Patrick Ssentongo

What you need to know: Reintegration, experts note, is often the most delicate stage of the process. Joyce Nabbosa, a Kampala-based social worker working with vulnerable youth, says children who have lived on the streets develop survival instincts that can make returning home difficult. On a dusty pitch on the outskirts of Kampala, 14-year-old Reagan Korwomuhangi pauses mid-drill, his chest heaving, eyes fixed on the ball at his feet. Until recently, he had disappeared from this very ground.

For decades, efforts to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the continent have largely centred on improving access to finance. Yet, as many practitioners have discovered, capital alone has not translated into sustainable growth. Structural weaknesses—ranging from poor strategic positioning to weak internal systems—continue to limit the ability of many businesses to scale, attract investment, or even survive beyond their early stages.

What you need to know: Wu Yiming arrived in Kampala to pursue business opportunities in Uganda’s growing technology sector. At the time, he says he was simply planning to establish operations, build clients and expand his business. Before the name “Handsome Jimmy” began trending across Ugandan screens, he was simply Wu Yiming, a software entrepreneur quietly building systems in Kampala.