The KIW19 aims to assemble all key players and stakeholders in the Startup Ecosystem to raise Uganda’s profile in the startup space, provide visibility to it’s startups, both locally & internationally and thereby attract investors and enable global partnerships.
JOIN THE LARGEST GATHERING
OF THE UGANDAN STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
REGISTER NOW16th - 18th October 2019
Kololo Independence Ground
3Days
1000Visitors
100Exhibitors
20Masterclasses
Uganda’s innovation community under one roof
Event Structure
Discover/Showcase Zone
Exhibition Space
Pitching Competition
Conference+ Masterclasses
Plenary sessions
Thematic side sessions /
masterclasses
Engage Zone
Mentor/Investor speed dating with Entrepreneurs.
‘Cafeteria area’ with coffee, tea and snacks where all members can engage.
WHY ATTEND
Showcase
Uganda’s latest innovations by
startups, private sector players and
development partners
Platforms and resources available
for ecosystem players
Discover
Innovative solutions to community
challenges that You'll Discover
Opportunities for investment
Challenges in the ecosystem
Engage
Potential partners / customers
Potential investors / investees
Development partners on the place of
innovation in their programs
Policy makers – to discuss sector
challenges and opportunities
With thought leaders on how to take
the ecosystem to the next level
WHO IS ATTENDING
Accomplished
& aspiring
entrepreneurs
Local
startup hubs
Local / regional
VC-Funds &
Angel Investors
International
experts & investors
Academic & governmental
bodies supporting
the ecosystem
Development
partners
EVENT SCHEDULE
(Subject to change)
| 9:00 - 13:00 | Launch Event: Theme: Taking Uganda’s startup ecosystem to the next level |
| 9:00 AM | Welcome | Entertainment – Faisal Mostrixx |
| 9:15 AM | Opening remarks: Opening remarks: Chairperson Startup Uganda + Minister of Science Technology and Innovation + Main Partner, UNCDF |
| 9:30 | Video Interlude |
| 9:35 - 10:00 | Testimonials: Inspiring the next generation of Ugandan innovators: Listen to Founder stories on how they started, and how they have been able to progress in their businesses. Success is possible even through challenges. The testimonials will lay the foundation for the panel conversation to follow later on. The founders are running post-revenue companies, of which some are turning a profit already. (5 mins each) |
| 10:00 - 11:00 | Plenary discussion: Taking Uganda’s startup ecosystem to the next level: The missing pieces Ugandan Business Founders will highlight the role of various ecosystem actors in their journey. Each founder will have shared their story earlier in a testimonial session. The outcome of the discussion are topics/issues shared by the founders based on their experience that will set the stage on where the various ecosystem actors should focus so as to achieve more impact on youth entrepreneurship and employment. |
| 11:00 | Interlude (15 min) | Entertainment |
| 11:15 - 12:40 | Plenary discussion: Innovation and the SDG’s: What role can Ugandan innovators play in achieving Agenda 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are universal, interconnected and exponential in nature. Achieving them by 2030 has the potential to not only generate peace and shared prosperity on a healthy planet, but also opens up USD $12 trillion in market opportunities. Exponential goals require transformational solutions that involve integration and that go beyond incremental innovation. How can Ugandan Innovators tap into some of those transformational solutions to create lasting change? Practically speaking, how can the different arms within the Ugandan Startup Ecosystem support each other to adopt new mindsets, build and trial new business models, and develop and deploy disruptive technologies? |
| 10:00 - 17:00 | Enabel Hackathon on SDG’s: “Hack Una Matata” Enabel Uganda in partnership with The Kampala Innovation Week are seeking for innovators with a passion for developing sustainable digital solutions, leveraging technologies in tourism and hospitality, education and employment to solve pressing challenges in these respective sectors. |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Side session: Starting up in Uganda: Formalisation, standards and IP |
| 14:00 - 15:20 | GSMA session for startups – Scaling Innovation through Partnerships: How Start-ups can Successfully Partner with Mobile Operators by Peter Ndichu The objective of this session is to share mobile operator innovation best practices and insights on how start-ups can work better with mobile operators. The session will be led by GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator (EA) team, local mobile operator and EA funded startups. During the session we will: • highlight the typical models for mobile operator and start-ups engagement then dive deep into each with concrete examples and practical call to actions • highlight major mobile trends driving the mobile industry and capture how these trends affect Uganda’s entrepreneurship ecosystem • enumerate the unique challenges mobile operators encounter when partnering with start-ups. • work with entrepreneurs and founders to help them craft and articulate a stronger value proposition to operators. Finally, we will finish up with a workshop exercise aimed at helping start-ups and mobile operators understand drive meaningful collaboration. |
| Side session: Creating jobs for Youths. The role of Ugandan startups and innovators. There is a need to debunk myths around youth employment with a particular emphasis on the role startups or small and growing businesses can play in decent youth employment. There will be a discussion on the supply and demand side constraints, with a deliberation on evidence based approaches that can be adopted in Uganda's startup ecosystem to move the needle 10x. The outcome of the discussion should be a better understanding on how to leverage the evidence that exists, to create actionable systemic changes (immediate and long-term) in youth employment. | |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Side Session: Building strong Ugandan brands. Lessons for startups Leveraging stories on how Ugandan businesses built their brands, how can startups use the lessons learnt to create customer centric brands? This panel discussion will host individuals that have been at the forefront of creating strong business brands. It will also have businesses that have created strong brand presence. The outcome of the discussion should be actionable steps forward on how startups can use the lessons learnt, to create customer-centric brands |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Masterclass How to build a talent startup team: Ways to attract quality talent other than by providing company shares |
| 15:15 - 16:15 | Masterclass: Leadership in Social Change Innovations Today, leaders are gradually recognizing that the best way to drive social change is by moving beyond solely grantmaking and community volunteering. Global development is now shaped towards rights-based work and innovation as part of achieving social change. Beyond setting new trends, innovations must aim at changing mindsets and be used to incentivize creation of entry points for further unleashing new ideas alongside the larger objective of maximizing programme /business excellence. The Masterclass will focus on practical steps leaders can take to drive social change in their organisations and business |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Masterclass: Going beyond borders: How might Ugandan startups enter new markets? Scaling and being able to penetrate new markets is the dream for many startups. It is one clear defining mark of success. The trouble is not many know how to quite reach there or the methods they should employ to reach. This masterclass should help the innovators present, understand the intricacies of breaking into new markets with details on when a business is ready, what factors need to be in place and methods to employ in order to do it successfully. |
| 6:00pm - 8:00pm | Happy Hour powered by SHONA & Startup Uganda |
| 9:00 - 10:20 | Key Note: Taking Uganda’s startup ecosystem to the next level: Learnings from other markets. It is no secret that one of the most effective ways to grow in any area is to observe and learn from others that have accomplished what you are trying to. The same applies to startup ecosystem development. Overall, entrepreneurship ecosystems and programs can learn from each other, but the broad lessons we can draw need to be adapted to our own ecosystems and the best way to do that is to find ecosystems that have elements in common with our own. |
| Interlude (15 min) | |
| Interlude (15 min) | |
| 10:35 - 11:55 | Plenary discussion: Theme: Where is the money? The financing challenge for startups There is no doubt now that Small and medium sized enterprises have difficulty securing the financial backing that they need to grow. This has been referred to as the "missing middle". The missing middles are early stage businesses that are seeking to raise $10,000 to $300,000 in investment for growth. The reasons given are the high failure rates, low collateral, no track record, high transaction costs to mention but a few. As such, there is a need to discuss how to improve the scalability and viability of early stage finance provision. This panel will further discuss what improvements can be made by various ecosystem actors to improve the viability and scalability of early-stage financing. What models can be adopted? What evidence can be used to scale interventions? Among others. The outcome should be a better understanding on how different stakeholders can build crossover links and collaborations to support the development for early stage financing. |
| 12:00 PM | Launch pad |
| INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER – INVESTOR SESSIONS | |
| 14:00 - 14:20 | Presentation 1 [ 20 min] : Understanding Investor/Investee relationship Speaker: Maxime Bouan, Moses Acquah and Satoshi Shinada |
| 14:25 - 14:45 | Presentation 2 [20 min]: How Ugandan startups can tap into Japan Investors Speaker: Ryosuke Yamawaki |
| 14:50 - 15:40 | Meet the investors: Pitch sessions [10 startups] |
| 15:50 - 17:00 | Meet the investors: speed dating |
| 14:30 - 15:30 | Side Session: Entrepreneurship and innovation by and for vulnerable communities: Getting it Right. Entrepreneurship is about leadership, innovatively, creativity and about envisioning and exploiting possibilities. Several programs have shown the positive influence of entrepreneurship on poor and marginalised people. When they find ways of earning money they feel respected, it helps them to get into daily routines, and it makes them proud to be able to contribute money to their families and communities. This conversation will explore how the various elements of the startup ecosystem can ensure that innovation within these marginalised communities is fostered sustainably to the benefit of both the entrepreneur and the ecosystem. |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Side session: The importance of mentorship: Manage Mentor – Mentee relations Speaker: SHONA Manage Mentor - Mentee relations Speaker: SHONA |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Masterclass: Investor readiness 101 |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Master class: Legal Clinic: Know-how on the most pressing entrepreneurial legal issues (Ask-the-expert) |
| 15:15 - 16:15 | Masterclass: Impact Investing (How to measure your impact as a social enterprise) |
| 15:15 - 16:15 | Masterclass Commercializing Apps: Is your App ready? |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Masterclass: Intuitive Interfaces: Website and app development |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Masterclass Business Development and Partnership |
| Masterclass: UNFPA |
| 17:15 - 18:15 | Failure Night: Personal experience of business failure. What went wrong? |
| 10:00 - 11:00 | Plenary Discussion: Female Entrepreneurship: How can both the private sector and government create a more conducive space for female entrepreneurs Globally, women’s entrepreneurship is increasingly a driver of economic growth and job creation. in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 27 percent of the female population on average is engaged in entrepreneurship there are less than half as many women established business owners on average. Why? This panel conversation will try to answer that question and explore the ways in which the private sector and government can provide solutions to some of these challenges. |
| Interlude (15 min) | |
| 11:30 - 12:30 | GSMA report pre-launch: Talking Policy for Digitisation The purpose of this session is to present a summary of challenges being faced by the Ugandan mobile-enabled startup ecosystem. and recommendations for policy changes that will help overcome these challenges based on GSMA's ongoing reserch. This is with the overarching aim of showing the importance of digital to Uganda's future. |
| “Event Closing and award ceremony. “ |
| 12:00 PM | Launch pad |
| NSSF/SEEDSTARS pitch competition | |
| 14:00 - 16:00 | Final Pitch sessions Announcing of winners (part of event closing ceremony) |
| 14:30 - 15:30 | Panel session: Panel session: Gold mining: How startups can make use of and monetise data by Bernard Wright (GeoGecko), Timothy Musoke ( Laboremus), Paul Tesar (Jumia), Moses Mugisha (Andela), Nelda Nlimilimi (Wefarm) |
| 14:30 - 15:30 | Panel session: Improving Healthcare services and systems through evidence-based innovations |
| 17:00 onwards | Closing concert / Party |
Partners
We are an initiative spearheaded by key players in the Ugandan Startup Ecosystem who, with the support of the UN Capital Development Fund, aim to consolidate and connect the activities of all it's stakeholders.
We catalyze developments in the sector through increased engagement, information exchange, and more targeted communication. Our mission is to support the growth of the Ugandan Startup Ecosystem by maximizing its exposure to international investment & partnerships and telling the story of Ugandan Entrepreneurship to a global audience.
