From the heart of Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, Emmanuel Agele is building a refugee-led enterprise that transforms locally available natural resources into affordable products and sustainable livelihood opportunities. As the founder of Holistic Soap, Emmanuel produces affordable organic herbal soaps made from locally sourced natural ingredients, designed to provide everyday cleansing and support healthy skin care.
Holistic Soap goes beyond producing soap. The enterprise creates employment opportunities for refugee and host-community youth while supporting local farmers by sourcing herbal ingredients and other raw materials from the community. This creates a local value chain in which community producers can participate in supplying inputs while young people gain opportunities to work, learn and develop entrepreneurial skills.
Holistic Soap is also a verified startup on the Flexi Link Platform, giving Emmanuel an opportunity to strengthen the enterprise's credibility and investment readiness while increasing its visibility to potential customers, partners and investors. Through the platform, he can access business capacity building, mentorship, market connections and opportunities for inclusive financing and investment to strengthen production, improve the business and reach new markets.
Emmanuel's journey demonstrates the potential of refugee-led businesses to turn local resources into economic opportunities, create jobs and contribute to inclusive local economic growth. With the right access to finance, markets, mentorship and strategic partnerships, Holistic Soap has the potential to expand its production and reach more customers in Bidibidi and beyond.