From Refugee to Entrepreneur: How Olivier Charted a New Path

As a Congolese refugee living in Uganda, Olivier drew on skills and confidence he built with support from Educate! to start a business and chart a new path forward.

At just sixteen, Olivier fled the Democratic Republic of Congo for Uganda, leaving behind his home and a childhood cut short by war. He still remembers the day he returned from school to an empty house and a note from his parents urging him to run. They had already set out toward the Ugandan border, hoping he would find his way too.

He travelled alone, the sound of gunfire echoing behind him, whispering prayers that his family was still alive. At Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Uganda, Olivier was reunited with his mother and siblings, though his father never arrived.

Rebuilding his life began quite literally from the ground up. Together with his siblings, Olivier molded clay into bricks and raised the walls of a modest home. He struggled to learn the local language but eventually picked it up. With support from an organization assisting refugees, he enrolled in a secondary school. Once there, Olivier found his way to Educate!. 

Meeting Young People Where They Are: Empowering Youth in Refugee-Hosting Communities

Educate! meets young people where they are — including across urban, rural, and hard-to-reach areas. Our goal is to empower all young people with labor market skills, agency, and confidence to shape their lives.

Educate! partners with schools throughout Uganda’s refugee-hosting communities — home to some of the largest refugee resettlements in the world. These schools serve young people from diverse backgrounds, including the Congo, South Sudan, and beyond.

Our model is designed for inclusivity and accessibility. Because many young refugees balance school with household duties or income-generating activities, we structure sessions and curricula around real-world skills they can immediately apply to start or grow businesses. Content is delivered in native languages, with support provided by youth mentors — many of whom are themselves refugees with shared experiences.

From Learning to Earning: How Skills and Confidence Sparked Olivier’s First Business

For Olivier, engaging in Educate! not only helped him acquire practical business knowledge but build his self-belief. Through Educate!’s model, he developed communication skills and a growth mindset, learning how to identify market gaps and seeing how even the smallest earnings can grow into start-up capital. He also gained hands-on experience managing money and keeping records. 

When Olivier found work at a local supermarket, he quickly recognized a new business opportunity. Customers often asked to pay for goods using mobile money, which the market didn’t offer. In response, Olivier rented a mobile money line — a phone-based service that allows people to send and receive money without a bank account. Six months later, he registered his own business. 

Today, Olivier sits proudly behind a counter in his own mobile money shop, assisting a steady stream of customers with deposits, withdrawals, and payments. The shop now supports him, his wife, and their baby.

For Olivier, the business has provided more than a livelihood; it’s a declaration that he now lives life on his own terms.

With your support, Educate! has reached over 600,000 young people like Olivier since 2009 — young leaders and business creators across East Africa who have overcome adversity to build brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.