A
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●● high
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (A). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4AHistory grows each quarter
Educate!: Teaching how to make a living, inside the school day. The letter is A; certainty is high. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Across much of Africa, finishing secondary school does not lead to a job. School teaches how to pass an exam, not how to earn — and Educate!, begun in 2009, went at that gap directly. It places a practical curriculum inside school hours, in which students actually start a small business, sell, fail and try again, with teachers and mentors alongside them. It is designed from the start to sit inside the public system, in partnership with ministries of education.
What distinguishes the organization is that it has kept measuring itself through randomised controlled trials. At the end of the program, participants' income was double that of their peers; girls earned 244% more than non-participants, were 91% more likely to own a business and 113% more likely to be employed. A four-year follow-up found differences in skills and continued schooling, as well as in household decision-making and reduced intimate partner violence. Nine years on, graduates' firms showed 20% higher revenues and 16% higher profits.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
In a randomised controlled trial in Ugandan secondary schools, girls who took part earned 244% more than those who did not, were 91% more likely to own a business and 113% more likely to be employed. Income at the end of the program was double that of peers. A four-year follow-up found differences in household decision-making and in reduced intimate partner violence; nine years on, participants' firms showed 20% higher revenues and 16% higher profits. Source type: independent (academic RCT)
Source nature: J-PAL / Innovations for Poverty Action / T1 academic / randomised controlled trial. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T1 academic / randomised controlled trial
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Outcome research concentrated in Uganda
- operations dependent on national education policy
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Expanding countries served and integration into school systems.
A second look
The evidence centers on Uganda and replication elsewhere is still being tested. Working inside the public system means being exposed to changes in education policy. There is also a question of whether encouraging enterprise simply adds to precarious self-employment.
Sources
+N1J-PAL / Innovations for Poverty Action｜Soft Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for Secondary School Students in Uganda｜2026｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top