{"id":14043,"date":"2026-08-26T14:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T11:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/?p=14043"},"modified":"2026-08-26T14:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T11:43:10","slug":"from-learning-to-earning-i-upshift-celebrates-the-youth-turning-skills-into-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/from-learning-to-earning-i-upshift-celebrates-the-youth-turning-skills-into-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"From Learning to Earning: i-UPSHIFT Celebrates the Youth Turning Skills into Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

For young people,\u00a0acquiring\u00a0skills is only one part of preparing for the world of work and entrepreneurship. Turning those skills into real opportunities requires practical experience, mentorship, networks, and spaces where young people can test their ideas, receive feedback, and build confidence.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On 20 August 2026, the\u00a0i-UPSHIFT\u00a02026\u00a0program brought together young innovators, entrepreneurs, interns,\u00a0partners\u00a0and stakeholders at the UNICEF\u00a0offices\u00a0in Mbuya, Kampala, for the\u00a0<\/span>Learning2Earning Closing Event<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Implemented by\u00a0StartHub\u00a0Africa in close collaboration with UNICEF Uganda, the Ministry of Gender,\u00a0Labour\u00a0and Social Development,\u00a0and private sector\u00a0partners. The event marked the close\u00a0of\u00a0i-UPSHIFT\u00a0covering new participants and actively\u00a0re-engaging\u00a0alumni\u00a0across Kampala and Isingiro.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Matthias M\u00f6bius, Co-Founder of StartHub Africa, hosting the event<\/p><\/div>\n

From Skills to Real-World Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The event brough<\/span>t together\u00a0participants under three tracks; New Cycle, and\u00a0two tracks covering alumni, alongside representatives from government, development\u00a0organizations, private sector companies,\u00a0trainers\u00a0and mentors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00a0centered\u00a0on participant\u00a0testimonials, panel discussions, interactive\u00a0sessions,\u00a0and product\u00a0exhibitions. These conversations highlighted how young people had applied what they learned to build businesses, enter the\u00a0workplace,\u00a0and respond to real customer needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A recurring theme throughout the day was\u00a0learning by doing. Participants repeatedly pointed to the\u00a0program’s\u00a050K challenge, which required teams to sell something rather than simply plan to sell. For many, this became a turning point in understanding customers, testing\u00a0ideas,\u00a0and working as a team.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Participants Took Away\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For participants in the Alumni Learning Track, the transition into the workplace\u00a0provided\u00a0another opportunity to put skills into practice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew\u00a0Muggaga,\u00a0who completed an internship at\u00a0Menterprise\u00a0Uganda Ltd,\u00a0was\u00a0subsequently\u00a0retrained and offered a full-time contract with the company. Reflecting on how the experience changed his approach to feedback, he said:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI now design according to what the client values rather than my own preference.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Andrew\u2019s journey reflects one of the broader lessons from the program: practical exposure can change not only what young people know, but also how they approach their work and respond to the needs of their employers and clients.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Andrew Muggaga, sharing his experience during the event<\/p><\/div>\n

Several participants\u00a0were successfully placed\u00a0as\u00a0interns\u00a0and\u00a0four\u00a0subsequently\u00a0retained\u00a0by their host companies. Participants highlighted communication, adaptability, customer\u00a0engagement,\u00a0and the ability to receive and act on feedback as some of the most valuable skills gained.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Building Businesses That Respond to Real Needs\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The\u00a0program<\/span>\u00a0also supported young\u00a0people\u00a0building and growing businesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

514\u00a0young people\u00a0participated\u00a0in the New Cycle, while\u00a094 alumni\u00a0were re-engaged through the Learning and Acceleration tracks.\u00a0Around 125 teams were formed, with 24<\/span>\u00a0teams progressing through pitching to six weeks of post-pitch support focused on unit economics.\u00a0Women represented 58% of participation, while refugees accounted for approximately 32%.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition gave participants an opportunity to pitch their products directly to stakeholders and receive practical feedback on pricing, sourcing,\u00a0sales\u00a0and market access.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Strengthening the Path from Learning to Earning\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The event also created space for partners to reflect on what is needed to make the transition sustainable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Melissa Kyeyune\u00a0from the International\u00a0Labour\u00a0Organization (ILO) highlighted that the journey from learning to earning also comes with new responsibilities. As young people transition from being trained participants to becoming employers, she noted, they need to understand what it means to create decent and sustainable work for others.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\" Melissa Kyeyune delivering remarks on behalf of the International Labour Organization (ILO).<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the Program\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Learning to Earning event\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0that the impact of\u00a0i-UPSHIFT extends beyond the training room. Participants are testing products, engaging customers, entering\u00a0workplaces,\u00a0and building businesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The journey does not end with the closing event. Instead, it marks the point where learning continues through practice, feedback, customers,\u00a0workplaces,\u00a0and the realities of building a livelihood.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As one of the key lessons from the event\u00a0captured,\u00a0the distance between learning and earning is closed through practice rather than instruction.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For young people,\u00a0acquiring\u00a0skills is only one part of preparing for the world of work and entrepreneurship. Turning those skills into real opportunities requires practical experience, mentorship, networks, and spaces where young people can test their ideas, receive feedback, and build confidence.\u00a0\u00a0 On 20 August 2026, the\u00a0i-UPSHIFT\u00a02026\u00a0program brought together young innovators, entrepreneurs, interns,\u00a0partners\u00a0and stakeholders at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":14044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[272,273,271,269,268,45,267,270],"class_list":["post-14043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-programs","tag-earning2learning","tag-earning2learning-event","tag-i-upshift","tag-iupshift","tag-iupshift2026","tag-starthub-africa","tag-unicef","tag-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14043"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14059,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14043\/revisions\/14059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starthubafrica.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}