By Fidel Boy Leon
For decades, groundbreaking research and innovation at Makerere University have remained locked within its lecture halls, often due to a lack of commercial pathways. That’s now changing.
With strategic funding and partnerships, most notably from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Makerere University Innovation Hub is taking decisive steps to turn scholarly innovation into a market-ready enterprise.
The Innovation Hub, established in August 2022 under the Vice Chancellor’s Office, aims to support the commercialisation of innovations in alignment with Uganda’s National Development Plan III (NDPIII).
Speaking at a press briefing on March 23, 2023, Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe emphasised that this move reinforces Makerere’s goal of becoming a research-led institution.
“Makerere University has a huge potential for research and innovation, which has remained within the university due to a lack of support mechanisms,” Prof. Nawangwe said.
The Hub, with financial backing from UNDP, is poised to change that trajectory.
UNDP financed the establishment of a state-of-the-art Innovation Pod equipped with 10 design labs, which will be accessible to all staff and student innovators free of charge.
“The innovators will be able to use the equipment to do more research, product development and product design,” explained Dr. Cathy Mbidde, Director of the Hub.
This infrastructure will not only accelerate experimentation but also significantly reduce the technical barriers that often hinder product development in Ugandan academic institutions.
After a rigorous vetting process, 40 innovative projects have been shortlisted for commercialisation. These include research-based solutions in technology, healthcare, agriculture, and renewable energy. The projects are currently undergoing Intellectual Property (IP) management, a prerequisite for market entry.
“UGX 2.7 billion has been allocated to the commercialisation of innovative projects,” said Dr. Mbidde.
The innovations will be registered with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), giving them both legal protection and international visibility.
Beyond commercial ambitions, the Hub is also deeply invested in inclusive innovation. With support from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the centre is mentoring young women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and fostering platforms for young persons with disabilities to bring their ideas to life.
These efforts not only democratise innovation but also bridge gaps that have historically marginalised certain groups from science and entrepreneurship in Uganda.
The Innovation Hub is not just about inventing, it’s also about building the capacity to scale. Students and community members benefit from three flagship training programmes:
• Dream Achiever Programme – in partnership with Impact Media Consortium
• Ignite Programme – in collaboration with StartHub Africa
• Social Equity Programme – supported by Junior Achievement Uganda
Each initiative is designed to instil business acumen, social entrepreneurship, and innovation ethics in young minds.
Makerere is no stranger to impactful innovation. After successfully developing electric buses currently plying the Entebbe-Kampala Expressway, the university is now seeking to scale more of its R&D into commercially viable products.
“We are eager to commercialise more innovations and contribute to the industrialisation of the country,” said Prof. Nawangwe.
This signals a deliberate pivot by the university from academic research for knowledge’s sake, to research for national transformation.
To support commercialisation and scale, the Hub has formed international partnerships with the University of York and the University of Cambridge.
These collaborations offer mentorship, frameworks, and market exposure, ensuring Makerere’s innovations are competitive not just locally, but globally.
The Makerere Innovation Hub is more than a facility. It is an idea whose time has come. In a country where innovation often dies in its infancy due to a lack of funding, IP protection, or commercialisation pathways, the hub offers hope.
It demonstrates that with vision, funding, and partnerships, Uganda’s academic institutions can become engines of industrialisation, job creation, and social transformation.
“This is about creating pathways from research to impact,” said Dr. Mbidde concluded. “It’s about empowering innovators and building a future where African solutions solve African problems.”