Poor funding, impatience derail Ugandan innovators

“The small holder farmers have been lacking such an opportunity of reaching out to a wider audience cheaply as it is with this application. Now all they need is an Airtel Simcard and the worldwide market will be in their hands,” Prof. Akaezuwa said. In a recent phone interview with Prof Azeakuwa on how many tractors have been produced since, “not so many, we have a few challenges derailing us,” the Prof said. 

Progress?
This is not only a challenge of IUEA, innovators from many other universities, as well as innovation hubs are coming up with all kinds of prototypes that never materialise to impact the world.  An assessment conducted by Quinn and Cameron, (2013) on innovation in Uganda found that lots of ideas are generated by Ugandan innovators, few “reach a stage of full implementation, or demonstrate scalability and self-sustainability”.  

Uganda is ranked 119th among 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index 2022, sixth among the 16 low-income group economies and 13th among the 26 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Experts say, successful innovations need to be patented if they are to have a good return on time, effort and money invested in developing the technology. This not only makes them attractive to investors, but the revenues generated from a successful patent-protected innovation makes it possible to finance further technological research and development (R&D), thereby improving the chances of even better technology becoming available in the future from which society stands to benefit.

Despite all the IPR benefits, high impact innovations remain low in Uganda due to the challenges faced by innovators. According to the Global Innovation Index 2022, innovation systems in Uganda and Africa in general are broadly characterised by having low levels of science and technology activities, high reliance on government or foreign donors as a source of research and development (R&D), limited science-industry linkages, low absorptive capacity of firms, limited use of intellectual property (IP), and a challenging business environment.

Lawrence Muganga, the vice chancellor, Victoria University, explains that innovators are being derailed by limited efforts of collaboration among public sector, private sector and academia. 
“The impact of this has been the emergence of a weak and uncompetitive private sector that is not producing desired levels of inclusive growth,” Muganga says.

Financial constraints
The challenge of financing is key. Research shows that financial constraints shape the activity of graduates and students innovators in Uganda. 

Innovators are primarily motivated to find jobs rather than work on their projects due to the uncertainty and financial constraints as well as financial pressure from family members. In the Quinn and Cameron Research findings, all innovators interviewed revealed that they worked on their projects alongside several other “ongoing enterprises, part time jobs and consultancies”. 

Worth noting are the hundreds of university students who come up with brilliant innovations which are presented to only pass the course and thereafter left to rot in university libraries as the graduates opt to look for a job with a steady income.”

Where is support
Steven Baliruno, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Science at Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi, says there is a general lack of support in the ecosystem with most innovators in Uganda not getting enough support during their innovation journey.  

“In this context, we are talking of help with developing the innovation and help with solving challenges related to business, informational or legal issues,” he says. 

Baliruno adds that innovators lack relevant networks and because they do not know other innovators or ecosystem members, innovators end up facing their challenges alone.
In the same vein, Baliruno explains that mentorship is key in innovation yet scarce in Uganda. 

“Good mentorship is hard to come by, especially if the innovator does not have relevant social networks.  Innovation in Uganda is just like a place where only the strongest survive. You have to know people, you have to at least have some kind of godfather for you to penetrate. But if you are working alone, it is a very hard place,” says Baliruno.

Seed capital
Another key challenge sighted by Baliruno is financing for the innovations. Funding is needed both in the initial stages of the innovation process, for example when developing the product, as well as in the later stages of innovation such as when scaling the business.  Without that, it does not matter how much knowledge you pump into the innovation, you are doing nothing.

Unfortunately, Ugandan innovators do not have access to this much needed seed capital, which leaves many of them frustrated.”

Lack of patience and resilience
Also worth noting is the lack of patience and resilience amongst Ugandan innovators. “They want to move forward too quickly, without developing the idea and finding out what customers actually need before they introduce their products to the market. If the innovation process doesn’t move fast enough, or if they face too many challenges, they give up the whole project. Yet unfortunately for them, it takes time to build a successful innovation, but our innovators do not have the patience for such.

Way forward
With the rapid acceleration of digital technologies and innovation, experts say, it is crucial for government to dedicate funds for creating ICT pathways in form of infrastructure, youth skilling, up scalling technology products and creating policy and regulatory frameworks that facilitate innovation and investment into the digital economy.

“A strengthened start-up ecosystem requires investment by government and other stakeholders in an enabling environment, policies and linkages to markets not forgetting the digital infrastructure ranging from investments in applications, infrastructure and security systems to guarantee safe, reliable and sound software systems. This in turn will increase the development of new innovative solutions, accelerate work opportunities in the sector for the young people and improve on the skills of our local tech talent,” Muganga says. 

The Victoria University vice chancellor further calls on innovators in the country to address current needs rather than the future. “we need to focus on innovations that can address the current problems of the country. These will come with an available market and hence profitability for the innovators.” 

Prof William Kyamuhangire from Makerere University Food Technology and Business Incubation Centre (FTIBC)  emphasises the need for partnerships. 

“Partnering with the business schools, banking, finance and human resource management would ensure means of transferring technology from those that create it to those who need it. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation should also challenge the academia to deliver through grants, rewards and incentives,” Prof Kyamuhangire says. 

With the right infrastructure, skills and an enabling environment, Muganga says, the sector has the ability to boost multi-sectoral growth, increase productivity, and create employment opportunities for the young people. 

Did you know

Uganda is ranked 119th among 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index 2022, sixth among the 16 low-income group economies and 13th among the 26 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The challenge of financing is key. Research shows that financial constraints shape the activity of graduates and students innovators in Uganda.

Innovators are primarily motivated to find jobs rather than work on their projects due to the uncertainty and financial constraints as well as financial pressure from family members.

In the Quinn and Cameron Research findings, all innovators interviewed revealed that they worked on their projects alongside several other “ongoing enterprises, part time jobs and consultancies.”