INNOVATION NEEDS IN UGANDA
Creativity, Inventions and
Innovation
Sustained economic growth cannot be
achieved through saving or investment,
macroeconomic adjustment policy,
preferential taxes or subsidies unless these are
accompanied by the myriad large and small
inventions and discoveries, required to create
greater value from natural resources
Paul Romer
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Technology, Innovation, Science and
Development
• Technology is the systematic study of techniques for
making and doing things (concerned with the fabrication
and use of artifacts)
• Science is the systematic attempt to understand and
interpret the world (it depends upon the skills of literacy
and numeracy)
• Technology is as old as mankind, science developed with
the development of civilization
• Technological development and innovation is one of the
most important factors for economic development
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Technology, Innovation, Science
and Development
• Long-term economic growth is the result of an
increase and accumulation of technological
knowledge
• The contribution of raw materials, and/or labor, has
steadily declined in providing that competitive edge
to new products
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Factors and Conditions for an
Innovative, Supportive and Enabling
Environment
• Education
• Information and transfer of knowledge
• Government policies, including tax policy, supportive legal and
regulatory framework
• Industrial, technological and R&D infrastructure
• Efficient intellectual property system
• Recognition & rewards
• Company climate and culture
• Work force and labor environment
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Availability of funds and financial resources
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Innovation status
• Since 2015, the Global Innovation Index (GII) has ranked Uganda as
an ‘innovation outperformer,’ a title given to countries that, over a
number of years including the two most recent, have been identified
as innovation achievers and pillar outperformers.
Core indicators of Innovation
• These include:
• Firm general information
• Product and process innovations
• 0rganization and marketing innovations
• Innovation activities and expenditures
• Sources of information and cooperation
• Effects of innovation and factors hampering innovation activities
• Intellectual property rights
Specific Constraints in the Innovation
System
• Poor infrastructure backbone
• Weak education system
• Lack of adequate skills
• High poverty levels
• Absence of Leadership/political commitment
• Policy deficiencies
What has been done to address the
innovation constraints?
Policies in respect to technological
innovation and industrial sustained growth
• National Industrial Policy-2008;
• Science, Technology and Innovation Policy-2009;
• Trade Policy-2007;
• Energy Policy,
• Harnessing and utilization of Information and Communication
Technology
• Uganda has in addition adopted the African Science, Technology and
Innovation Indicators Initiative under African Union coordinated by
the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
Trade Innovations
CHALLENGES INNOVATION NEEDS
• Market access • Competitiveness of products & services.
• Facilitating smooth flow of trade &
• Competition conforming to national & international laws
• Policy challenges and regulations.
• Policy frame work • Trade institutions for trade policy, standards
and provision of information
• Cost of doing business • Market access to the regional and international
• Competition markets
• Cost of capital • Policy interactions, consistency &
complementarities between different policies
on one hand and trade policy on the other
Industrial centred innovations
Challenges Innovation areas/needs
• Low Institutional development • Competitiveness
• Inadequate Infrastructure • Institutional development
• Knowledge management • Infrastructure
• Low agricultural productivity • Knowledge management
• Shortage of Industrial finance • Agricultural productivity
• Industrial development climate • Financial access
• Industrial paradigm changes
Agriculture
Sectoral constraints Innovation needs
• Demand vs. supply gaps • Infrastructure
• Low productivity levels • Wastage reductions
• Value addition
• Market
• Institutions/policy framework
• Barriers to entry
• Coordination failures/
asymmetry Relationships
Energy
Sectoral constraints Innovation areas/needs
• Limited access to energy • Carbon emissions reduction
• High energy costs • Energy efficiency
• Energy access
• Low cost energy options
Information and communication
technology
Sectoral constraints
Innovation needs
• Information accessibility • Information asymmetry
• Use of data to inform • Sharing
decision making • Dissemination
• Usage
• Management
• Data integration
• Increasing on usage of
technology.
Obstacles to Innovation
• Conservative and hierarchical structures hostile to
innovation
• New ideas threaten the profits of existing products and
services
• larger organizations tend to apply the NIH factor
(NIH=Not Invented Here) to get rid of uninvited
innovators (= troublemakers).
• Often innovators do not get recognition, "but a R&D
effort that fails is never forgotten"
• Inventors not able to present ideas in business terms;
many do not even see the business benefits of their
ideas
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Obstacles to Innovation
• Innovators are seen as "irritating viruses" or
“troublemakers” in the corporate environment.
• Companies ignore innovations when they do not fit into
any of their existing business profiles
• The budget allocation process is designed to support
existing businesses
• New ideas are eroded by subtle discouragement rather
than by explicit vetoes (application of organizational
antibodies to neutralize the irritating viruses):
• withholding of funding,
• general nay-saying,
• subtle signals that it might not be 'career smart' to
associate with an innovation project"
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Discussion question
• Explore the innovative needs available in the
various in Ugandan economy.
• What are sectoral constraints that create
room of innovation.
