Encouraging social entrepreneurship in the region

The “Latek Stay Alliance Uganda” is a democratically organised umbrella organisation for social entrepreneurs in Uganda that the Stuttgart-based Stay-Foundation for Multiplicative Development helped to establish. The foundation understands “social entrepreneurs” as meaning local development workers who address social problems through entrepreneurial commitment. The advantage is that unlike foreign development workers who are only on site for a limited period of time, these local residents really do known the country and people. They have an intrinsic motivation to solve the problems in their homeland as well as a deep understanding of their causes, something that outsiders find hard to grasp. The knodel foundation has been supporting Stay since 2018, helping it to implement this concept in the neighbouring country of Kenya too.

During their visit to Uganda and Kenya, representatives of the knodel foundation first want to find out how the Latek Stay Alliance Uganda works and how far things have advanced in Kenya. “It is important to gather this kind of information on the spot and at first hand,” says Patrick Knodel. “In this way, we can establish not only a personal contact with the people but also gain a much more precise and detailed insight into their situation. What’s more, it offers a welcome opportunity to establish trust.”