Seed Effect Q1 2025 Impact Report

Q1 • 2025

Seed Effect Impact Report

Seed Effect Stats We just wrapped up Q1, and we already have much to celebrate, including trainings, a summit, and continued growth. Since launching in Uganda in 2017, Seed Effect has empowered 111,839 South Sudanese and Ugandans. Thank you for making this work possible!

MEMBERS SERVED

GROUPS SERVED

ACTIVE BRANCHES

$ SAVED

$ LOANED

111,839

4,181

8

$13,116,281

$9,002,834

12% of 2025 new member goal reached!!

“God has blessed my garden, and I was able to get a good harvest. Now, my children are eating well.“ - Susan, Member & South Sudanese Refugee

All Staff Summit Seed Effect kicked off the new year with an unforgettable milestone—our second All Staff Summit! Teams from all eight branches in Uganda, our newest location in South Sudan, and our U.S. staff came together in Gulu, Uganda, for three incredible days of training, fellowship, worship, and team building.

For the first time, many of our team members met in person, turning familiar names into lifelong friends.

Laughter, prayer, and meaningful conversations filled our time as we reflected on our mission, tackled challenges, and strategized for the future. We celebrated victories, embraced new opportunities, and cast a vision for 2025.

This year’s theme was: “Faithful Stewards”, rooted in 1 Peter 4:10-11: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

Read more and join in on the fun by watching a recap of our time together here.

“What touched me the most was the cultural dances. It served as a beautiful reminder of our traditions and culture, which, in today’s fast-paced world, many people rarely get the chance to enjoy. I am truly grateful for this thoughtful experience.”

OGOT SAIDA, OMORO BRANCH COORDINATOR

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Shattering The Myth: How Refugees Are Saving, Investing, and Building Brighter Futures For years, the narrative surrounding refugees has been one of dependency. When we launched in Northern Uganda, many doubted that refugees could provide for their families without handouts and that savings groups could bring empowerment to refugee communities. We’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power of our work in some of the world’s most fragile contexts. From South Sudan to Northern Uganda, we’ve seen refugees defy expectations, proving their capacity to not only save and invest but also build thriving businesses and communities.

We see refugees as resilient and resourceful individuals capable of building brighter futures and providing for their families with dignity.

Read more on why we believe the hard places are worth investing in and how we help truly matters here.

Seed Effect + Equipping Farmers International: The Importance of Agriculture Training In 2020, we began providing agriculture training and support as an emergency response to food insecurity in refugee settlements. At the time, this intervention was intended to be temporary.

However, when we looked at the data, we saw that our members who received the training reported better outcomes in their abilities to feed their families, than those who did not do the training.

DID NOT RECEIVE AG TRAINING

47%

Increase in the # of members reporting their family now eats 3 meals per day

DID RECEIVE AG TRAINING

82%

Increase in the # of members reporting their family now eats 3 meals per day

With such encouraging outcomes, we decided to improve upon this intervention by shifting to conservation agriculture training in partnership with Equipping Farmers International (EFI).

EFI focuses on conservation agriculture principles through improving nutrition, food security, and income generation. This approach is effective and rooted in biblical teachings, guiding our members toward a restored relationship with creation, one of the four key relationships we focus on. Less than a quarter acre can feed an entire family for a year with these methods, and anyone can implement them. This model requires less money and labor, yielding more successful results than conventional farming, while also being gentler on the land.

Read more about this impactful partnership.

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Meet Johnson As a farmer in Uganda, Johnson spent years struggling with outdated methods, barely harvesting enough to sustain his family. But everything changed when he joined Seed Effect’s Lubanga Twero Savings & Loan Group. Through training in modern conservation agriculture and organic farming techniques, Johnson not only increased his yields but also discovered new income opportunities by creating and selling natural manure. Beyond farming, Seed Effect’s emphasis on saving sparked hope for his family’s future, empowering him to dream of better shelter, education, and stability. Johnson not only transformed his own financial trajectory but also became a source of inspiration for his community. Read his story to see how Seed Effect is empowering families like Johnson’s!

“As a person with a family, I have to take them for medications, I have to buy them clothes with all of these other essential things which are needed in a home for life. It was impossible for me.

It was very, very difficult. But when I came to know this Seed Effect, they began teaching us these new methods of agriculture. When I tried it even myself, it is easy to use. It is not even costly. Every week I could go I would find it's flourishing. Seed Effect has pulled me to light.

What they have instilled in me. I don’t know what I can give them.”

JOHNSON, SEED EFFECT MEMBER, KIRYANDONGO

Now, Johnson is sharing what he’s learned with his community, helping others benefit from the same insights that transformed his life. “The greatest gratitude I could give to Seed Effect is giving the knowledge I acquired to

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR VIDEO: MEET JOHNSON

people around me.”

Thank you for investing in restoration and economic empowerment!

Learn more at seedeffect.org Page 4