Igniting Women’s Power: A Catalyst for Transformation

Summary

In 2025, Nyaka committed to expanding its Grandmothers Program to all 146 districts of Uganda over three years, equipping elderly women with the tools to become financially literate, economically active, and self-reliant. The program organizes women into Self-Help Groups, provides vocational and financial literacy training, and offers access to microloans through Nyaka’s community-owned institution. By 2029, Nyaka will train 1.46 million women in financial literacy and entrepreneurship, support 500,000 entrepreneurs and small businesses, and facilitate 50,000 apprenticeships. The program will create 600 direct jobs and place 10,000 individuals in employment, while leveraging $5 million to support innovation and entrepreneurship and $6 million to support women-owned businesses. 480 Nyaka-trained alumni, raised by grandmothers and educated through Nyaka schools, will act as district leads and lead implementation. Nyaka will also partner with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to align on national strategies and track health outcomes.

Approach

Nyaka commits to expanding its Grandmothers Program to all 146 districts of Uganda over three years, equipping elderly women with the tools to become financially literate, economically active, and self-reliant. The program organizes women into Self-Help Groups, delivers vocational and financial literacy training, and provides access to microloans through Nyaka’s community-owned microfinance institution. As part of this commitment, Nyaka will train 1.46 million women in financial literacy and cooperative entrepreneurship, support 500,000 entrepreneurs and small businesses, and facilitate 50,000 apprenticeship opportunities. The program will create 600 direct jobs and place 10,000 individuals in employment, while leveraging $5 million to support innovation and entrepreneurship and $6 million to support women-owned businesses. Implementation will be led by 480 Nyaka-trained alumni, raised by grandmothers and educated through Nyaka schools, who will act as district leads. They will receive monthly stipends, laptops, and motorcycles to facilitate program rollout, local coordination, and data collection.
To strengthen its impact, Nyaka will work with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to align with national strategies and access implementation infrastructure. Select health metrics, such as reproductive health access and community health worker training, will be monitored in regions where healthcare intersects with economic empowerment. Philanthropic partners including Imago Dei Fund, Stephen Lewis Foundation, and private donors have pledged support to this scale-up, with $2.73 million already secured in funding. With 20 years of field-tested experience and a proven model of grandmother-led transformation, Nyaka is positioned to drive large-scale, sustainable change centered on women’s empowerment.

Action Plan

January to June 2026:
Nyaka will conduct a national mapping of all 146 districts to identify priority areas. 480 Nyaka alumni, trained professionals raised by grandmothers, will be onboarded as district coordinators. The financial literacy and vocational training curriculum will be translated and adapted into regional languages to ensure cultural and linguistic relevance. Self-Help Group formation will begin in 15 pilot districts.
July to December 2026:
The program will deliver financial literacy and vocational training to 150,000 women and disburse startup capital and microloan packages to 25,000 newly formed Self-Help Groups. The first cohort of mentorship visits will be conducted to support group enterprises. Baseline data collection using digital tools will commence across pilot districts, alongside the launch of initial microbusiness incubation activities.
January to June 2027:
Nyaka will expand the Self-Help Group model to an additional 40 districts and train 300,000 women in entrepreneurship and cooperative business skills. 100,000 entrepreneurs will receive support to access capital, and cooperatives will be established in targeted agricultural zones.
July to December 2027:
A nationwide public awareness campaign will be launched to promote women’s economic leadership and amplify success stories. Community events focused on financial inclusion and prevention of gender-based violence will be scaled. Nyaka will facilitate digital learning exchanges with partners and evaluate apprenticeship and job placement outcomes in at least 60 districts.
January to December 2028:
The final cohort of 1 million women will receive training. Nyaka will complete the formation of 146,000 grandmother-led Self-Help Groups, integrate monitoring systems into government district planning frameworks, document case studies, and host a national impact forum.
January 2029:
A comprehensive final evaluation will be conducted. Nyaka will finalize its sustainability roadmap for continued implementation and replication in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Background

In Uganda, over 23,000 grandmothers in the rural districts of Rukungiri, Kanungu, and Rubanda are the primary caregivers for more than 92,000 orphaned and vulnerable children. Nyaka. (2024) . Impact Evaluation Report: Grandmother Program and OVC Caregiving in Southwestern Uganda. Nyaka, Uganda. These women, often elderly and widowed, face multiple layers of marginalization due to gender, age, poverty, and geographic isolation. Despite their critical caregiving roles, they are largely excluded from formal financial systems and educational opportunities, leaving them without access to the resources required to support themselves and the children in their care.
The lack of financial literacy, vocational training, and access to affordable credit severely limits their ability to achieve economic self-reliance. In many cases, these grandmothers survive through subsistence farming and informal labor, which offer little stability or upward mobility. According to Nyaka’s 2024 Impact Evaluation Report, while the organization has reached over 129,000 individuals through community outreach and disbursed more than $432,000 in microloans, the need continues to far outpace the available support (Nyaka, 2024) .
These women are often left out of national economic development plans and excluded from digital and banking infrastructure. Their potential as entrepreneurs, decision-makers, and agents of community transformation remains untapped. The lack of scalable, community-based solutions tailored to their realities contributes to a cycle of poverty and invisibility that affects not only the women themselves, but also the generations they are raising.
This commitment addresses these intersecting challenges by scaling a model of financial empowerment that combines localized training, microfinance access, and cooperative entrepreneurship—equipping grandmothers to break the cycle of poverty and become powerful catalysts of change in their communities.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

To scale this commitment across Uganda and prepare for future regional replication, Nyaka seeks partners in funding, implementation, media, research, and learning. With a remaining funding gap of $6.37 million over three years, Nyaka welcomes philanthropic support, as well as collaboration with organizations embedded in local districts that can assist with community mobilization and training. The organization also seeks research institutions or partners with contextual knowledge of specific regions to support pre-implementation assessments and share localized insights. Media and communications partners are invited to help amplify the voices of grandmothers and bring global visibility to their stories. As Nyaka lays the foundation to expand this model into neighboring countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is seeking like-minded partners with on-the-ground experience who can support adaptation, co-learning, and scale.,Nyaka offers a scalable and community-driven model for women-led economic empowerment that is designed to be adapted and replicated across diverse geographies. This model integrates financial literacy, cooperative entrepreneurship, and access to microfinance, delivered through Self-Help Groups and supported by local leadership. As part of this commitment, Nyaka will provide the full implementation framework—including operational processes, curriculum, and best practices—while encouraging partners to tailor the model to their specific cultural and geographic contexts. Nyaka also facilitates learning exchanges and virtual partnerships, allowing practitioners and community leaders in other regions to connect directly with its field teams and alumni implementers. Through this commitment, Nyaka extends not only technical expertise, but also opportunities for collaborative capacity-building that foster sustained, locally led impact.