Career Expo
SDG DESCRIPTION
Social protection systems help prevent and reduce poverty and provide a safety net for the vulnerable.
Impacting
NSSF in partnership with the Daily Monitor organised the 10th Annual Career Expo. This year, the event was hosted virtually and focused on equipping university students with employment and entrepreneurial skills for the “new normal” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The theme of the 3-day Career Expo, ‘Repurposing your Career Goals to the New Normal’ was aimed to assist students in responding to changing employment and business landscapes.
The Fund is cognizant of the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we think, work and live, confirming that technology is now the mainstay for every decision and transaction. Our focus was on Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy with career advice offered from the best employers in the country.
Endorsement
“The most important takeaway for our university students from the Career Expo should be that they must re-evaluate their career goals because the world today is very different from the world a year ago when the country entered lockdown”.
IMPACT
We planned to reach at least 3,000 students but exceeded the target and managed to register an attendance of 4,612 and 612 registrations. For the past ten years, the Fund has held these Expo’s and has since registered over 100,000 University finalists of which over 8,000 of these have been absorbed in employment.
In the past, we engaged speakers who taught students about different professions, but have since introduced fresh and relatable speakers who are everyday life businessmen and women with self-startups and how they manage their finances. This included the proprietor of Safe Boda and the CEO MAS group of companies in addition to people from the entertainment industry including Salvador, Richard Tuwangye, who took the students through self-start ups.
The NSSF-Daily Monitor Career Expo is designed to prepare students for the work place and equip them with skills and knowledge to increase their employability. It also offers students professional career advice as well as an opportunity to engage with potential employers and also provides an overview of the importance of saving with a key message to students to embrace the savings culture at an early age.
During the event, NSSF recruits and registers University Finalists who are preparing to enter the job market as members into the Fund that will contribute to the Fund in future when they are employed.
(L – R) Moderator Sandra Kahumuza, NSSF Head of Business Geoffrey Waiswa Sajjabi, NSSF Head of Marketing & Communication Barbra Arimi and Japtheth Kawanguizi CEO Innovation Village, during the virtual Career Expo.
Blood Donation Drive
Impacting
NSSF STRATEGY
The Fund, in partnership with Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS), has been organising the Annual Blood donation drive for the past 10 years, to collect blood from the public and increase availability of safe blood in the country. This is because Uganda regularly faces a shortage of safe blood, forcing the Government to issue blood donation appeals. Only 1% of people eligible to donate blood in Uganda regularly do so, which causes frequent shortages of safe blood across the country.
As a part of the CSR agenda, the Fund in partnership with UBTS organises blood donation drives to respond to the appeal for safe blood.
This year however, due to the government directive against public gatherings, the Fund offered financial support to UBTS to carry out blood drive camps and buy a blood processing centrifuge.
Blood donors giving out blood during the NSSF Blood Donation camp.
BLOOD COLLECTION
Education Intervention
SDG DESCRIPTION
Improving access to education
Impacting
NSSF STRATEGY
The Fund commenced with an Education Intervention Project aimed at improving the learning conditions in government aided primary schools across the country, as such, in 2016 Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in partnership with NSSF embarked on a journey to refurbish dilapidated Government Aided Schools in Kampala. Our intervention is in support of government efforts to refurbish existing structures as well as improving sanitation in public schools.
So far, 9 Schools have benefited from this initiative with UGX600m contributed by the Fund and several partners. The schools are; St. Ponsiano Kyamula Primary school, Nakivubo Settlement Primary School, Makerere Primary School, St. Paul Primary School Mbuya, Kampala School for the Physically Handicapped and St. Paul Primary school Nsambya. This intervention was targeted to public primary level, where learners are most vulnerable.
This year, we earmarked 4 schools to benefit from our education intervention. Among these are upcountry schools namely; Pioneer Primary School in Soroti, Mutolere Primary School in Kisoro, Adwari Primary School in Otuke District and St. Paul Primary School, Nsambya (KCCA public School).
Our Managing Director touring the old structures of a school that the Fund renovated
Endorsement
Alfred Enyidu, the Head teacher at Pioneer Primary School - Soroti, one of the beneficiary schools; “NSSF intervention will go a long way in enhancing quality education in upcountry schools which have for a long time been left behind”.
FINANCIAL LITERACY
The Fund’s Financial Literacy Programme” empowers its members and public with financial and investment knowledge to enable them make informed financial decisions. As such, we have been running a series of webinars with various financial experts sharing inspirational stories, advice and knowledge about managing finances.
Our main objectives for the financial literacy sessions are as follows:
The Monthly Webinar programme has been the most dominant and widely attended programme for the year and has hosted speakers from across the board who are experts in the various topics under discussion. These included the Secretary to the Central Bank, CEO IRA,CEO URBRA among others.
Our Customer Financial Advisor, Apollo Mbowa addressing graduands during the virtual Financial Literacy Graduation ceremony as Serena Kigo.
Focus for next year
Hi-Innovator Programme
SDG DESCRIPTION
Creating employment opportunities
Impacting
The Fund in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, announced a UGX 35 Bn innovation programme to support local small and growing businesses over the next five years.
The programme, dubbed the "NSSF Hi-Innovator” also provides practical entrepreneurship training to more than 75,000 youth to enable them to achieve greater success.
The Fund is working to strengthen the existing entrepreneurship ecosystem through which entrepreneurs can be harnessed and supported to build profitable, sustainable and scalable businesses, as well as engaging young people in developing solutions that address today’s social and economic challenges.
The Hi-Innovator Programme is co-funded by Mastercard Foundation, through its Young Africa Works initiative. Outbox Uganda, an innovations hub is serving as the lead implementation partner.
NSSF Deputy Managing Director, Patrick Ayota addressing guests at the launch of the Hi-Innovator Programme
Throughout the programme, entrepreneurs will be supported by business incubation hubs across the country. These include Makerere University Innovation and Incubation Centre, MUBS Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Incubation Centre, Stanbic Business Incubator, and Shona in the Central region.
The Programme consists of 2 phases – the first being self-directed online learning via a platform providing foundational business knowledge to entrepreneurs to enable them to address gaps in their businesses. It is open to individuals interested in starting a business or those who have an existing small and growing business.
The second phase is a six-month business support process where entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to receive funding, technical assistance, business development and market development support to enable them scale their businesses.
ENDORSEMENT
Mastercard Foundation Country Head, Samuel Yalew Adela:
“This partnership is part of our Young Africa Works initiative that aims at helping millions of people to find a pathway out of poverty. We have committed to enable 30 million young Africans, especially women, find employment they see as dignified and fulfilling by 2030. The Hi-innovator Programme gives us an opportunity to further contribute to the achievement of this objective.”
HIGHLIGHTS
The first virtual event obtained a total of 26 million impressions and 4,844 engagements across our social media platforms.