Our Story

Refugee-Led.
Community-Rooted.
Built to Last.

Yinnoh is not an organisation that works with refugees — it is an organisation run by them.

Who We Are

A Movement Proving Refugees Can Lead

Yinnoh (Youth Innovation Hub) is a refugee- and youth-led nonprofit legally registered in Uganda. Founded in 2020 and incorporated in 2021, we work at the intersection of youth empowerment, social entrepreneurship, and community development — serving both refugees and host community youth across four Ugandan settlements.

We are not outsiders delivering programmes. We are the communities we serve. That proximity — the trust, insight, and lived experience it produces — is our greatest advantage over traditional humanitarian organisations.

🇺🇬 Registered in Uganda Reg. No. 80020003055750
Yinnoh scholars engaged in a community learning session
Our Mission

To empower, to innovate, to uplift.

To empower marginalized young people and refugees through holistic personal development, professional training, social entrepreneurship, and community-driven programmes that unlock potential, reduce poverty, and transform communities through sustainable, locally-led solutions.

Our Vision

A world where displacement does not define your destiny.

A world where marginalized youth, women, and refugees are empowered with the skills, opportunities, and dignity to lead change, create livelihoods, and build resilient, inclusive communities.

What Guides Us

Our Values

🤝

Community-Led

Solutions built by the people who live the challenges — not imposed from outside.

💡

Innovation

We turn adversity into opportunity through entrepreneurial thinking and creative problem-solving.

❤️

Dignity

Every person we work with is a changemaker in their own right — never just a beneficiary.

🔍

Transparency

Accountable to our scholars, donors, and communities — we share what we do and what it costs.

🌱

Sustainability

We build enterprises that outlast our programmes and communities that don't depend on aid.

🌍

Inclusion

Refugees, host community members, women, and youth — every voice belongs in this work.

The Founding Story

One Tree. $60. A Movement.

The night before his graduation in the DRC, Benjamin Abunuasi's father was killed by rebels. He fled to Uganda with an education, a fierce determination — and nothing else. Years of rejection, hunger, and statelessness followed.

A chance scholarship at the Social Innovation Academy changed everything. Benjamin discovered that his pain could become a programme — that the same system that had nearly broken him could be rebuilt from the inside. In 2020, with a $60 birthday gift from an Italian friend, he called a gathering of young refugees under a tree in Rwamwanja. That was Yinnoh.

I lost my father, my home, and my hope. I built Yinnoh so no one else would have to lose all three.

— Benjamin Abunuasi, Founder & Executive Director

What started as a few dreamers in a camp has grown into a registered organisation operating two innovation hubs, serving communities in Rwamwanja, Bidibidi, Kyaka II, and Kampala — backed by the European Union, Save the Children, and the Social Innovation Academy.

Benjamin's belief is simple: when refugees lead, everyone wins.

Our Leadership

The People Behind the Mission

Benjamin Abunuasi, Founder and Executive Director of Yinnoh
Benjamin Abunuasi
Founder & Executive Director

Congolese refugee, Mandela Washington Fellow, and YALI representative for East & Central Africa. Former Innovation Officer for UNHCR and Danish Refugee Council across 14 countries. Benjamin has lived in Uganda since 2017.

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Michael Magamba, Co-Founder and Financial Lead of Yinnoh
Michael Magamba
Co-Founder & Financial Lead

"I exist to empower young people from disadvantaged communities to discover their talents, create enterprises while contributing to sustainable community development in Uganda."

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Legal & Registration

Yinnoh is legally incorporated as a company limited by guarantee under the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB). Our mandate covers a broad range of community development sectors.

Registration Number
80020003055750
Registration Body
URSB, Uganda
Year Founded
2020 (incorporated 2021)
Legal Structure
Company Limited by Guarantee

Operational sectors: Renewable energy · Art & entertainment · Community health · Digital inclusion · WASH · Education · Livelihoods & entrepreneurship · Sustainable agriculture · Environmental management

Believe in What We're Building?

Join the movement. Every contribution — of money, time, or expertise — goes directly to empowering refugee youth.

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