Innovation Spaces - Republic of Uganda

Uganda experienced a rapid growth in Innovation Spaces supporting entrepreneurs from 2010. These included: Hive CoLabs ; Microsoft Innovation Centre and iLab@MAK hosted by College of Computing and Information Science, Makerere University; Outbox focused on mobile and web entrepreneurs; Angels Hub (which took over Mara LaunchPad incubation space in September 2013); the @TheHub work space; FinAfrica - which has a particular focus on training); Center for Innovations and Professional Skills Development (CiPSD) and RAN Innovation lab at Makarere University; Women in Tech Uganda (WITU) Hub ; Mawazo Innovation Hub , TechBuzzHub and The Innovation Village Kampala . The Innovation Spaces are focused on providing Pre-Incubation (Hive CoLab, Outbox), Incubation (Angels Hub, Women in Tech Uganda (WITU) Hub, FinAfrica, Innovation Village, TechBuzzHub), Co-working spaces (Hive CoLab, Outbox, The Hub, Mawazo Innovation Hub, Innovation Village, TechBuzzHub), Entrepreneurial Training (FinAfrica) and commercialisation of apps (Grameen Foundation AppLab) (Cunningham et al 2014 ). Other related activities include: the UNICEF supported Uganda Innovation Lab and the UN Global Pulse supported Pulse Lab Kampala , which focuses on applications of Big Data; Telesat International - a non-profit trade school in Kampala that prepares students for self-employment; CURAD - Consortium for enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development; FabLab Kampala and business Innovation services provided by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute .

Uganda academics and youth dominate the ICT innovation spaces. Over the years a number of exciting products have emerged from these spaces. ICT is therefore one of the key sectors that has the potential to generate jobs and create employment there by contributing to national development.

Some of these are profiled below.

Makerere University is supporting Technology Entrepreneurship through the Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) established in November 2011 and Global Business Labs Uganda established in March 2013 (both co-located in the College of Computing and Information Science), and iLab@MAK , established in the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology in 2005. MIC focuses on supporting skills development, fostering innovation and supporting job creation. It provides young entrepreneurs, students, developers and researchers with access to equipment for testing and development of technologies build on the Microsoft platform. iLab@MAK provides a low cost, flexible and reliable experimentation platform for digital electronics, communication theory and digital signal transmission which can be accessed remotely. They are also collaborating with secondary schools to promote Science and Technology incubation.

Launched in July 2010 and supported by Indigo Trust and Hivos, iHive Colab is an innovation and incubation hub that targets university graduate startups and web and mobile technology entrepreneurs. A founding member of AfriLabs , Hive Colab undertakes research, collaborates with local universities and is an implementation partner for InfoDev East Africa Virtual Incubation pilot [14]. The Hub provides co-working space and mentorship for emerging entities and entrepreneurs.

Outbox (member of AfriLabs) was launched in July 2012 as a technology incubator and collaborative working space for mobile and web entrepreneurs, supported by Google and Deloitte. It provides co-working space, mentorship and training programmes.

The founders of Angels Hub took over Mara Launchpad Incubator when it closed in September 2013, having been involved in its launch in January 2012. The hub provides residential and commercial work spaces for start-ups and SMEs.

Pulse Lab Kampala was founded in January 2015 as a data innovation centre, under the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uganda to contribute to the UN "Delivering as One" process. It aims to support interaction between Government, UN, academics and private sector to develop big data analytics technologies to support sustainable development.

The UNICEF Uganda Innovation Lab was launched in 2010 to provide work spaces, a physical prototyping workshop, RapidSMS service development hub, video production set and environment to support co-creation. It aims to support technology development as products and mobile services to support information access for end-users and improved data collection methods.

Established in April 2011, The Hub Kampala rents collaborative and dedicated working space for freelancers, consultants and entrepreneurs, and collaborates with FinAfrica for training.

FinAfrica was founded in 2009 as a not-for-profit training, enterprise incubation and advisory centre. A Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, it can also host up to 20 incubatees.

Grameen Foundation AppLab Uganda develops applications and information services tailored to the needs of the poor. Launched in 2009, the Community Knowledge Worker (CWK) Initiative has over 1,000 ICT-enabled agriculture extension workers trained as data enumerators. Organisations providing services to farmers have access to rural community data. The AppLab Money Accelerator has Gates Foundation funding to expand the mobile money ecosystem and deliver appropriate products and services to the poor.

Women in Technology Uganda was established as a NGO in 2012. It provides a three month Career, leadership and Life Skills training programme for young women in underserved communities focused on STEM, entrepreneurship, leadership and life skills. It runs a Tech Kids Program during school holidays and Secondary Code Girls Program to encourage children and teenagers to engage with STEM.

The Mawazo Innovation Hub was established by New Frotier Technologies Consult to support technology commercialization. It is a co-working space that also has ICDL training accrediation.

TechBuzz Hub was established as a social enterprise offering co-working space, incubation, training and web design and hosting services.

The Innovation Village Kampala provides co-working space and a 12-week online accelerator program for start ups. It facilitates community events and demo days. It provides consultancy services and testing opportunities for third parties.

A UK-based not-for-profit, Nesta collaborated with the British Council (East African Cluster) to establish a Global Innovation Policy Accelerator in Kampala, Uganda