Uganda hosts 2.01 million refugees and asylum seekers (UNHCR/OPM, April 2026), the largest refugee population in Africa. Women and children make up 80% of this population (UNHCR 2024).
Refugee women face compounding crises: food rations cut by up to 80%, formal employment at just 9%, and a direct chain from poverty to gender-based violence, early marriage, and mental health breakdown.
Weaving Futures: Africa-Europe Creative Market Connections is a 12-month cultural mobility and market-connection programme (1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027) that sends 7
3 creative leaders from Uganda's Nakivale, Kiryandongo, and Bidi Bidi refugee settlements to key EU cultural festivals, creative hub co-creation sessions, and the UN Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Turkey. Building on the Orisha Pride Project (EU/OACP Ignite Culture grant, HEVA Fund and British Council Kenya), which established a professional fabric printing machine, e-commerce platform, and creative skills infrastructure, this project closes the critical gap between production capacity and market access. Participants travel as cultural entrepreneurs, not aid recipients, presenting, selling, and building wholesale and stockist relationships for authentic African-designed textiles, apparel, and accessories. Each visit is paired with co-creation dialogue with EUNIC partners, studio visits, mentorship from a fashion and market consultant, and B2B buyer meetings.
