Snack & Smile's Story - Uganda
Snacks & Smiles's Story: Rewriting the Future for Refugee Learners
In most rural areas, education often stands at a fragile
crossroads—valued in principle, yet questioned in practice. When
survival takes priority, classrooms can feel disconnected from real life.
Connecting Youth to Gainful Entrepreneurship (Y-Connect)
Project
Merci Mugwaneza arrived in Uganda in 2017, fleeing
insecurity in the Democratic Republic Congo. Settling in Nakivale
Refugee Settlement in Isingiro District, he carried with him the
trauma of displacement and also a growing skepticism about education.
Watching his brother go through of school only to struggle without
meaningful work—shaped his thinking. School, to him, no longer
guaranteed a future.
This quiet disillusionment reflects a broader challenge across
rural settings. Limited economic opportunities often weaken the
perceived value of education, contributing to school dropouts and
disengagement among youth.
Through the Connecting Youth to Gainful Entrepreneurship
(Y-Connect) programme implemented by AVSI Foundation and funded by the
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, education is being
redefined by equipping learners with hands-on, market-relevant skills
thus complementing the Government of Uganda’s new education curriculum.
Over 600 learners from two secondary schools have been trained
across agricultural value chains of poultry, piggery, and
horticulture, alongside value addition skills in juice making, bakery,
dairy and meat processing.
In December 2025, after the training and mentorship in bakery and
juice making, Merci and four fellow students took a bold first step.
Each contributed UGX 10,000 enough to experiment. They began small:
making snacks such as: mandazi, daddies,
and fresh mango and
pineapple juice and their first customers were family members. Having
witnessed the progress of their peers, five more learners joined,
growing the team to ten and increasing their capital to UGX 100,000.
“Snacks & Smiles” enterprise was born.
From Experiment to Enterprise
Like many startups, the journey was not without obstacles. Pricing
their products competitively while maintaining quality proved
difficult. But instead of giving up, the team adapted. They improved
their recipes, researched market trends, and introduced waffles—a
game-changer that boosted both sales and profits. Five months later,
their capital had grown to UGX 980,000.
The enterprise produces a
range of fresh, affordable products such as mango and pineapple juice,
yogurt, mandazi, daddies, and waffles—offering healthier alternatives
to sodas and low-quality baked goods in the community. Production runs
weekly for boarding students and daily after school for day scholars.
Their price list consist of 250ml juice at UGX 1,000, mandazi
packs of UGX 500 and waffle packs of UGX 500, with a customer base
comprising of students, families, local shops, and the wider community.
The Youth Connect programme has kept learners meaningfully engaged
during school holidays, reducing idleness and vulnerability.
It
has nurtured teamwork, built confidence, and shifted mindsets—from job
seekers to job creators.
Participation in the Harvest Money Expo 2026 organised by the
Vision Group, Uganda’s largest and government-owned media entity,
marked a defining moment for the group. For the first time, they
engaged with established businesses, learning directly from industry
players. They sold products worth over UGX 450,000—an achievement that
validated their potential beyond Nakivale.
One customer shared that their waffles reminded her of a
memorable experience at Sheraton Hotel—an affirmation that their
quality could compete at a higher level.
Others began asking: Can you supply in Kampala? For the team,
this was more than feedback it was a glimpse into a bigger future.
Looking ahead, the team envisions Snacks & Smiles as a registered
company, a household brand that creates jobs and delivers quality
products to wider markets with owners: Esther Kahamire, Claudin
Izoduhuze, Merci Mugwaneza, Christian Murogo, Abigel Murogo, Joshua
Bahati, Roger Nuwanmanya, Mary Djuma, Gloria Chibalonza, Nuru Mushahidi.
Stories of Y-Connect
This story is part of a series highlighting AVSI Foundation's Y-Connect program, which is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda. Content, text, and photos are provided by AVSI Foundation. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda and the Government of the Netherlands are not responsible for the content and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed.