Nancy never imagined she could be a leader. But today, that’s exactly what she’s become in her community.
Every week, fellow entrepreneurs in rural Uganda gather to learn more about how to operate a business, build their savings, and lift their families out of extreme poverty. Nancy has become an essential part of this process. As a Tech Champion for Village Enterprise, she is responsible for organizing the digital tools that facilitate these training sessions—setting up projectors, connecting speakers, and using a tablet to share that week’s training videos.
Through these digital tools, Nancy is helping administer Village Enterprise’s business curriculum in her community and facilitate virtual business mentoring sessions.
“I enjoy teaching,” Nancy says. It’s a role that feels natural for her today, but not long ago, the idea of standing in front of a room full of eager entrepreneurs and operating technology felt impossible.
Nancy’s journey out of extreme poverty
Before joining Village Enterprise, Nancy describes her old life in a single word: unbearable. Living in a rural Ugandan village, Nancy’s family found it hard to find job opportunities, leaving them trapped in extreme poverty. Without reliable income, they struggled to eat enough, faced growing tensions at home over finances, and were unable to afford basic necessities and health care.
Then Village Enterprise came to her community, and Nancy discovered a way to lift her family out of extreme poverty.
Through Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation program, Nancy joined a business savings group with other aspiring entrepreneurs living in extreme poverty. Together, they received entrepreneurship training, regular coaching from a dedicated Village Enterprise business mentor, and startup capital to launch small businesses of their own. Just as importantly, they learned how to save together, support one another, and begin building long-term financial security.
As Nancy’s cohort began their journeys as first-time business owners, they also became part of something new—Village Enterprise’s most ambitious digital innovation yet: SPRINT.
What is SPRINT?
SPRINT (Scaling Poverty Reduction through Innovation and New Technologies) is an initiative by Village Enterprise designed around a simple, but important question: How can Village Enterprise reach more entrepreneurs without sacrificing the quality of mentorship and human connection that make our poverty graduation so successful?
Rather than replacing face-to-face relationships, SPRINT is using technology to strengthen them.
Entrepreneurs continue learning directly from Village Enterprise business mentors, but digital tools now make that support more interactive, more accessible, and easier to scale.
Training videos are delivered through Kolibri—an app by Learning Equality—on tablets and projectors, business mentoring sessions continue between meetings through WhatsApp, savings are managed digitally through DreamSave on smartphones, and data about the health of every entrepreneur’s business is collected through Taroworks.
To make all of this possible, each business savings group selects two people from their group to become Tech Champions—trusted leaders who help bring the technology to life.
When it came time to pick Tech Champions, Nancy’s business savings group appointed her to the position. Not because she knew how to navigate technology, but because they saw in her what she could not see in herself—leadership.
How SPRINT unlocked Nancy’s confidence
When Nancy was selected to be a Tech Champion, she had never used a tablet before.
The equipment felt unfamiliar. Connecting a projector to a tablet, navigating new software, and helping others troubleshoot technical issues seemed intimidating.
Fortunately, she wasn’t expected to figure it out alone. A Village Enterprise staff member, William Onyango, worked alongside her every step of the way.
William’s role as a Product Scaling Officer extends far beyond helping entrepreneurs launch businesses. Through SPRINT, he trains Tech Champions to confidently use the digital tools they’ll be using in their roles. He teaches them how to operate the technology, facilitate digital learning sessions, manage savings records, troubleshoot technical issues, and support fellow entrepreneurs long after the curriculum ends.
For Nancy, that meant an entire week of hands-on coaching alongside other Tech Champions.
Together, they practiced connecting projectors and speakers, navigating tablets, opening training modules, and solving problems that might arise during meetings. William patiently stayed with her until the technology no longer felt overwhelming—it felt empowering.
Today, Nancy navigates her role as Tech Champion with confidence and pride.
“I feel so good every time I’m interacting with the tablet,” Nancy says. “I have become very confident while talking to people. I used to be very shy, but now I can stand firm in front of a crowd and deliver training.”
SPRINT didn’t simply teach her new skills—it helped reveal Nancy’s natural leadership and confidence that had been there all along.
The importance of dedicated mentors
William also worked closely with Nancy’s fellow Tech Champion in the group—Francis, who is hearing impaired.
During the initial SPRINT training for Tech Champions, William recognized that learning in a traditional group setting presented unique challenges for Francis. William started visiting Francis at home, working with him one-on-one, and encouraging him to practice every day until the technology became second nature.
The extra support made a difference.
Today, Francis confidently facilitates training whenever Nancy is unavailable, supports entrepreneurs during business savings group meetings, and has even been appointed as a local government loan officer because of the leadership and digital skills he developed through Village Enterprise.
Fridays have even become Francis’ favorite day of the week. He looks forward to their weekly meetings because they’re filled with opportunities for Francis to teach fellow entrepreneurs.
Together, Nancy and Francis demonstrate something Village Enterprise has always believed: When people living in extreme poverty are equipped with the right tools, mentorship, and opportunities to lead, they become powerful changemakers within their own communities.
Why SPRINT matters in today’s global economy
Through the technology that powers SPRINT, each Village Enterprise business mentor can now reach five to 10 times more entrepreneurs than through traditional program delivery methods alone—supporting up to 600 new businesses in a single year. Where distance and transportation are often barriers to frequent in-person mentorship, technology has helped bridge the gap between business mentor and entrepreneur. Because of this, SPRINT significantly reduces program costs while simultaneously increasing touch points throughout the program.
The impact of this means Village Enterprise can make every donation go even further and help more families lift themselves out of extreme poverty.
To date, SPRINT has been piloted in Uganda’s Kapelebyong, Katakwi, Omoro, and Agago Districts, as well as in Busia County in Kenya. More than 11,700 entrepreneurs and 500 Tech Champions have started 3,900 small businesses through SPRINT, transforming more than 78,000 lives.
As Village Enterprise scales SPRINT into new regions and countries, Tech Champions like Nancy and Francis will continue to be essential in this process.
The impact of SPRINT in Nancy’s community
Today, Nancy is a successful business owner. Through Village Enterprise, she started a sunflower farm and a small retail shop that have both helped provide greater stability for her family. Her family is eating three consistent meals a day, they’ve invested in household assets (including an ox plough for her sunflower farm), she pays school fees for her daughter, and they’re saving to buy land and build their first home.
But when Nancy reflects on what has changed most, she talks about how SPRINT impacted the people within her community.
Nancy explains that business savings groups previously tracked their savings using handwritten records, a slow and sometimes error-filled manual process. But through DreamSave, their records are now digitized, saving them time and providing greater accuracy and transparency for their savings progress.
Nancy also remarks on the ease of mentoring sessions—instead of having to wait for scheduled meetings in person, entrepreneurs can now connect with their Village Enterprise business mentors through WhatsApp whenever they have questions.
She’s especially excited about using AI for agricultural businesses like hers. “Sometimes members of the community would ask me to find out weather patterns for agricultural products, and I consult AI on rainfall patterns,” says Nancy. “The community is very excited about this. And they look at me as someone who is going to bring more development in the community.”
Nancy’s life has gone through quite the transformation. She used to describe her life as unbearable, but now she spends her days encouraging fellow entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and uses technology to help make brighter futures possible for those around her.
“The community now sees me as a leader,” says Nancy. “In all the meetings within the community, they recognize me among the community leaders.”