Impact SME Development Programme

453 SMEs

have been supported

55% of SMEs

got external financing

11,979 jobs

were created by SMEs

50% of management positions

are held by women

"Yellow Star emerged as my response to the heart-wrenching food poverty and malnutrition plaguing Ugandan families, witnessed during my two-decade career as a social worker. The urgent need for accessible, nutritious meals fueled my determination and gave birth to this enterprise in 1997," shared Florence Okot, founder of Yellow Star, with unwavering passion.

Chanja Datti, meaning 'transform dirt' in the dynamic Hausa language of Nigeria, is on a mission to shake up the world of plastic waste. Led by the visionary founder, Funto Boroffice who is creating waves by collecting recyclables and transforming them into valuable flakes. These flakes are then handed over to manufacturers, who work their magic to craft remarkable, brand new finished products! Curious to learn more? 

Louisa Gathecha is inspiring efforts to minimize the volume of glass waste that is disposed of in landfills across Kenya. We admire Louisa’s commitment to mitigating the detrimental impact of plastic on ecosystems, wildlife, and human well-being and hope she inspires more businesses to take proactive measures in reducing plastic waste. See video to learn more.

In 2023, we continued our journey towards creating a fairer, greener, and more inclusive global ecosystem. We want to spread our net to more countries and scale our impact to reach more impact-driven SMEs. 

We are looking at how we can improve the nutrition biodiversity of our vulnerable groups and Smart Foods focuses on innovations on soyabeans best products," said Martin Ssali, a purpose driven entrepreneur who is fighting malnutrition in Uganda with his sustainable business approach.

Nicknamed "circularity queens," Joy and Yetunde are impact-driven entrepreneurs from Nigeria who are connected by the same interest – doing business in a responsible way that benefits people and the planet.

In this blog, we share the importance of female leadership in firms supported by an Oxfam business development programme in their decent work environments and gender-balance workforces.

For Joy, her business success is not measured in just the profit she generates but more in being able to beam the light to illuminate the path of one girl, one woman at a time, to also run an enterprise that benefits people, communities, and the environment.

Phirum Dyphan is a nurse and founder CEO of MUCH Mobile Healthcare in Cambodia. She is on a mission to unburden women and girls of unpaid care without sacrificing their ambitions and career goals.