A Youth-Powered Local NGO in Uganda
Wilmat Development Foundation (WDF) is a Youth-Powered Local NGO in Uganda founded by a group of young, passionate people committed to preventing and responding to the vulnerabilities faced by Women and Youth in the community. Established in 2014 and formally registered in April 2017, WDF has grown from a grassroots conviction into a nationally recognised civil society organisation operating across four regions of Uganda.
For over a decade, WDF has delivered Low-Cost, High-Impact community-driven initiatives from Farmer field schools, VSLA modeling, Youth4Investment and agri-business skilling to gender justice, Climate Action, HDP nexus, SRHR, peacebuilding, Early Warning systems and institutional capacity strengthening. Our reach spans from Central, Eastern, Western and Karamoja regions.
We don't just run programmes, we build platforms that communities own, sustain and scale. Our approach is rooted in the belief that Willingness Matters and where there is Willingness, Transformation follows.
Mission, Vision & What We Believe
Fostering Community Cooperation & Independence
Fostering Community Cooperation and Independence of Underserved Women and Youth to enable them initiate and manage Community-driven Socio-Economic and Development Processes.
Building a Community of Full Potential
Building a Community where Women and Youth realize their Full Social, Economic and Civic Potential.
Our name and spirit in two words. We believe that where there is Willingness in communities, in Leaders, in Young Women & Youth transformation is not only possible, it is inevitable. This tagline is not a slogan. It is our founding Philosophy, our operational approach and our promise to every community we serve.
What We Stand By
Integrity
We promote a culture of openness and transparency in our programme execution accountable to communities first, always.
Teamwork
We believe in strong relationships and incorporate effective combined efforts in building better communities.
People Participation
We ensure active, productive and equal participation at all levels communities lead, WDF walks alongside.
Result Oriented
We strive for lasting impact creating a climate of continuous learning, flexibility and openness to new ideas.
Humanity
We focus on human safety, improvement and well-being addressing all vulnerability challenges at the grassroots.
How We Believe Change Happens
WDF's Theory of Change is grounded in a simple conviction: when marginalised Women and Youth are equipped with the right knowledge, skills, networks and resources and when systems are made accountable to them they become unstoppable agents of their own development.
- Trained community facilitators
- Funding from strategic partners
- Technical expertise & tools
- CSO, Govt & INGO partnerships
- Community trust & relationships
- Livelihoods and Socio-Economic Transformation
- Healthier and Safer Communities
- Gender Justice and Accountability Strengthening
- Institutional Capacity Strengthening
- FFS - VSLAs establsihed & Stustained
- Trained women, youth & champions
- Strengthened Community structures & institutions
- WaSH, Health & hygiene improvements
- GBV/VAC/VE prevention plans & referrals
- Research reports & evidence
- Improved household food security & incomes
- Reduced GBV/VAC/VE incidence
- Women & youth in leadership
- Better nutrition & WaSH outcomes
- Community accountability systems
- Stronger peace, early warning systems & resilience
- Women & youth at full potential
- Inclusive, just & peaceful communities
- Self-reliant, sustainable CBOs
- NDP IV goals advanced
- Zero poverty, zero undernutrition, Zero Violent Extremism cases
Key Milestones
WDF Founded
Wilmat Development Foundation was established by a group of young, passionate people committed to protecting and empowering women, girls and youth facing vulnerability in Uganda.
Formal Registration & Community Engagement Begins
WDF registered as a Charitable Company Limited (URSB). Active community-driven programme delivery begins, with school engagements, Farmer Field schools, Bikasave-VSLA modeling launched in Busoga, Rwenzori & Central region.
Tulime Demonstration Gardens — Climate-Smart Agriculture in Action
WDF embarked on setting up Tulime Demonstration Gardens in Eastern, Central Uganda and the Rwenzori sub-region, boosting knowledge transfer and climate-smart agricultural approaches, improving market access and connecting smallholder farmers to agricultural inputs through Essymart. These demonstration sites became living classrooms that evolved into Farmer Field Schools, equipping communities with practical, season-by-season skills in sustainable production.
Right2Grow Programme — WDF Joins as Sub-Grantee
WDF joins the Right2Grow Uganda Consortium a five-year, Dutch-funded programme as a strategic sub-grantee in Bugweri and Mayuge Districts, strengthening community nutrition and WASH advocacy across Uganda.
Full Indigenous NGO Registration
WDF obtains full Indigenous NGO registration at the National NGO Bureau, cementing its status as a legally recognised, community-grounded civil society organisation.
Wilmat Skilling Facility Launched
WDF launched the Wilmat Skilling Facility — a dedicated hands-on vocational training centre providing young women and men with practical, market-relevant skills in hairdressing, tailoring, fashion & design, craft making, basic repairs, bakery and more. Targeting communities across Busoga, Rwenzori and Central regions, the facility is building a generation of skilled, self-reliant youth entrepreneurs.
BIOT Organic Innovations Established
WDF launches BIOT Organic Innovations as a social enterprise to champion agro-processing and circular economy solutions — producing plant milk, peanut milk, soya milk, yoghurt, roasted & crushed silverfish powder, pre-cooked peanut & silverfish powder, WaSH products, organic fertilizers, and animal & poultry feeds from food waste. Products are already on the market.
Strategic Programme Expansion & Leadership Recognition
WDF expands into peacebuilding (Echoes of Hope with Peace Direct), disarmament (Africa Amnesty Month) and community co-creation (Local Leadership Labs with CAPAIDS/CIVICUS). WDF is elected as National Chairperson of the National Youth Advocacy Platform (NYAP) under CIDI Uganda.
Right2Grow Five-Year Closeout
Right2Grow Uganda concludes after five years, with WDF credited as a key grassroots partner in helping pass Uganda's Food and Nutrition Bill and strengthening community-led WASH accountability in Eastern Uganda.
Strategic Plan 2025–2029 in Full Swing
WDF's four-pillar strategic plan drives implementation across livelihoods, health, gender justice and institutional capacity — aligned with Uganda's NDP IV (2025–2030) and the AU Agenda 2063.
BIOT Organic Innovations
In 2023, WDF established BIOT Organic Innovations as a registered social enterprise to champion agro-processing and circular economy solutions for Uganda's communities. BIOT was born from WDF's deep field experience with smallholder farmers, nutrition challenges and food waste and a conviction that communities can create market-ready products from what they already have.
BIOT bridges the gap between agriculture, nutrition and enterprise processing locally sourced raw materials into affordable, high-quality food, hygiene and agricultural products that are already reaching households, health centres and markets across Uganda.
Products are already on the market available through community networks, health centres and local retail outlets across Uganda.
Agro-processing · Circular Economy · Nutrition · WaSH · Organic Agriculture, turning community resources and food waste into dignified livelihoods and healthy, affordable products.
Plant & Protein Foods
- Peanut milk
- Soya milk
- Plant milk & yoghurt
- Roasted & crushed silverfish powder
- Pre-cooked peanut & silverfish powder
Nutrition & Wellness
- Fortified plant milk blends
- High-protein peanut yoghurt
- Ready-to-use nutritional products
- Community nutrition supplements
WaSH Products
- Household hygiene products
- Community sanitation solutions
- Affordable hand-washing products
- Safe water treatment aids
Agro & Farm Inputs
- Organic fertilizers from food waste
- Animal feeds from food by-products
- Poultry feeds from circular inputs
- Soil enrichment products
Wilmat Skilling Facility
Launched in 2022, the Wilmat Skilling Facility is WDF's dedicated vocational training centre born from the recognition that youth unemployment in Uganda is not a talent problem, it is an access problem. The Facility provides practical, market-relevant skills training to young women and men who have been excluded from formal education and economic opportunity.
The Facility operates as a social enterprise, combining affordable fee structures, community sponsorship pathways and product-to-market linkages so that graduates don't just leave with skills they leave with a livelihood plan. Trainees in hairdressing, tailoring and bakery, for example, are supported to set up micro-enterprises and access starter toolkits through WDF's network.
Targeting communities in Busoga, Rwenzori and Central Uganda with a deliberate focus on young women, young mothers and out-of-school youth.
Vocational Training · Youth Entrepreneurship · Livelihoods · Community Enterprise equipping the next generation with the hands-on skills and confidence to thrive.
We Are Stronger Together
Be Part of The Change
Whether you give, partner, volunteer or advocate — there is a meaningful role for you in WDF's mission to transform lives across Uganda. Willingness matters.