The Problem
Aime Rebecca, Founder of Patapia, is a 24 year old refugee from DRC living in Uganda. Building from her own experience of struggling to generate income to support her family, she founded Patapia – a bank for the unbankable. Patapia provides microloans for refugee women in Uganda to start their own businesses and become financially independent. A pilot has proven the social enterprise’s high potential to create impact while generating profits. To continuously scale the impact of Patapia, Aime needs around USD 200,000, but there are no funding options available to her.
Aime represents a growing number of entrepreneurs who founded promising social enterprises that have high impact and growth potential. Unfortunately, they lack access to funding to scale as they are at the periphery of capital markets: the people, places and topics that markets neglect. This is both a systemic failure and a moral outrage.
Our solution
The SINA Purpose Pool seeks to develop an alternative to address both. Developed in SINA since 2020, our ambition is to prove that a human-centred, inclusive and regenerative investment model for impact entrepreneurs in underserved markets is viable: impactful, profitable and scalable capital and hands-on support through innovative mechanisms. Since end of 2023, it is managed by Relevant Impact Innovation in Uganda—founded by former SINA team members—in close partnership with SINA. The IKEA Foundation is supporting to attain a proof of concept through multi-year funding from 2025 till 2027 for 10 SINA communities across Uganda to help refugees in Uganda achieve economic self-reliance and build sustainable livelihoods through social entrepreneurship and relevant to invest patient capital into high-potential social enterprises for the creation of an evergreen and revolving fund.
To qualify, enterprises complete a short, structured Investment Readiness program to build credible financial forecasts, business plans and digital finance systems. Funding decisions are peer-informed through an investment committee that brings together experienced founders, funders and facilitators. Repayments are flexible: ventures share 5% of revenue until an agreed multiple—typically up to 2.5x—is reached. Ticket sizes generally range from USD 5,000 to 20,000. Ongoing portfolio support from venture associates in sales, branding, compliance and financial management helps revenues and repayments grow together, while share-pledging provides light-touch security for longer repayment horizons.
The model has already invested USD 103,700 across ten enterprises, which then attracted an additional USD 290,000 in external capital. The concept won the 2023 “Engagement Price“, its key principles of the Purpose Pool are:
Get in touch
For Social Enterprises
Are you a social enterprise in need for funding to scale your impact? Feel free to get in touch with us to receive more information about our next funding round.
For Funders
Are you interested in supporting social enterprises to scale their impact? Feel free o get in touch with us to receive more information about our model and opportunities to get involved.
Our Portfolio has 10 SINA social enterprises, here are 3 examples:
Uganics
providing purely organic, mild scented mosquito repellent.
In Uganda, children below five years are the most affected with malaria. According to the Ugandan Ministry of Health, currently 90% of 100,000 recorded malaria deaths are children, especially from rural areas. The majority of rural communities do not have access to treated mosquito nets, and do not have access to preventive measures…
Generous Designs Africa
Upcycling old aid tarpaulins into bags and local plastic recycling in the Bidibidi Refugee. Settlement
Generous Designs collects old tarpaulins from UNHCR or other aid agencies, which were given to arriving refugees for roofing. The sun is slowly destroying the plastic sheets and holes form and after a couple of years are thrown away. The social enterprise collects the sheets and uses the parts still in good condition as the base material for waterproof school bags for refugee children, handbags and shopping bags…
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Patapia
Affordable microfinance and startup support for refugee women.
Patapia is a social enterprise addressing the challenges of economic inequalities for refugee women in Uganda. Through training and peer groups, women get access to affordable small-scale loans to lift themselves out of poverty. Patapia is a Swahili word that means “get also”. It is founded by Rebecca Aime, a Congolese refugee herself.