Donate to the Entrepreneur Tech Center
The Kakuma ETC (Entrepreneur Tech Center) is a 6-week program designed to enable refugees to become successful entrepreneurs.
Maak Impact connects refugee entrepreneurs with supporters to fund innovative projects.
Funds go directly to projects, empowering refugees to build sustainable businesses and overcome poverty.
Supporters receive project updates and emails and are encouraged to volunteer their skills to help our entrepreneurs.
Why the ETC?
Maak Impact has been working in the Kakuma Refugee Camp for one year, with the goal of creating one thousand jobs in the camp before the end of 2027. Our personal visits to the camp have shown that the primary problem needing to be solved is a lack of opportunity. In a camp of almost 300,000 refugees, many of whom are talented, skilled individuals, there are simply not enough jobs. So, since the beginning of our time in Kakuma, we have sought to identify refugee entrepreneurs who can create businesses that will employ even more refugees.
School goals
We started off by mentoring and funding these entrepreneurs one by one, and began to see success. So, we took the lessons we learned from these initial entrepreneurs and created the Entrepreneur Tech Center. The Maak Impact ETC is a 6-week training program that simultaneously teaches and funds refugee entrepreneurs. We have hired local instructors who teach classes about business creation, financial records, turning a profit, marketing, and more. We have bundled everything a Kakuma entrepreneur would need to know into a short, 6-week program. In addition, we provide each entrepreneur in the course with a $100 loan to help get their business started. This is a zero-interest loan, so they only are asked to repay the $100 and nothing more. This amount is more than enough for many entrepreneurs to get their business off the ground and start making sales. At the end of the 6-weeks, each entrepreneur graduates with a Maak ETC certificate, signifying that they know what it takes to be a successful business owner.
Predicted long term impact
Our goal is to transform the Kakuma Refugee Camp by providing employment opportunities for refugees. We have seen that these refugees are driven, ambitious, and highly skilled. They need only a small push in the right direction to transform their own lives and their communities. The ETC, through the skills it teaches and the financial help it provides, is that small push.
Donation Impact
Your donation will, quite literally, change the lives of many. We appreciate your support in helping these refugees on the path to a better life.