The Innovation Village

Name

The Innovation Village

Website

https://hiretheyouth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Innovation Village is a Kampala, Uganda-based non-profit founded in 2017 that supports young people with unemployment, mental health, and skills gap challenges, operating a youth-focused content platform called Hire the Youth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN), Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

Keywords

• Youth employment programs
• Mental health support
• Skills development
• Youth empowerment
• Innovation incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Core offering

The Innovation Village is a non-profit organization that supports and empowers young people facing unemployment, mental health challenges, and skills gaps. It operates programs such as the COVID-19 Knock Down Innovation Challenge and runs the Hire the Youth content platform to nurture youth futures through life lessons, mental health awareness, and innovation initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COVID-19 Knock Down Innovation Challenge An innovation challenge program designed to engage young people in developing solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting youth affected by unemployment and economic disruption.
• Hire the Youth Platform A content and awareness platform under The Innovation Village that publishes life lessons, mental health stories, and youth-focused content aimed at nurturing futures for young people.
• Youth Mental Health Content Program

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Restless Development: Youth-led international development nonprofit running youth employment, civic engagement, and skills programs across Africa and Asia; overlapping with The Innovation Village on youth empowerment, workforce readiness, and positive youth development.
• Generation: Global nonprofit operating employer-aligned training and job-placement programs for unemployed youth, including in East Africa; comparable in the workforce-development pillar and in cohort-based, time-bound program design.
• Educate!: Uganda-based nonprofit delivering skills, mentorship, and entrepreneurship programs to youth; directly comparable in geography, target demographic, and the youth-employment-plus-skills mandate that The Innovation Village also pursues.
• Girl Effect: International nonprofit combining media, education, and youth programming to address adolescent wellbeing including mental health; comparable to The Innovation Village's youth-mental-health focus and integrated communications-led model.

Emerging players

• Andela: Africa-focused talent and skills development company addressing the skills gap through technical training; comparable to The Innovation Village's skills-gap pillar, though operating as a for-profit with a narrower technical-talent focus.
• Ylabs: Global design and research organization co-creating programs with young people on mental health, sexual health, and economic opportunity; thematically aligned with The Innovation Village's youth-centric, multi-pillar approach.
• African Leadership University: Pan-African higher education and leadership institution focused on developing African youth talent and employability; relevant peer in skills-development and youth-to-workforce pathways across the continent.

Broad incumbents

• BRAC: One of the largest development nonprofits in the world, operating extensive youth skills, microfinance, and education programs in Uganda and across Africa; relevant as a scaled incumbent competing for similar donor capital and policy attention.
• UNICEF Uganda: Multilateral agency running major youth, mental health, and adolescent-skills programs in Uganda; overlapping on the mental health and youth development pillars and a likely collaborator or competitor for government and donor funding.

Regional players

• Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator: South Africa-based nonprofit tackling youth unemployment through training, placement, and employer partnerships; highly comparable in mission and model, though operating in a different national market from The Innovation Village.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Innovation Village