As Uganda marks its 63rd Independence Day today, we assess the country’s journey of self-reliance through local innovation. From laboratory breakthroughs to scalable industries, these homegrown advancements are essential in driving economic growth, job creation, and resilience in a rapidly changing world.
Dr Monica Musenero, the minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, says the country has made significant progress in moving science out of the laboratories and into the economy. “We have transitioned from piloting ideas to building industries…We’ve seen the first clinical trials for locally developed therapeutics take place,” she says.
In terms of e-mobility, where the country is also venturing into, through Kiira Motors, the minister says the country is expanding its electric vehicle ecosystem. She says there are “over 5,000 electric motorcycles and 27 buses already on the road with up to 40 percent local content.”
The minister also says they have set up charging infrastructure across the country with more than 140 swapping stations and over 30 fast chargers for vehicles. Dr Musenero further observes that the secretariat has revitalised key manufacturing plants like Osukuru phosphates for making fertilisers, launched the Deep Tech Centre, and operationalised vaccine manufacturing lines for animals and humans. Our reporter couldn’t independently verify the remarks on vaccine manufacturing lines.
Agriculture and food
Many of the breakthroughs and innovations in Uganda revolve around agriculture and food systems, where the majority of the population is engaged. Improved crop varieties and improved breeds of animals, like the new maize and soybean varieties and the Kasolwe brown goat breed, have been developed in the country.
National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro), Makerere University, and National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) have been at the centre of these developments. For maize alone, there are around 21 improved varieties developed between 2000 and 2019, and these include NAROMAIZE, Longe maize, and Myezi Mitatu. These varieties and breeds help to counter diseases and boost productivity. There are also ongoing efforts to start major manufacturing of anti-tick vaccines, separately developed in the country by Makerere University and Naro, following promising results from field tests.
Besides this, there has also been an increase in value addition for local products like hides and skin, milk, tea, and maize. This has seen the construction of factories and the opening of new businesses that have, in turn, led to the creation of more jobs, reduced wastage and spoilage of products, increased average price of commodities, and improved export earnings from agricultural products.
Still on food-related innovations, this year, Ugandan innovators Sandra Namboozo and Samuel Muyita were named among the top 10 winners of the prestigious 2025 Young Inventors Prize, awarded by the European Patent Office (EPO) for their development of Karpolax. This is a biodegradable sachets that significantly extend the shelf life of fruits, reducing wastage and extending shelf life.
Health
To move a step ahead of the ongoing local manufacture of generic drugs and diagnostic kits (discovered in foreign countries), the government and local scientists are increasing efforts to develop vaccines and drugs locally for human use. Many of these research and development activities are still at laboratory stages. However, Prof Vinand Nantulya has been making diagnostic kits in the country. He also developed a kit for testing COVID-19, following the outbreak. His company, Astel Diagnostics, is a private enterprise incorporated on April 11, 2006, as a limited company to manufacture locally and make available rapid diagnostic tests for health conditions prevalent in Uganda and countries in the region.
There is also standardisation of local herbal medicines, which has increased use in the mainstream health system and enhanced the National Drug Authority’s ability to monitor the quality of these highly used products. Some of these major products include Covidex, which was sold widely in Uganda and abroad for managing COVID-19 during the epidemic three years ago. There is also the adoption of training of experts in the country, which is narrowing the skills gap, especially in the health sector, and reducing brain drain. These include local fellowship programmes which have seen cancer and heart specialists, surgeons, and epidemiologists, trained in Uganda by available experienced persons, without having to travel abroad. The increase in the number of local health training institutions from certificate to degree levels has increased the availability of the health workforce, despite challenges in quality, which should be addressed by the government.
Other notable innovations include one of the world’s biggest baby incubators for saving the lives of preterm, which was developed by the late Christopher Nsamba. He died in 2022. He came up with a big incubator that could accommodate 30 babies. He died before completing his work on an incubator that could be installed in an ambulance as a premature baby is brought to the hospital. Preterm birth is one of the biggest challenges in Uganda’s health system and a major cause of neonatal death. Around 200,000 babies are born preterm in Uganda annually. During this year’s Independence Day celebration, the Uganda Manufacturers Association and other partners are running a trade fair where these Made in Uganda products are being exhibited. The exhibition is running from October 2 to 12 at Lugogo, Kampala.
Environment
Uganda grapples with challenges of waste management, especially in urban areas. There is also a high level of air pollution, declining forest cover, and wetland coverage. Some of the innovations to address these issues include the Marula Proteen Limited, located about three kilometres from the Kampala City centre, and the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in Wakiso, which has recycling plants making useful products worth millions of shillings every month from waste. Marula uses garbage from Kampala City markets to make Protilizer organic fertiliser, which is fortified with antifungal and soil revitalising agents for better crop yield.
The company sells each 50kg bag at about Shs49,000. While Naro is using animal waste to make biogas and bio-electricity for internal operations, among other products. There is also an innovation by Makerere University scientists, AirQ, who have developed and installed air quality monitors across the country to generate data for decision-making. There have also been efforts by local organisations and the government to promote planting of trees, protection of wetlands, although there is a lot of interference, often from the leaders, according to activists.