By KT Reporter
Young entrepreneurs at Makerere University have been challenged to focus on value addition and branding if their innovations are to grow into sustainable businesses.
Dr. Sarah Bimbona, Director of the Makerere University Entrepreneurship and Outreach Centre, several of these innovations have the potential to be scaled into viable enterprises if they were properly branded.
The call was made by several speakers at the opening day of the two-day Uganda Entrepreneurship Congress and Youth Expo held at Makerere University.
She added that the new ventures will build on the success of over 150 companies that emerged from previous editions of the entrepreneurship expo.
It was noted that while Uganda has no shortage of innovations, gaps in value addition and branding continue to undermine product competitiveness, reinforcing the stereotype that Ugandan products are of poor quality. Jackline Arinda Akampwera, CEO of Jada Coffee, noted that branding strongly influences perceptions of quality.
She argued that limited branding is largely responsible for the misconception that Ugandan products are substandard.
“We have this perception that when we see a brand on a billboard, it must be of good quality. Branding is therefore central to entrepreneurship,” Arinda said.
“In Uganda, there’s limited branding and value addition, which affects the marketability of our products,” she said.
Arinda shared that before she joined the coffee business, she realized Uganda had no widely recognized coffee brands, despite being a top coffee producer. This inspired her to create a brand that would appeal even to non-coffee drinkers.
“You don’t have to be a coffee consumer to know coffee brands—just like you don’t have to be a football fan to know who Ronaldo is,” she said.
“That’s what branding does. Even if people don’t drink coffee, they should know that Jada Coffee exists. I came in to change the way the market operates,” she said.
She added that the lack of branding also explains the low domestic consumption of coffee. To address this, Arinda began introducing coffee at social functions—events that traditionally only offered juices and sodas—as part of efforts to popularize local coffee consumption.
Gordon Katwirenabo, Assistant Commissioner, Quality Assurance and Value Addition in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, agreed with Arinda and said that the government is also very intentional in promoting value addition to the country’s products.
“Value addition is very prominent in our policy framework because you cannot only produce. If you produce and get only money for production, then there is no value, and you cannot achieve economic importance, and also the transformation that we need in our communities. So, through that, we are very intentional in supporting value addition,” he said.
On his part, Godwin Birungi, Founder, Rubungi Enterprises, noted that while branding is very important, branding alone is not enough if the products themselves lack quality. He argued that the two—branding and quality must reinforce each other for a business to thrive.
“I realized that there is a need to be consistent in producing high-quality products. The more you produce high quality, the more you lift your brand,” he said.
Professor Sarah Ssali, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs at Makerere University, representing the Vice Chancellor, said that the expo comes at a time when youth unemployment is very high, which informs the university’s move to challenge this growing reality.
“I am glad to note that Makerere University continues to champion innovations and turn graduates from job seekers into job creators and champions of societal transformation. The expo is Makerere’s attempt to strategically locate itself in the conversation around coffee being the biggest export earner in the country,” she said.
Professor Ssali observed that while coffee remains central to Uganda’s economy, most youth are excluded from the high-value segments of the value chain, such as processing, branding, and export.
Through the expo, she notes, Makerere seeks to bridge that gap by equipping young innovators with the skills needed to engage meaningfully in these areas.
Odrek Rwabogo, the Chairperson, Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development, who was the chief guest, challenged young entrepreneurs to think beyond Uganda’s borders.
He claimed that true entrepreneurship lies in producing goods that can compete on the international market.
“If I can’t sell products beyond our market, I have not done much. Yes, the domestic market is great, and you can talk about all the so much money you make in the domestic market. But not far can your products go,” Rwabwogo said.
The annual event serves as a national platform for youth, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and private sector leaders to unlock youth-driven innovation.
The expo features over 600 students from the College of Business and Management Sciences showcasing more than 300 innovations, with a special spotlight on the coffee sector.
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