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12 doctrines of Advocacy Framework for OHRA’s Entrepreneurship Program

Orpe Human Rights Advocates (OHRA) presents a targeted program aimed at removing systemic barriers that prevent marginalized populations, particularly refugees, women, and underserved communities from fully participating in entrepreneurship. Despite entrepreneurial talent and innovation potential, structural inequities in access to finance, work rights, and regulatory frameworks continue to limit economic inclusion.

 

This program equips participants with entrepreneurial skills, legal literacy, and advocacy capacity, enabling them to engage policymakers, challenge discriminatory policies, and collectively advance inclusive economic participation. Through targeted training, community engagement, and policy advocacy, OHRA seeks to ensure that all entrepreneurs can operate on a level playing field, fostering economic dignity and systemic change.

Doctrines for Delivering Training in Entrepreneurship

(Policy Advocacy Dimension)

The purpose of these 12 doctrines that form a doctrinal advocacy framework for OHRA’s entrepreneurship program is to ensure that training is not only about skills and business knowledge but also about changing the systemic conditions that marginalize entrepreneurs.

Why this Program Matters

Entrepreneurs from marginalized groups face systemic obstacles that hinder their ability to start, manage, and scale businesses. Refugees are often denied work rights, women and minorities face discriminatory lending practices, and complex regulatory frameworks disproportionately disadvantage underserved communities.

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These barriers contribute to economic exclusion, poverty, and social marginalization, despite participants’ skills and potential. Traditional entrepreneurship training alone is insufficient; there is a critical need for integrated programs that combine skill development with policy advocacy, empowering participants to challenge and transform the structures that limit their opportunities.

Specific Objectives

  • Raise awareness among marginalized entrepreneurs of existing policies, legal rights, and systemic barriers affecting their economic participation.

  • Build advocacy capacity among participants to engage policymakers, financial institutions, and community leaders on issues like fair lending and refugee work rights.

  • Facilitate access to equitable financial services and support mechanisms by advocating for inclusive policies and monitoring compliance.

  • Strengthen networks for collective action, including peer advocacy groups, mentorship programs, and coalitions with other civil society actors.

  • Monitor and evaluate policy reforms to ensure sustainable and enforceable inclusion for all marginalized entrepreneurs.

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Goals

To promote inclusive entrepreneurship by removing systemic barriers through policy advocacy, legal literacy, and community empowerment.

Pathway to Impact

​If OHRA provides marginalized entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial training, legal literacy, and advocacy skills,
and engages them in community dialogues and policy advocacy initiatives,
then participants will develop the capacity to challenge discriminatory practices, access fair financing, and influence policy reforms,
leading to a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem where all marginalized groups can participate equitably.

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Pathway Logic:

  1. Inputs: Training facilitators, legal & advocacy experts, funding, training materials, partnerships with policymakers and financial institutions.

  2. Activities: Entrepreneurship + legal literacy workshops, advocacy training, policy dialogues, mentorship programs, collective campaigns.

  3. Outputs: # of participants trained, advocacy campaigns launched, policy dialogues held, partnerships formed, policy briefs developed.

  4. Outcomes (Short-to-Medium Term): Increased legal and policy awareness, improved advocacy capacity, strengthened networks, greater access to fair finance.

  5. Impact (Long-Term): Removal of systemic barriers, inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem, economic justice, sustainable community advocacy, stronger policy frameworks.

Doctrines for Delivering Training in Entrepreneurship

(Policy Advocacy Dimension)

The purpose of these 12 doctrines that form a doctrinal advocacy framework for OHRA’s entrepreneurship program is to ensure that training is not only about skills and business knowledge but also about changing the systemic conditions that marginalize entrepreneurs.

1. Doctrine of Structural Equity

  • Principle: Sustainable entrepreneurship requires dismantling systemic inequities in law, finance, and labor markets.

  • Application: Training integrates analysis of discriminatory barriers and equips participants with tools to challenge them.

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4. Doctrine of Access to Capital

  • Principle: Fair access to financing is a human right in entrepreneurship.

  • Application: Train participants to navigate microfinance, credit unions, impact investors, and to identify/report discriminatory lending.

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7. Doctrine of Community Voice

  • Principle: Affected communities must lead in shaping reforms that impact their livelihoods.

  • Application: Build platforms for entrepreneurs to participate in consultations, town halls, and policy dialogues.

​Doctrine of Legal Empowerment

  • Principle: Knowledge of legal rights ensures entrepreneurs can defend themselves against exploitation.

  • Application: Include workshops on filing complaints, accessing legal aid, and using dispute resolution mechanisms.

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2. Doctrine of Policy Awareness

  • Principle: Legal and policy knowledge is foundational for entrepreneurial empowerment.

  • Application: Provide legal literacy modules on labor rights, financial regulations, and refugee protections.

Doctrine of Inclusive Opportunity

  • Principle: Marginalized groups (refugees, women, disabled persons, minorities) must have equal entrepreneurial pathways.

  • Application: Ensure training highlights inclusive financial tools and advocates for nondiscriminatory policy reforms.

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8. Doctrine of Systemic Transformation

  • Principle: Entrepreneurship programs must aim at changing oppressive systems, not just adapting to them.

  • Application: Train participants to co-create systemic solutions (e.g., fair credit laws, inclusive procurement policies).

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11. Doctrine of Collective Agency

  • Principle: Collective action amplifies advocacy for policy reforms.

  • Application: Encourage cooperative models, associations, and advocacy networks to strengthen bargaining power.

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​3. Doctrine of Empowered Advocacy

  • Principle: Entrepreneurship includes the ability to influence systems that shape economic opportunities.

  • Application: Teach advocacy, lobbying basics, coalition-building, and grassroots mobilization.

6. Doctrine of Rights Protection

  • Principle: The right to work and economic participation is protected under international human rights law.

  • Application: Incorporate ILO conventions, UNHCR refugee rights frameworks, and local labor laws into the curriculum.

9. Doctrine of Economic Justice

  • Principle: Entrepreneurship training is incomplete without addressing fairness in economic systems.

  • Application: Promote advocacy for living wages, fair taxation, and anti-exploitation measures.

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​12. Doctrine of Sustainable Inclusion

  • Principle: Policy reforms must not only open access but sustain long-term inclusion.

  • Application: Train participants to advocate for continuous monitoring, accountability, and policy enforcement mechanisms.

Logic Model: Delivering Entrepreneurship Training through Policy Advocacy

12 Doctrines for Delivering Training in Entrepreneurship (Policy Advocacy Dimension) into a Logic Model. These doctrines clearly show how inputs and activities lead to outputs, outcomes, and long-term impact.

Inputs

  • Trained facilitators in entrepreneurship, law, and advocacy

  • Partnerships with legal experts, financial institutions, and policymakers

  • Training materials (legal literacy guides, advocacy toolkits, financial inclusion resources)

  • OHRA’s networks with refugee, women’s, and marginalized groups

  • Funding and donor support for training, advocacy, and policy engagement

Activities (guided by the 12 Doctrines)

  • Deliver training sessions on entrepreneurship skills integrated with policy awareness and legal literacy (Doctrine 2, 6).

  • Host workshops on advocacy skills, coalition building, and collective agency (Doctrine 3, 11).

  • Provide access-to-capital education, connecting participants with fair lending options (Doctrine 4).

  • Organize community forums and dialogues with policymakers to elevate the community voice (Doctrine 7).

  • Create mentorship programs emphasizing inclusive opportunity and structural equity (Doctrine 1, 5).

  • Support entrepreneurs in engaging in systemic transformation campaigns (Doctrine 8).

  • Provide legal support and guidance for rights protection and legal empowerment (Doctrine 6, 10).

  • Encourage participants to pursue economic justice initiatives (Doctrine 9).

  • Monitor and evaluate policy reforms to ensure sustainable inclusion (Doctrine 12).

Outputs

  • of training sessions delivered (entrepreneurship + advocacy focus)

  • of participants trained (youth, women, refugees, marginalized groups)

  • of policy dialogues/forums held with government/financial institutions

  • of advocacy campaigns launched by participants

  • of partnerships formed (banks, legal aid, policymakers)

  • Policy briefs/recommendations developed by OHRA and participants

Outcomes (Short-to-Medium Term)

  • Increased awareness among participants of their entrepreneurial rights

  • Improved ability of participants to advocate for fair policies (e.g., refugee work rights, fair lending)

  • Growth of peer networks and advocacy coalitions among underserved entrepreneurs

  • Improved access to fair financial services for marginalized groups

  • Policy engagement by participants in local/regional decision-making

Impact (Long-Term)

  • Systemic reduction of barriers in entrepreneurship (e.g., refugee work rights recognized, fair lending enforced)

  • Inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem where women, refugees, and marginalized groups have equal opportunities

  • Economic justice and dignity restored for underserved communities

  • Stronger policy frameworks that protect entrepreneurial rights at local, national, and international levels

  • Sustainable community-led advocacy movements influencing future reforms

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