Friends of PEDN Network Diaspora Fund

The Private Education Development Network (PEDN) is a Ugandan non-profit organization established in March 2004 that focuses on empowering young people through entrepreneurship and financial education. PEDN works with a public private sector ecosystem so that the gaps in the Education and Economic sector are solved using a collaborative systems approach.

Vision and Mission:

• Vision: A Ugandan society that is enterprising and productive.
• Mission: To empower young people in Uganda through innovative and demand-led entrepreneurial interventions that enable them to transform their livelihoods and communities.
• Strategic Mission Statement: To facilitate the development of young people's creative and innovative potential by equipping them with basic entrepreneurial, financial, business, and personal development skills in an open and collaborative environment.

Core Values:

PEDN operates based on several key principles to guide its educational and community interventions:

• Teamwork

• Transparency

• Professionalism

• Accountability

• Productivity

• Creativity

Why PEDN:

The Private Education Development Network (PEDN) was established to address several critical gaps in the Education landscape as follows:

• Challenge Rote Learning: The organization was formed to challenge the traditional education system that prioritized passing examinations over practical skill acquisition.

• Addressing Youth Unemployment: It aimed to shift the focus from producing "job seekers" to "job creators" by equipping youth with market-led vocational and business skills.

• Integrating Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy: It sought to promote and integrate entrepreneurial teaching and financial education into both formal and informal education systems in Uganda through "Young Entrepreneurs" clubs.

• Curriculum Reform: It was created to serve as a catalyst for advocacy, lobbying the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) to mainstream entrepreneurship and financial inclusion into the national education curriculum.

• Filling Skill Gaps: PEDN created new learning spaces for practical, interactive activities designed to enhance life skills, personal awareness, and workforce readiness.

• Competency-Based Learning: PEDN promotes new teaching pedagogies that extend learning "beyond the four walls of the classroom," prioritizing critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for social innovators.

• Curriculum Mainstreaming: PEDN lobbies the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) and the Ministry of Education and Sports to integrate social entrepreneurship and financial inclusion into the national education curriculum.

• Defining the Field of Social Entrepreneurship: The organization actively promotes the concept of social entrepreneurship as a "smart utilization" of money and the environment to solve social problems rather than just maximizing profit, through innovation hubs.

• Digital Transformation: Recent initiatives, such as the 10X Program, focus on "digitalizing women agribusiness" in Eastern Uganda, using technology as a tool for social and economic inclusion.

• PEDN serves as a primary vehicle for the "Everyone a Changemaker" vision in Uganda by replicating the Ashoka Youth Venture framework:

• Social Innovation: PEDN’s curriculum mirrors the four core "changemaker skills" advocated by Ashoka: Empathy, Collaborative Leadership, Fluid Teamwork, and Changemaking.

• Mentorship, Coaching and Networking: Following the Youth Venture model, PEDN connects students with adult mentors and business professionals to refine their ideas and build "teams of teams"