Social innovations in rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region. A social work perspective

Helmut Spitzer, Janestic Mwende Twikirize · 2021 · Journal of Rural Studies

Summary. Rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region face poverty, poor infrastructure, and weak services, yet develop innovative local solutions. This study examines two social innovations: Uganda's akabondo household clusters for rural development and Rwanda's umugoroba w'ababyeyi family strengthening program. The authors analyze whether these community-led approaches qualify as social innovations, identify key implementers, assess their impact on rural communities, and discuss challenges they face.

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Spitzer, H., & Twikirize, J. M.. (2021). Social innovations in rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region. A social work perspective. Journal of Rural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.10.013

@article{spitzer-2021-social-innovations-rural-communities-africa,
  title   = {Social innovations in rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region. A social work perspective},
  author  = {Helmut Spitzer and Janestic Mwende Twikirize},
  journal = {Journal of Rural Studies},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.10.013},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.10.013}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Social innovations in rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region. A social work perspective
AU  - Helmut Spitzer
AU  - Janestic Mwende Twikirize
JO  - Journal of Rural Studies
PY  - 2021
DO  - 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.10.013
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Details

DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.10.013
Countries: Uganda, Rwanda
Regions: Africa
Categories: indigenous-innovation, regional-innovation-systems, policy
Added: 2026-04-28