From Contacts to Contracts: Strengthening Social Capital for Refugee Entrepreneurs in Uganda

Entrepreneurship offers one of the few viable paths to self-reliance for refugees, yet displacement often severs the networks of trust and information that businesses depend on. This project explores how refugee entrepreneurs can rebuild these essential social ties and what forms of network engagement most effectively promote business growth and inclusion. Working in partnership with local enterprise support organizations in Uganda, we will conduct a field experiment to identify and measure the behavioral mechanisms that strengthen social capital among displaced entrepreneurs. The study will generate actionable evidence for organizations and policymakers seeking to improve the design of entrepreneurship support programs for marginalized populations. Results will inform strategies not only for specific country but also for broader contexts where rebuilding social ties is critical to post-crisis economic recovery.

Key facts

Principal Investigator: Xilan Zhang
Co-PI: Charles Eesley
Affiliation: PhD Candidate, Stanford University, Department of Management Science and Engineering