(This Article Was First Published In The New Vision On June 2, 2021)
By Richard Wetaya
Young innovators have been recognised by Unicef for coming up with a life-changing product.
The innovators behind the safe water harvester were early last month recognised by Unicef and and Outbox, a Ugandan innovation and entrepreneurship support agency under the Innovation Fund Challenge.
The safe water harvester is a solar-powered device that traps vapour from the atmosphere and turns it into clean and affordable water to communities.
The challenge, which was launched last year, supports ideas that address challenges related to child protection and development.
The creators of safe water harvester beat four competitors to emerge winners. They each received sh77m as seed funding to help develop their innovation.
An independent advisory panel of experts in early childhood education, development and protection as well as policy and enterprise development selected the winners.
“That the recognition came in the United Nations declared International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development is nothing short of good news,” Prof. Gilbert Maiga, the dean of the College of Computing and Information Sciences at Makerere University, said.
Winners To Be Trained
The winners will for six months receive mentorship, social business training and be linked to partners and markets that will enable them to implement their ideas.
“If Uganda had its own Silicon Valley, it would be replete with young creatives. To meet the nation’s development challenges and achieve Vision 2040, Uganda will need a revitalised effort to deploy science, technology and innovation as catalysts for transformation,” Mark Atwine, an information technology specialist in Kampala, said.
Other Innovators
Young Ugandans have come up with innovations such as Addmaya (a futuristic film, design and digital production unit) and Kaino Africa (a product that provides quality nursery curriculum on science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Innovators Speak
Peter Mukiibi, the Addmaya creative director, said their recent partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) motivated them to deliver a product that stands up on a global scale.
“Addmaya provided exquisite development, brand identity and user-experience design over the course of two years. Our team of young creatives has blazed the trail in drawing blueprints and producing proficient 2D and 3D animations not only for Ugandan, but also international clients.”
Growth In Creative Economy
Over the last few years, Uganda’s creative economy has grown by leaps and bounds. All indications are that this economy will continue to thrive, especially with enabling factors such as the recently passed National Intellectual Property Policy.
This growth, fuelled by initiatives such as the Presidential Initiative for Science and Technology and policies such as the National Action Plan on Culture and Creative Industries, has enabled many young and enterprising creatives to hone their skills.
“For those who have honed their skills long enough, the upshot has been the designing and developing of apps and other innovations. Some of these are being queued up for use in several government and non-governmental organisations. The Cabinet’s passing of the Intellectual Property Policy in 2019 was a plus for the country’s young creators,” Clement Galandi, an ICT expert with Versatile Creations in Kampala, said.
The Intellectual Property Policy aims at engendering the country’s young creative industries for social and economic development.
According to UNESCO, the UN agency contributing to building peace through international co-operation in education, science and culture, the creative economy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in world, contributing 3% of the global GDP.
Ugandans Innovating
Several experts in the country’s ICT sector agree that innovations will also be vital as the Government seeks to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 9 calls for the building of resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovations.
“Innovation propelled by technological advances and enhanced access to global markets is an important driver of economic progress,” Mary Khisa, a digital transformation expert at Makerere University, said.
“There are plenty of young creatives itching to showcase their innovations. Luckily for them, the Government, in addition to its previous pledges and programmes, established the National ICT Initiatives Support Programme (NIISP) and recently, the ICT ministry announced a 4th call for applications under NIISP to support innovators,” he said.
The 4th NIISP call is an opportunity for young Ugandans who have developed digital innovations to get the funding they need to develop their ideas.
Innovators from Addmaya won the 2016 best documentary (titled Omweso) award during the Uganda Film Festival (2016) and the 2017 best documentary category during the 7th Pearl International Film Festival, 2017.
Government Policy
In 2018, the Government NIISP to facilitate the creation of an ICT innovation ecosystem and marketplace for Ugandan digital products.
The programme was also started to tackle challenges faced by Ugandan ICT innovators in breaking through the local and international market.
In 2018, 12 groups of maiden innovators were jointly allocated sh2.5b to develop innovations and take them to the market. This year, 45 startups have each received sh140m to develop their ideas.
Recently, the Government embarked on building ICT innovation hubs and workspaces countrywide to support efforts to increase innovation in the sector. The hubs will spur creativity among innovators. The first hub is located at Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Nakawa, Kampala, while others will be in different A young innovator working on the Katoto cartoon at Addmaya regions of the country.
Notable Innovations From Ugandan Youngsters
- The Busitema University team came up with a lightboard for enhanced online learning of science. It was an innovative e-learning tool that enables the teacher to maintain eye contact with the learners, which enhances learning in the process.
- To help young survivors of sexual violence, there is the SafePal app, which serves as a reporting and referral platform.
- There is Skooldesk, a web based platform that improves English, math and science learning.
- The Gulu University Digital Solutions Platform is a digital solution to support the public service delivery system through digital education and solutions to support the fight against the coronavirus.
- During the recent Makerere College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) open day, different innovations by some of Uganda’s most promising creative minds were displayed. Dr Benjamin Kanagwa unveiled GamePlus, a programme that aims at improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics in primary schools using gamification. Kanagawa’s innovation is computer-based and is premised on improving performance in science subjects by providing more self-motivating means of learning.
- Of late, Uganda’s young innovators have also distinguished themselves in the film, design and digital production sectors.
- One of the most notable in the sector has been Addmaya, a company which recently marked 12 years.
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