SINA Communities in two countries (Uganda and Tanzania) In addition to SINA Global, which is located in Mpigi, Uganda. [There’s also a SINA administration and development presence in Germany.] SINA Global coordinates the work of the independent SINA communities and supports the following programs to improve the lives of displaced persons, refugees and asylum-seekers:
- Replication: supporting the creation of further SINA Communities, and expanding SINA Global’s platform for collective learning;
- Acceleration: propelling all SINA Communities to become self-sustainable
- Purpose Pool: investing into SINA Social Enterprises to scale their impact.
All SINA Communities are independently registered, yet all run on the same model.
The model consists of a five-step process incorporating interactive learning sessions where students take on roles and responsibilities, gaining practical experience which allows them to run their own enterprises.
The SINA Community in the Kyaka II refugee settlement is opening a new Social Enterprise site for refugee youth, mainly from the DRC. The project will utilize an innovative product development and marketing model – “Business in a Box” – developed by SINA in the Bidi-Bidi refugee settlement near Uganda’s northern border. The Kyaka II enterprise will collect and transform waste plastic into useful every day and made-to-order products.
Partners include three established successful recycling businesses, including a company located in Masaka, Uganda, operating with innovative plastic-forming machinery that can transform waste plastic into durable items for market. This latter partner will support the project with training internships and provide guidance for the overall design, manufacturing, and finishing processes. After the internships, students will go through a customer-discovery process in their local surroundings to identify products of interest (cups, bowls, plates, pegs, etc.) and start their business using the plastic-forming machinery—which is simple to operate, like a 3D printer—allowing the team to create products for the local market,
SINA’s goal with this project is to establish proof of concept for the “Business in the Box” model, which will support replication of the model from one SINA community to another—scaling SINA’s impact and sharing what works.
For more information, see: https://socialinnovationacademy.org/
GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE
2022-23: A $20,000 grant will fund the cost of the project implementation, including internships, a project coordinator, and equipment. SINA believes the project can be self-sustainable after the initial investment for the machinery.
IMPACT
The scholars will grow personally and professionally while immediately putting learned manufacturing and teamwork skills into practice. The community will come to value “plastic waste” as a reusable commodity and a source of income. Furthermore, through the collection of discarded plastic, people in the community can earn extra income, which, although small in dollar terms, can make a massive difference for refugee families who receive only a few dollars in financial and in-kind food support from UNHCR each month. Finally, the project will create lasting and sustainable manufacturing jobs paying a fair salary with which the refugee workers can support their families, become independent of international aid and contribute economically and entrepreneurially to society in Uganda.
