UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

East and Central Africa
which firms and researchers could collaborate on solving
problems of direct interest to industry.
n An Outreach Programme proposed a series of school
visits by top scientists and researchers to change negative
perceptions that deterred Ugandans from pursuing careers
in science. A National Science Week was also established. In
parallel, this second component sought to strengthen the
institutional capacity of the NCST and Uganda Industrial
Research Institute and, more generally, to improve policy
implementation, evaluation and monitoring.
In July 2010, the Presidential Initiative on Science and
Technology offered a further boost by creating a fund to
foster innovation at Makerere University over the next five
years (Box 19.6).
Thriving innovation hubs
The Uganda Investment Authority is a parastatal agency that
works in conjunction with the government to facilitate private
sector investment. One of the authority’s most flourishing
sectors is ICTs. This sector has seen major investment in
recent years to develop Uganda’s backbone infrastructure
network, which is comprised of fibre-optic cables and related
equipment, as well as mobile broadband infrastructure.
Uganda has a thriving innovation hub named Hive Colab,
which was launched in 2010 by AfriLabs and is headed
by Barbara Birungi. It serves as a collaborative space to
facilitate interaction among technology entrepreneurs,
web and mobile app developers, designers, investors, venture
capitalists and donors. Hive Colab provides facilities, support
and advice to members to help them launch successful
start-up enterprises. The hub offers a virtual incubation
platform that is intended to assist entrepreneurial activity,
particularly in rural areas. Its three programme focus areas
are ICTs and mobile technologies, climate technologies and
agribusiness innovation.
Another incubator, the Consortium for enhancing University
Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development Limited
(CURAD), is a public–private partnership which targets
young innovators in the agribusiness sector with the goal of
generating new enterprises and employment. This non-profit
company was launched in May 2014 and is based at Makerere
University.
In September 2013, the government launched a Business
Process Outsourcing Incubation Centre at the Uganda
Bureau of Statistics House (Biztech Africa, 2013). The facility
can accommodate 250 agents and is run by three private
companies. The Government of Uganda has targeted this
industry to address youth unemployment and stimulate
investment in information-technology-enabled services
Business incubation and STI research are also promoted by
the Uganda Industrial Research Institute.
Two annual prizes have also incentivized innovation in
Uganda. Each year since 2012, Orange Uganda, a division
Chapter 19
Box 19.6: The Presidential Innovations Fund in Uganda
When President Museveni visited
Makerere University in December 2009,
he noticed that many undergraduate
students had produced interesting
prototypes of machines and
implements and that PhD students
and senior researchers were working
on inventions with potential for
transforming rural Ugandan society
but that innovation was being held
back by the lack of modern research
and teaching laboratories.
After the visit, he decided to create a
Presidential Innovations Fund endowed
with UGX 25 billion (circa US$ 8.5 million)
over five years to support innovationrelated
projects at the university’s
College of Engineering, Art, Design and
Technology.
The fund became operational in July
2010. It covered the cost of modernizing
laboratories and the implementation of ten
projects at the university. It also financed
undergraduate science and engineering
programmes, academia–private sector
partnerships, student internships,
science policy formulation and science
popularization in schools and communities.
By 2014, the projects had developed:
n an academic records management
system;
n more than 30 internet laboratories
(ilabs) in the Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering;
n a business incubator, the Centre for
Technology Design and Development;
n a Centre for Renewable Energy and
Energy Conservation;
n more than 30 innovation clusters for
metal, salt, coffee, milk, pineapple, etc.;
n appropriate irrigation;
n a vehicle design project (the Kiira EV
car), which evolved into the Centre
for Research in Transportation
Technologies;
n makapads, the only sanitary wear
for women in Africa made from
natural materials (papyrus and paper),
including for maternity use;
n a Community Wireless Resource
Centre.
Source: http://cedat.mak.ac.ug/research/
presidential-initiative-project.html
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