Swarm Summit and Expo 2019

The Timing and Location

The Swarm Summit and Expo took place on the 22nd and 23rd of November. The event was organized by Hive Colab and the ICT association of Uganda and supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the International Trade Centre. This year was different. The team at the ICT association had for a while been planning to have an Expo where local innovations could be showcased and entrepreneurs given a chance to share their ideas. In addition to this, the HIve Colab crew were approaching their fourth year since the start of the Swarm Summits. The two groups therefore gathered and chose to have a merger of sorts.

The venue for the event was the Uganda Manufacturers Associations' Multipurpose Hall in Lugogo.  The place if famous for hosting nationwide trade fairs as well as often being picked for University Exhibitions. 

Roll Play

What was different this time around was instead of being an attendee, i was an exhibitor.  With about two days left to the event, and after the costs for booths were slashed this was a decision that we had to take quickly. When you exhibit, your perspective is totally different. Access to the plenary sessions is limited as is time for anything but intensive focus on the activity at your table. There was for the event in addition to plenaries, an opportunity to connect at a business to business level. Catering was handled by Kahwago and Roll. Kahawa2go a restaurant and cafe that has access to Ntinda Complex Mall and the Innovation Village which occupies two buildings in the same area and could arguably be one of the largest innovation spaces and hubs in the country. Roll (Currently on Corner House, Mawanda Road ) on the other hand has worked with Hive Colab before and supplied their tasty rolexes (a tortilla like wraps filled with everything from cheese, meat or bans to avocado, tomatoes and onions) to attendees of the ICT association gatherings. Roll and Kahawa2Go both are different in that they both have not been in business too long and are therefore in the category of start-ups.

Broadening the Definition of Ecosystem

This is good news for both of these companies as well as the ecosystem because the system as it stands is not made up of wholly technology based companies. The theme for the two days was celebrating Uganda's Digital Transformation. This was done by splitting the event into Several Panels the first was the Investment Panel which sought to find better ways of uniting investors with start-ups beyond the standard methods of competitions and awards which are often unfair to the participants. On the list of panellists were:

Reuben Gasansule - KAIN Uganda 

FSD Uganda - Rashmi Pillai

Fenix International – Amy Robinson

The first two have are related in the sense that Kain has is offices in a complex 'owned' by the innovation village where they are one of the first angel investor networks in the country. FSD on the other hand was part of the last Innovation week where they played the role of sponsor and with the vision of advancing financial inclusion through data innovation.     

About the Numbers 

The second panel was the AgriTech panel. On the local scene we sought to find the right answers to questions regarding investment and productivity in a sector that employs about 70% of Uganda's population. The panellists were asked to discuss the recent decision by the president to invest sh. 80 Billion into purchase and distribution of hoes to farmers to see if that was the right move to make. Was this the direction we needed to take in light of the previous push towards mechanization? On the list of panellists were:

Joseph Ogwal  - Agrosupply  

Evelyn Namara - Vouch Digital 

Enock Rutsigazi - Embryo Transfer

The third panel on the first day was the Exporting IT panel. The first we sought to deal with was related to the success factors that each SME must deal with exporting ITO/BPO (IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing) services. The second question was about how SME can realize export targets. The Netherlands Trust Fund Programme has been in place for the last few years and has been responsible for many of the positive changes in the sector locally. The NTF IV (Netherlands Trust Fund) programme aims to enhance export competitiveness of selected sectors in select countries through an integrated approach.

On the list of panellists were:

Hugo Hemmen, CEO Gapstar 

Bram van den Bosch MD, Laboremus 

Reinier van Scherpenzeel, CEO Tunga 

Joseph Walusimbi, National Consultant

Simon Lwanjo CEO, Preg-Tech Communications      

Day Two Panel One

The MedTech panel sought to look into the major players at the heart of MedTech in Uganda. According to the organizers, the two main challenges that are affecting MedTech companies are about the pressure to improve efficiency on one hand and then the reduction of costs on another. All this in an environment when systems, patients and payers were increasingly seeking evidence to justify product value. In addition to this, innovations in payment methods, advances in sensors and digital technologies were creating new opportunities to advance patient care and improve development efficiency but these advancements were being slowed by painfully slow regulatory approval for products and services. The concern was therefore to see what government was doing to bridge the gap between software and hardware. On the panel were:

Jean Marc Kaboha - PregCare  
Davis Musinguzi - TMCG  
Brian Gitta – Matibabu 
Dr. Prosper Ahimbisibwe - mSCAN   

The Second Session of the First Day was about The Internet of Things, Drones and Big Data as technologies that were powering smart cities of the future. Once again on the local front there were a few positives such as the creation of a committee to spearhead the 4th Industrial Revolution in Uganda. The questions that were posed to the panellists were about the use of new technologies for better security, smarter cities, better transport and logistics as well as the adoption of clean energy. 

Panellists were:

Doreen Agaba  - 4IR Task team 

Martin Bbale - Wazi Hub 

Alice Namuli - Lawyer 

Agnes Kahwa - KCCA

The Third panel was an EdTech Panel and sought to find links between skills gaps and the introduction of STEAM Education. 

The panellists were made up of a diverse group with a combination of very rich skill sets. Mobile Education was well represented by Gilbert Arinda of Nile Explorer an initiative of the U.S embassy that takes the services that are designed for the traditional classroom to areas that are less accessible. Mr. Nyitegeka of refactory with his vast experience in several teaching and training institutions brought to the table interesting ideas about how learning can be transformed from the traditional to the less traditional. As can be expected it would have proved valuable to hear from a publisher to see what changes were taking place with an industry in an age of rapid growth.

The Panellists were: 

Michael Niyitegeka - Re-factory 

Joshua Ocero - Andela 

Gilbert Arinda - Nile Explorer  

Fabrice Musoni (UNICEF) - Kolibri 

Anne Salim - Longhorn Publishers 

Moderator – Raymond Mujuni  

What is missing in our Ecosystem-Lessons from Kampala Innovation Week?

We have barely gone seven days since the start and end of Kampala Innovation Week. This is arguably one of the bigger events of its kind in the country. Slated for the 16^th to the 18^th of October at the Kololo Independence Grounds-a facility that usually hosts the Nation’s most distinguished guests. What better venue for the various components of Uganda’s Startup ecosystem.

The Innovation Week is an initiative of Startup Uganda an association that is made up of some of the innovation hubs in the country and was supported by the United Nations Capital development Fund.

Despite the weather which none of the planners could have predicted the event was very well attended with a host of attendees as well as exhibitors and good representation from the government. The ideal ecosystem is made up of many players including government, the education sector, venture capitalists, Non-Governmental Organizations, business people as well as Startups. 

Present was the minister of ICT and National Guidance (Frank Tumwebaze) as well the minister of science technology and innovation (Elioda Tumwesigye). Pulse Lab Kampala (http://unglobalpusle.org) also represented the United Nations with their goal of exploring the opportunities of big data in achieving the development goals. Response Lab (who are partnering with Save the Children both of which are support centers for interested stakeholders who come up with innovations in humanitarian activities), Universities, Startups, Hubs such as Hive Colab, Innovation Village with all its core functions, Andela, a representative from the International Labor Organization, International Trade Center (with a discussion about youth employment). 

Some of the broader themes that were tackled during the Innovation Week were; Innovation and the power of partnerships, job creation, the creation of stronger brands, as well as more locally centered sessions around starting up in Uganda, there were also master classes on building teams, creating social innovations, approaches to new markets.       

The bulk of the work that has gone into the development of the local scene has been patterned around the systems in Silicon Valley, that have major players such as Stanford University (representing the inputs of the education sector), Facebook (technology giants who were once ordinary), venture capitalists (to add financial push), a host of startups either working in the mainstream or developing ideas in other spaces (gig economy), there is also a self-sustaining business to business interaction that recycles or at least creates a creative cycle for business that is self-energizing (businesses that are born in the same valley and that others have to engage with to be successful such as social media based businesses), and governments that are sensitive to the times and that will do anything to make the environment suitable for local and international business and a sector which is perhaps the least explored in our side of the pond which is Media (Hollywood). This final part we see as the last and final push that makes it trendy and that drives others across the world to want to have what you have!

There is much potential in Countries like India and Nigeria which are technology rich but in our view are yet to match their media power with their technology power. 

I was able to sit through the launch of the event and to listen to the keynote speech as well as to hear some of what the two ministers from government spoke of. In addition to that I listened to the first of many testimonials that were given by some the attendees and exhibitors. But nothing gave me as much of a push as a visit to the booths to engage with the participants many of them prominent players in the market as well as lesser known and more fresh faces that represent various parts of the growing industry. These engagements allowed me to go full circle from the part of listening to the founders speak interactions with some of the products that were available on display.

You could say that media was well represented in the sense that most of the event was covered by the local press what we see missing in this space though is a story teller with a wide reach and a local as well as international sense to begin bellowing out our stories of success to the point where our young ones are lining up for opportunities to be like what they see on the screens.   

    

Learn from UNFPA

Today I got a chance to visit the Innovations Cafe at UNFPA offices off of Baskerville Rd. in Kololo. They have an event called learn from UNFPA, a one hour session that is held around once every month to share skills, experience and expertise from the United Nations Populations Fund team. The event is designed for guidance and mentorship and is in mainly a questions and answer format where questions are sent in about a week earlier to be responded to by staff. In attendance on the 31st of January where a variety of guests including entrepreneurs, students, professionals as well as representatives from the media fraternity. Perhaps the group with the largest team in attendance was Smart Girls Foundation. The topic for the afternoon was Financial Management. There were three major prongs or approaches that emerged when the topic was opened up. The conclusion was that at the heart of entrepreneurship is the desire to make money legally. The question that also drove the discussion was how to get the right mix of a set of ideas that make up everything about entrepreneurship. 

For Financial Management we found that the most important thing is to have an idea from which then emerges a strategy. This then leads to some notes regarding the markets for your idea then competition, where you have to establish where you are different and finally capital and planning,

We also found that without documentation the business is almost dead. With that we mean records keeping which in the financial sense means accounts. There was also an emphasis on the need to have ethical standards and for social enterprises to be very aware about their motivations. This is what differentiates between the social and the enterprise that is for profit. 

Finally the attendees were encouraged to take advantage of the networks that exist and to create some of their own. It was also stated that one of the most valuable discussions to have around the business has to do with the sharing of losses as responsibilities. 

The atmosphere was great and the setting intimate. Perhaps the biggest question of the day came from a team that was concerned about how to sustain social enterprises in an increasingly competitive world. 

Those who follow our work will remember that we have covered Innovation spaces before so this would be another addition to the list of places that we have visited. The model is similar to what we have discussed before when we tackled Pulse Lab Uganda. These are a group of hubs and spaces that are UN backed or at least HQ at UN based organizations. This would therefore give them a unique perspective in a set of issues key of which would be the overall goal of the larger group. In a sense, these would be the spaces where exclusive Innovation work would take place including the creation of Applications for mobile as well as work around themes like population, data, health, employment, maternal health, business and more.