When Lauben Ndahura walked into the Youth Platform Africa (YPA) offices in Rubaga on Friday morning, he had no plans of driving home in a brand-new Toyota Harrier. He had come to witness the raffle draw. Hours later, cheers erupted as his name was called — he had just won the grand prize in YPA’s “Section B Giveaway Car” program.
The celebration was part of an event graced by Col. Edith Nakalema, Head of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU) and patron of YPA, who praised the organisation for transforming Uganda’s economy through agribusiness.
“YPA is a big investment in Uganda that adds value to our socio-economic transformation,” Nakalema said. “I’m proud of your hard work. Even when I push you hard, it is to encourage you to grow. The President appreciates you for spreading the wealth creation gospel, and he will soon visit your farms.”
Founded in 2008 as a small village group of 21 people, YPA has grown to over 13,500 members, managing 110,000 goats, 6,000 cows, 2.5 square miles of maize, hundreds of beehives, and a SACCO. They also run four mbuzi choma restaurants across Uganda.
YPA’s model empowers young people through commercial goat farming, agribusiness training, access to export markets, and innovative incentives such as the Section B program, which rewards loyal members.
“Our membership grew by 500 in just three months because of this campaign,” Nakalema noted. “It proves that when people are serious, focused, and united, great things happen.”
Patrick Ayota, Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), pledged to work with YPA to accelerate its growth. “If we work together as a country, in the next 10 years, a lot can be achieved,” he said, revealing plans to grow NSSF savers from 3 million to 15 million by 2025 with the help of groups like YPA.
YPA founder and Managing Director, Obed Ben Rukuringamamanzi, recalled the organisation’s humble beginnings. “One of our earliest members left, thinking we had no vision. Today, we are East Africa’s leading goat farmers. Agriculture is profitable, but the challenge is management — and that’s where YPA comes in.”
The President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Uganda, Dr. Moses Maka Ndimukika, urged Ugandans to embrace agribusiness to fight poverty. “God never created you to suffer. Poverty is a disaster. We must create wealth,” he said.
For Ndahura, the prize was life-changing. “I only bought SACCO shares worth Shs300,000 this morning. I never dreamt of winning a car. I was planning to save up from my goat and maize investments to buy one,” he said, smiling beside his new Toyota Harrier.
As Nakalema put it, the day’s celebrations were just the beginning: “Our mission continues — to build leaders, break cycles of poverty, and drive change across Africa.”
