What is the Future of Ugandan Startups in the Digital age?
In a world where technology is rapidly advancing, business operations are changing on a daily basis. Startups are at the forefront of this change, and their future is closely tied to the future of technology especially with the rise of automation, artificial intelligence, and the gig economy. Closer to home, Uganda is one of East […]
Startup Investment in 2022 and what entrepreneurs need to know
The global startup ecosystem is always brimming with new ideas given that emerging challenges, whether at global or national level, require solutions. Ideas aside, investment in startups on the African continent have been growing over the past years. The unprecedented growth has been driven by an influx of investors hoping to get in on the […]
RE-OPENING THE ECONOMY: WHAT IT MEANS FOR STARTUPS
As 2021 wound up, President Yoweri Museveni lifted the two-year lockdown of the country. In his address on December 30, 2021, he announced that all sectors in the economy would be fully opened. This was a decision that was made after government found new solutions to managing the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccinating 22 million Ugandans […]
17 Startups to watch out for in 2022
As we settle into the new year, we are reflecting with optimism about the months ahead, preparing to once again tackle the challenges on the way with new solutions. In 2021, several startups rose to the occasion and provided a way through various individual, community and sector challenges health, transport, education among other things. Below […]
Global acquisitions: The art of it all and how startups can position to benefit
In 2020 Beyonic, a home-grown Ugandan startup providing digital payments solutions in five countries was acquired by MFS Africa, the largest digital payments hub in Africa. In a young entrepreneurial ecosystem like Uganda where many startups are fast strapped for cash, and where the failure rate is high, an acquisition of a business like Beyonic which was founded in 2013 and dominated well on the East African market raises questions on what such an acquisition means. Did the acquisition […]
National Payment Systems Act: Will new regulations deliver growth in Fintech sector?
It’s been thirteen years since the Ugandan payments landscape was disrupted by the First mobile money system. MTN Uganda introduced the service in 2009 changing the tide in this cash-based economy. When MTN began carrying out mobile money transactions, more private players including Airtel Uganda, Uganda Telecom, Warid Telecom, Orange Telecom followed suit. Between 2009 […]
Eric Osiakwan tips local startups on raising capital
They say experience is the best teacher and, in this case, the best advice for startups always comes from those who have walked miles in the entrepreneurship journey. That is why when Eric Osiakwan came to The Innovation Village to interact with startup founders, we could not think of a better person to answer the […]
Tax compliance critical aspect for startup growth
For two years, Sam Kajubi (not real name) has run a web design company that builds e-commerce platforms. But in the period of operation, not once has the business paid its taxes. The business has never been registered with Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and neither does its founder know where the process of paying […]
Startup Act: Strides made and how it can be a game changer for entrepreneurship
When Italy passed the world’s first-ever Startup Act in 2012, it sparked off a trend that drove other countries to work on legislation that encourage the growth of their startup ecosystem. Inspired by Italy’s startup policy, many African governments have considered providing a safety net for their startups by putting in place a Startup Act […]
STARTUP FINANCING: SOURCES AND WHY INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS MATTER
There is no shortage of good solutions to the problems that plague Uganda, but there is a challenge with finding financial support to fund these solutions until they can survive on their feet. African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020 states that the year 2020 was a record-breaking one for African tech startups, with 397 companies […]
