Rationale

The ADVANCE project focuses on the social innovation and entrepreneurship needs of Uganda and Tanzania. Higher education institutions (HEIs) in these countries are called upon to integrate their teaching and research functions with a third mission of social and economic development through community engagement, innovation and start-up support. Despite economic growth, around 40% of the population in both countries live below the international poverty line. Millions, especially in rural areas, lack essential services like water, sanitation, energy, education, and healthcare. With an annual population growth of about 3%, public institutions face challenges in providing these services. Youth unemployment is a concern, reaching almost 13% in these countries. The labour market has a significant mismatch between skilled graduates and available jobs, leading to a national focus on job creation through entrepreneurship.

Social enterprises are crucial in bridging service delivery gaps. These mission-led organizations operate on commercial principles, focusing on social and environmental welfare using innovative approaches. They play a vital role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and national development strategies in Uganda and Tanzania. However, the social innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Uganda and Tanzania is nascent.

Social innovation in these countries is seldom embraced by market actors. Social entrepreneurship is mostly confined to recognized non-governmental, community-based, and church-based organizations, with few local entrepreneurs focusing on social. While business support structures like incubators are growing, they lack targeted support for social entrepreneurs. Most are concentrated in capital cities, neglecting the crucial need in smaller cities and rural areas.

Despite high entrepreneurial spirit, startup failure rates are significant (60% in Tanzania, 70% in Uganda within 3 years). Challenges include low technology levels, limited innovation uptake, and insufficient entrepreneurial skills, contributing to a gap in identifying opportunities and managing projects.

In Uganda and Tanzania, entrepreneurship education is criticized for being overly theoretical, focusing on teaching about entrepreneurship rather than developing competences. Both countries need entrepreneurship curriculum reform favouring experiential learning, hindered by a lack of expertise among academic staff in HEIs. Social entrepreneurship courses are emerging in Uganda but non-existent in Tanzania. Introducing such programmes could provide opportunities for students and stakeholders to engage in social entrepreneurship.

Our project aims to address these challenges by developing and implementing a Post-Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in four universities in Uganda & Tanzania, in cooperation with local stakeholders, based on the methodologies of service- and experiential learning.

Service learning and experiential learning methodologies complement each other in social entrepreneurship education. Service learning deepens understanding of local needs, while experiential learning addresses root causes of social problems, generates solutions, and develops social business opportunities. Integrating service learning and experiential learning, however, may be hindered by challenges such as: creating real-world learning environments, developing learning resources, facilitating learning autonomy, and assessing outcomes. Overcoming these challenges requires multistakeholder curriculum design, community involvement, resource development, instructor capacity building, and quality assurance mechanisms. The ADVANCE project is designed to support the universities in Uganda and Tanzania in addressing these challenges.