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Up With Africa · Annual publication
What does it actually look like for a refugee in Uganda to earn income online? Not what platforms promise. Not what policy documents say. What actually happens.
Up With Africa · Kampala, Uganda · April 2025
UWA's annual attempt to answer a simple question — written in our voice, with our data, naming names where the platforms or policies stand in the way of dignity.
The Digital Livelihoods Report is UWA's annual attempt to answer a simple question: what does it actually look like for a refugee in Uganda to earn income online? Not what platforms promise. Not what policy documents say. What actually happens.
In 2024, we surveyed 342 refugees across Kampala, Nakivale, and Kiryandongo. We tested 12 digital platforms. We followed 18 UWA programme graduates over six months as they attempted to build freelance income. This is what we found.
The gap between skill and income is not a skill problem. It is a payment-corridor problem, a documentation problem, and an unwillingness-to-update-KYC-policies problem.
Published April 2025. Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0. Cite as: Up With Africa (2025). The Digital Livelihoods Report 2024. Kampala: UWA.
Four findings that reframe the conversation about digital work for refugees in Uganda — and that suggest what the next year of advocacy needs to focus on.
68% of surveyed refugees reported attempting to earn income online in 2024. Of those, only 29% received payments reliably (defined as: money received within 14 days of completing work, without payment failure). The gap is almost entirely explained by payment infrastructure — not skill.
In 2023, 6 of 12 tested payment platforms worked adequately for refugees. In 2024, only 4 did. Wise exited Uganda entirely. PayPal tightened withdrawal restrictions. The trend is toward less access, not more — despite increased skills investment in the refugee population.
71% of refugees who received freelance income used MTN Mobile Money as their primary receipt method in 2024. It is not ideal — per-transaction fees add up and international clients find it unfamiliar — but it works. Policies that restrict platform payouts to mobile money would have an outsized positive impact.
In the 6-month cohort study, UWA programme graduates were 3.2× more likely to secure paid remote work compared to a matched control group with equivalent skills. The differentiating factor: knowledge of legal rights, platform navigation skills, and community support — not technical ability alone.
Five recipients, five concrete asks. Each recommendation is grounded in the survey data and cohort study — not abstract policy language.
Explicitly list Uganda and accept UNHCR documentation as valid KYC. Payoneer and Wise have the biggest opportunities here.
Enable MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money as direct payout methods. Upwork already supports this — Fiverr and Freelancer.com should follow.
Clarify digital work provisions in the refugee regulatory framework. An explicit OPM circular on remote work would reduce friction at banks and platforms.
Fund payment corridor advocacy alongside skills training. A refugee with a React skill but no payment path is economically stranded.
Use Deel or similar EOR (employer-of-record) platforms that support Uganda. Direct bank transfers via Centenary Bank or Equity Bank are also viable.
Each annual edition expands on the last — more refugees surveyed, more platforms tested, more cohort time. Subscribe below to be notified when the next report ships.
Second edition · 342 refugees surveyed · 12 platforms tested · 6-month cohort study.
First edition · 210 refugees surveyed · 8 platforms tested.