UBI Piloters' Network
Newsletter 22, May, 2025
Release of “Our in Her Hands”- UBI initiative, Report goes live!
In Her Hands is the largest guaranteed income initiative in the Southeast. This program provides critical, no-strings-attached monthly income support. Guaranteed income (GI) is an evidence-based strategy to directly address deep-seated economic insecurity and poverty, which disproportionately impact historically disinvested communities.
Existing GI research has demonstrated the importance of an income floor to help people meet their basic needs. Key findings from In Her Hands expand on this learning, illustrating how participants were able to secure sustainable employment, better navigate structural barriers, strengthen family bonds, pursue education, and improve their overall health. Guaranteed income helped to affirm participants dignity and choice — one household at a time.
Year One Review.
Within 1 year of the 2 year program, participants in the In Her Hands guaranteed income program experienced: gains in financial stability & resilience, reduced use of high cost financial services, greater housing security, mental and physical health improvements, increased life satisfaction, and more.
Full Report found here
Publication in the Journal of Alternative Finance: Insights from the Basic Income Pilot in Uganda
The Journal of Alternative Finance has published a paper by researchers of Groningen University about the basic income pilot of INclusion and AFARD in the village of Welle in Uganda. Having started in August 2020, it is one of the longest running UBI pilots to date. The intention is to continue for two more years until July 2027.
Unique project characteristics
The project is particularly interesting for research and comparative analysis, because it differs in several ways from other UBI projects. In addition to the seven-year duration, the researchers mention three distinguishing characteristics:
UBI for children
a steering committee
a community fund
UBI children: All people in Welle, including children, receive a UBI of 13.50 euros a month. In other UBI projects children are usually excluded or receive a lower amount. The UBI of the children goes into the account of their mothers.
Steering committee: At the start of the project a steering committee was democratically chosen. The committee advises on how to best use the UBI and mediates when conflicts arise in the village. This happens, for example, when men feel threatened by the increased financial power of the women.
Community fund: The community fund is unique to this project. Of the unconditional cash transfer (UCT) of 15 euros a month, 10% - 1.50 euros - goes to the fund. The fund is a partial answer to the common criticism of UBI that it falls short when public goods and services are lacking. It enables the villagers to invest in public goods. The researchers conclude that the fund has greatly contributed to the success of the project. The people of Welle have used it to invest in two boreholes which now provide clean drinking water and save the women of Welle a lot of time. Time which they now spend on agriculture, livestock, small businesses, family, and socializing.
Key Findings and Recommendations
The researchers conclude that the pilot thus far has had “… largely positive effects on the residents of Welle, in terms of sustainable livelihoods, consumption, food security, savings, physical health, emotional well-being, and various dimensions of social cohesion.”
The paper concludes with recommendations that are particularly relevant when unconditional cash transfers are applied in development projects:
“Local institutional incentives and enforcement mechanisms for tackling communal challenges and emerging conflicts, as well as community-managed funds, are of key importance for cash transfers to succeed.”
Read the full paper for more insights and recommendations:
van Dongen, E., Lensink, R., & Mueller, A. (2025). Effects of Cash-Transfer Programs New Evidence From Uganda. Journal of Alternative Finance, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/27533743251339825