Re:BUiLD Launches Wave 2 RCT Pilots

On November 1, 2023, the Re:BUiLD Program launched two separate pilot interventions in Kampala, marking the start of the second wave of the Re:BUiLD Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). The wave 2 RCT is focused on building social networks to facilitate self-employment of refugees and vulnerable host community members in Kampala and Nairobi.

We have learned that the lack of social networks that facilitate the setting up and maintenance of micro-enterprises is one major barrier to self-employment and successful labor market integration for refugees in urban settings. This learning motivated the design of the wave 2 RCT.

It is anticipated that through establishing social networks, aspiring refugee entrepreneurs and hosts shall improve access to  information about business opportunities and market gaps and give entrepreneurs informal cooperation/association mechanisms, such as access to funding, insurance, joint marketing, or support in vetting clients and suppliers.

While it is clear that social networks could be an important resource for refugees and hosts alike, it is less clear how these social networks, complemented by business grants to ease the pressure on capital constraints, should be structured and developed to maximize impact and positive economic and social outcomes.

Pilot 1 will test different ways of setting up peer support groups, that have regularly scheduled interactions of between 6-8 business peers while Pilot 2 will connect Re:BUiLD clients through meet-ups. The meetups will be organized entrepreneurial meetings in larger groups of 25-30 participants of the same or different refugee nationalities. The pilots will explore strategies to encourage networking amongst participants that work well for refugees and host community members and their impact on specific outcomes of business creation, business profits, social cohesion, psychological well-being, and self-reliance.

The same set of pilots will be launched in Nairobi in mid-November 2023 with the main RCTs, which will involve 8,000 participants in both cities scheduled for implementation in 2024.  This trial will be conducted by the Re:BUiLD Program in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University, Georgetown University, and Makerere University.  

This second wave of the Re:BUiLD RCTs comes after the implementation of two large-scale RCTs in Kampala and Nairobi in 2022. The wave 1 trials investigated the impact of mentorship and business grants on microentrepreneurs among refugees and vulnerable host communities. The findings from the first wave of RCTs are expected to be accessible in early 2024.