

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Mastercard Foundation and Outbox Uganda share a goal to create 132,000 dignified job opportunities for young people in Uganda, with 70% of these positions intended for young women over the next three years. Uganda ranks second globally in the percentage of women business owners, with women representing 38.4% of business ownership according to the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE). This ranking underscores the entrepreneurial potential of Ugandan women and highlights the importance of targeted support for women-owned enterprises as a means to accelerate Uganda’s economic growth and gender equity. 



Despite high rates of business ownership, Ugandan women entrepreneurs encounter significant challenges. A 2019 World Bank study found that women-owned microenterprises in Uganda generate 30% less profit than male-owned enterprises, largely due to gender-specific barriers. These challenges include childcare responsibilities, limited access to finance, fewer entrepreneurial skills, restricted social networks, and societal norms that limit mobility and business involvement. Such factors also reduce women’s participation in business accelerators that could help scale their ventures.



To address these challenges, the Hi-Innovator Program launched the Women Accelerator, tailored to meet the unique needs of women entrepreneurs. The accelerator provides a holistic approach, combining technical business training with personal development to foster a growth-oriented mindset, increase confidence, and strengthen leadership skills. By addressing psychological and societal obstacles, the program seeks to empower women to overcome barriers and thrive as business leaders.



Uganda has made significant strides in gender equality and women’s empowerment over the past decade. The 1995 constitution prohibits gender discrimination, and the National Gender Policy and National Action Plan for Women reinforce these principles, leading to increased women’s participation in governance and reduced gender gaps in education.

However, bottlenecks persist, particularly concerning women’s access to land and finance, which are critical for participating in the green economy. Customary laws often restrict land ownership for women, limiting their capacity to leverage assets for business. Additionally, women bear a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic work and remain underrepresented in STEM fields, which affects their access to green-sector jobs.

By addressing these barriers and building supportive pathways, the Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator will play a vital role in fostering women’s economic empowerment and promoting sustainable, inclusive growth in Uganda’s green economy.

Why Women Accelerator?

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Calling all Women Entrepreneurs to join the NSSF Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator Window IV for a chance to receive UGX. 75,000,000 to grow their businesses

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Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator  (WAW IV)

The Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator has been designed for women-owned and women-led businesses operating in all sectors in Uganda. The program will be open to women running micro, small to medium sized enterprises that have been in operation for at least 2 years. The businesses could be family-run, side-hustle businesses established to supplement/diversify the entrepreneurs’ income, retail businesses or high-growth businesses employing upto 50 staff. 

During the program, businesses will get:

USD 20,000 grant funding and in turn provide a 6% equity stake ownership to NSSF.

- Tailored technical support 

- Mentorship and peer-peer learning opportunities

- Unlimited access to the entrepreneurship learning content on the Hi-Innovator Business Academy and alongside learning from a community of like minded entrepreneurs. 

- Networking opportunities e.g investor networking sessions, forward & backward market linkages

The NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme and MUBS Entrepreneurship Innovation and Incubation Centre continue to carry forward their mission to support Ugandan entrepreneurs whose businesses are not considered attractive for financing by traditional financing institutions become competitive and investment-ready by extending catalytic financing to them.  

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The StepUp Cohort offers another opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to set their business up for success. From the Hi-Innovator Business Academy to the actual accelerator, the cohort promises to equip entrepreneurs with resources to become the next business thought leaders. 

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator StepUp Cohort is looking to create dignified work opportunities that will elevate the livelihoods of Ugandans by working with a robust network of entrepreneurship support organizations to build the capacity of entrepreneurs.

The StepUp Cohort by MUBS EIIC

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The StepUp Cohort by MUBS Entrepreneurship Innovation and Incubation Center (EIIC) will be a general cohort admitting both male-owned and women-owned/led businesses in Agriculture and Light Manufacturing sectors. 

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Participants in the NSSF Hi-Innovator-STEPUP implemented by MUBS-EIIC will benefit in the following ways; 

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**Follow-on Financing:** Potential to unlock between $20,000 equity financing from the Programme, and $100,000 additional follow-on funding from MUBS-EIIC network of partners. 

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**Business Development Support:** Access to business development services and experts from MUBS-EIIC and collaborating partners; 

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**Networks:** Access to national, regional and international networks associated with MUBS.  

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Access to international research conferences and workshops and seminars where they will be prioritized exhibitors

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**Weekly Trainings:** Access to weekly on-line training series and monthly business clinics

The NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme and Stanbic Business Incubator continue to carry forward their mission to support Ugandan entrepreneurs whose businesses are not considered attractive for financing by traditional financing institutions become competitive and investment-ready by extending catalytic financing to them.  

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The Ignite Cohort offers another opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to set their business up for success. From the Hi-Innovator Business Academy to the actual accelerator, the cohort promises to equip entrepreneurs with resources to become the next business thought leaders.  

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator Ignite Cohort is looking to create dignified work opportunities that will elevate the livelihoods of Ugandans by working with a robust network of entrepreneurship support organizations to build the capacity of entrepreneurs 

The IGNITE Cohort by Stanbic Business Incubator

**Tuesday, 2nd August 2024:** 7 businesses in Agriculture and Light Manufacturing sectors were today selected by the Investment Committee to each receive $20,000 from the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme. 

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The selection of these businesses happened during the IGNITE Cohort pitch day organized by Stanbic Business Incubator in Kololo.  

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The Ignite Cohort by Stanbic Business Incubator is a six-month intensive program designed specifically for growth-driven male and women-owned/led small and growing businesses (SGBs) in Agriculture and Light Manufacturing sectors with scalable, proof-of-concept solutions.  

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The IGNITE Cohort by Stanbic Business Incubator received 19 expressions of interest from businesses that met the criteria and after a peer review and quality assurance process, 13 businesses were recommended to join the cohort.  

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Speaking at the event, Catherine Poran, the Chief Executive at the Stanbic Business Incubator applauded the business owners for their courage to pursue entrepreneurship and encouraged the partners to continue bridging the gap between idea stage and growth stage businesses.  

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The13 businesses faced off with a trio of investment committee members that evaluated the businesses on their understanding and articulation of the problem they are solving for, business model and sustainability, market potential and scalability and their business team composition.  

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Fortune Keijuko, a co-founder of Crested Resources LTD, a company dedicated to alleviating poverty among Uganda's youth and enhancing household income for women by providing comprehensive training in mushroom cultivation, supply high-quality seeds and raw materials and purchase the harvested mushrooms back from the farmers, said that the Hi-Innovator has been a rigorous journey that built their patience, and they believe that with or without the funding, the learning they take home is what will make the difference. Most business owners are going to expand the way they do their business and prepare for different financing avenues. 

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All the 7 businesses that were recommended for seed-funding by the Investment committee will undergo a due diligence exercise that will reveal the gaps and challenges they are faced with as they move towards building their workplans for technical support.  

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Ddegeya Sekyeru, one of the members of the Investment Committee applauded the entrepreneurial spirit among the business owners to join the Hi-Innovator Programme as this showed a commitment to quality and a desire to grow. 

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The winning businesses for the IGNITE Cohort by the Stanbic Business Incubator include;  

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**Afro Lube Limited** offers a high quality, affordable, and reliable alternative to expensively imported engine oils by using recycled used engine oil. Our solution not only reduces costs and reliance on expensive imports but also addresses the environmental challenge of improper oil disposal.  Afro-Oil not only supports optimal vehicle performance but also contributes to responsible waste management practices ensuring cleaner land and water sources. 

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**Classic Baking and Catering Uganda Limited** is addressing the critical challenges of market access and value addition for local farmers by establishing a reliable and profitable outlet for their fresh produce. We achieve this by sourcing ingredients directly from farmers, ensuring a steady demand for their crops, and offering fair market prices. 

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**Crested Resources Limited** is dedicated to alleviating poverty among Uganda's youth and enhancing household income for women by providing comprehensive training in mushroom cultivation, supply high-quality seeds and raw materials and purchase the harvested mushrooms back from the farmers. 

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**Ebenezer Energy Saving Stoves Limited** is a private Uganda Company that Manufactures Energy Saving Stoves that use reusable stones aided by a complete solar system. We also construct inbuilt energy saving cook stoves that use volcanic rocks aided by a complete solar system. Using the charger that steps down power to comply with our products. 

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**Dreck Ventures Limited** processes meats into specific high-quality cuts and steaks to meet the customers’ consumption needs.  Our products are processed in a highly hygienic environment using state-of-the-art equipment, well packaged and preserved in the most appropriate way to provide the best experience for our customers.   

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**kaps circle company limited** is solving the problem of high poverty levels in Sebei region by offering better prices, quality inputs and best agricultural practices training to the local sunflower farmers. This in turn leads to increased household income levels in Sebei region. They also avoid wastage and low farm yields by supplying Sunflower cake which is a by-product of the sunflower cooking oil manufacturing process to our out-grower farmers as an organic fertilizer. This boosts their yields and ensures they supply us with organic sunflower seeds in the subsequent season harvests. 

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**Marjoz Farm Stores Limited** bridges the gap between smallholder farmers and middle-class restaurants by using technology to aggregate and deliver high-quality, fresh produce at competitive prices throughout the year. We ensure that commercial kitchens receive only the best, sustainably grown products, helping them reduce stock-outs and maintain menu consistency. 

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme works with 13 Entrepreneurship Support Partners including Stanbic Business Incubator who offer mentorship and technical support to Ugandan small and growing businesses to become investment-ready.  

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To date, the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme together with its partners has supported 368 businesses in Agriculture, Fashion and Beauty, Digital Economy, Health, Light manufacturing and the creatives sector. 

Stanbic Business Incubator announces 7 businesses as provisional winners of the NSSF Hi-Innovator $20,000 Seedfunding Award. 

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The Ignite Cohort is a six-month intensive program designed specifically for growth-driven 
small and growing businesses (SGBs) in Agiculture and Light Manufacturing sectors with 
scalable, proof-of-concept solutions. 

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The IGNITE Cohort by Stanbic Business Incubator will be a general cohort admitting both men and women-owned/led businesses. 

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IGNITE Cohort by Stanbic Business Incubator

**Intensive 6-months Program:** The Ignite Cohort is an intensive 6-months Program designed specifically for growth-driven small and growing businesses(SGBs) with scalable, proof-of-concept solutions. This structured timeline ensures focused and comprehensive development.

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**Opportunity to raise $20,000 in equity investment:** By participating in the Ignite Cohort, businesses will have an opportunity to pitch before an independent investment committee panel to raise $20,000 in equity investment.

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**Customized Support:** The program offers personalized support tailored to proof-of-concept stage ventures. This customization ensures that each business receives the specific guidance and resources it needs to overcome challenges and achieve growth milestones.

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**Opportunity to raise Follow-On Funding:** By participating in the Ignite Accelerator, businesses will have a higher chance of qualifying for additional funding opportunities. 
The program is associated with a pool of funders through SBIL, enhancing the prospects for securing follow-on investment to fuel further growth and development.


The NSSF Hi-Innovator accelerators have one goal: to help entrepreneurs succeed. During each six-month program, we surround companies with the best mentors and an unrivalled network of corporate partners, investors, and alumni. We provide funding and fundraising opportunities, workshops and curated resources, not to mention countless moments where you can learn from your peers. It’s a proven model that’s helped build thousands of successful companies, all over the world.

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator is looking for small and growing businesses in  light manufacturing, agriculture, digital economy and the creatives industry to join Cohort 4.  Cohort 4 will be a general cohort admitting both men and women-owned businesses. 

Why the Cohort 4 Accelerator?

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator is looking for small and growing businesses in light manufacturing, agriculture, digital economy and the creatives industry to join Cohort 4. 

Cohort 4 will be a general cohort admitting both men and women-owned businesses. 

Cohort 4 Accelerator

Here is why you should join the NSSF Hi-Innovator Accelerators

- **Knowledge on Business Growth:**  Learn what foundational challenges you need to address to grow your business.
- **Financial Support:** Stand a chance to receive catalytic financing that will support your in becoming investment-ready. 
- **Technical Support:** Work hand-in-hand with our portfolio analysts to understand how to set your business up for market access and sustainable growth.
- **Join a community of thriving entrepreneurs:** The NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme offers a robust community of entrepreneurs and experts on financing whose knowledge and insights you can leverage on.

The Bold Women Cohort is designed for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, seeking to expand their business development knowledge, increase their impact measurement and financial management skills, be investment ready and make lifelong connections.  

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The Bold Women Cohort is implemented in partnership with GIZ African Union Aware Project.

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If you are a women-led business looking to grow your business operations, with a proven business model and market traction, and are committed to making significant social or economic impact, we invite you to apply through your hub partner on the NSSF Hi-Innovator program. 

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The Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur is looking for women-owned businesses in Agriculture, Fashion and Beauty, Waste management, Light manufacturing and health. 

The Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur

**WEDNESDAY, 4TH SEPT. 2024 

NTINDA, KAMPALA:**  

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9 women entrepreneurs were selected to each receive $20,000 from the NSSF Hi-Innovator Bold Women Cohort. 

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The event that took place on Wednesday gathered women-owned businesses in Agriculture, fashion and beauty, waste management and digital economy who presented before a carefully selected team of investment experts and were evaluated based on the understanding of their business models, their impact and scalability and their financial viability. 

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Speaking at the event, Flavia Rita Babirye, an alumnus of the previous cohort, said that the programme has helped her refine her business model and understand how to navigate the challenges her business faces as she moves towards scale. “Mkazipreneur has enabled me understand more than just the financial elements of the programme but fully understand my target market and unit economics which will push my business to the next level. When I pitched in the Women Accelerator, I was not selected because I had no product focus while being all over the place and so it seemed that I was spreading my business thin without making revenue” she said.  

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur is designed for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, seeking to expand their business development knowledge, increase their impact measurement and financial management skills, be investment ready and make lifelong connections. The NSSF Hi-Innovator Bold Women Cohort is implemented with support from GIZ African Union Aware Project [https://www.giz.de/en/aboutgiz/profile.html ](link)

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Together with GIZ African Union, Mkazipreneur had 5 regional outreaches to give a chance to all women entrepreneurs across Uganda looking to grow your business operations, with a proven business model and market traction, and are committed to making significant social or economic impact. 

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Sarah Reinharu, Advisor for Gender and Communication at GIZ African Union, expressed her enthusiasm for collaborating with Mkazipreneur, highlighting the strong alignment between the organization's values and the key focus areas of GIZ African Union. "We are thrilled to partner with Mkazipreneur, as they are deeply committed to the financial empowerment of women," she said. "Mkazipreneur exemplifies both the financing and empowerment of women in the country, making them a valuable partner in our shared mission." 

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The nine selected businesses stand a chance to unlock $20,000 from the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme, access debt capital of up to UGX 200 million from KCB Bank Uganda, be exposed to investors through match making events & Deal rooms and exchange program opportunities with like-minded women entrepreneurs from other countries. 

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Immy Nakyeyune, Team Lead of Mkazipreneur, congratulated the Bold Women Cohort entrepreneurs on their journey, emphasizing their embodiment of what it means to be bold women entrepreneurs—resilient, determined, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. She expressed gratitude to the funding partners including NSSF Uganda and Mastercard Foundation, and partners supporting the execution of the Bold Women Cohort program, including Outbox Uganda and GIZ African Union, as well as additional partners like Prudential Uganda and KCB Bank Uganda that contributed to various community activities.

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Mkazipreneur has diligently prepared the Bold Women Cohort entrepreneurs to meet the standards of the Investment Committee through an extensive process of business analysis, expressions of interest, a pre-investment bootcamp, and pitch practice sessions. The selected businesses represent diverse sectors, including agriculture, processing, skincare, and luxury goods. 

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The winners of the seed funding will be announced later in the day, based on their ability to meet the Investment Committee’s criteria. These include demonstrating the potential to scale profitably with the right technical and financial support, creating employment opportunities, and implementing efficient business management systems to ensure long-term sustainability. 

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Ends............................................................................................... 

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 Notes to the editor: 
 
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Number of Small & Growing Businesses seed funded under Mkazipreneur by the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme to date – 30 women entrepreneurs, total is $600,000. 

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Number of jobs created since program inception in 2020 – 128,852 

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**ABOUT MKAZIPRENEUR:** 

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Mkazipreneur, established in 2018, is a dynamic social enterprise and community platform dedicated to supporting, promoting and empowering women in entrepreneurship. The platform offers affordable resources, skilling, advice, motivation, events, and a supportive community for female small business owners. Mkazipreneur also aims to encourage unemployed women to venture into entrepreneurship, to create positive change in their communities, and address the challenge of limited job opportunities in the formal sector. Despite facing obstacles such as lack of financial funding, limited access to credit facilities due to property ownership restrictions, institutional inefficiencies, regulatory restrictions, lack of confidence and entrepreneurial drive, socio-cultural restrictions, fear of failure, and lack of training, female entrepreneurs are crucial contributors to economic development. Mkazipreneur seeks to support women entrepreneurs in overcoming these challenges and accessing venture capital.  

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Through strategic funding and partnerships, Mkazipreneur has provided pro-bono training to over 10,000 female entrepreneurs, successfully transitioned non-tech-enabled women led businesses into technically adept enterprises, while connecting them to capital and markets for business advancement. By August 2024, Mkazipreneur has unlocked over $1,000,000 in seed funding for women owned businesses in the community. 

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**ABOUT THE NSSF Hi-INNOVATOR**  

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The Hi-innovator is an initiative of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) supported by the Mastercard Foundation and implemented by Outbox. 

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The initiative seeks to support Ugandan Entrepreneurs by extending catalytic seed funding, entrepreneurial learning and business development support so that they can become more competitive, high-impact businesses. 

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As of April 2024, the Hi-Innovator Initiative has trained 34,783 entrepreneurs, availed seed-funding and technical assistance to 368 businesses, built the capacity of 13 ESO partners, reached out to over 163,746 youth and women. The Programme has created and sustained 183,110 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities with 71% being Youth in Work. 

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Through the Program's Lead Implementing partner, Outbox, the Hi-Innovator has worked across various sectors identifying high-impact businesses to sustainably unlock employment opportunities. 

9 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES RECOMMENDED FOR $20,000 SEED FUNDING AT THE NSSF Hi-INNOVATOR BOLD WOMEN COHORT PITCH DAY BY MKAZIPRENEUR.

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The Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur is designed for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, seeking to expand their business development knowledge, increase their impact measurement and financial management skills, be investment ready and make lifelong connections.  

The Bold Women Cohort is implemented in partnership with GIZ African Union Aware Project.

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This exclusive accelerator offers invaluable resources & tailored training sessions including: 

- Mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs 
- Access to seed funding of $20,000 from NSSF Hi-innovator
- Debt capital of up to UGX 200 million from KCB Bank Uganda
- Exposure to investors through match making events & Deal rooms 
- Exchange program opportunities with like-minded women entrepreneurs from other countries. 

The National Social Security Fund and the Mastercard Foundation have a shared vision of creating and sustaining 132,000 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young people, 70% of these for young women in the next 3 years. In the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), Uganda was ranked as the second country globally with the most women business owners (38.4%), this being a percentage of the total business owners in the country. This serves as a clear indication that it is crucial to focus on supporting women-owned enterprises as a means of accelerating Uganda’s economic growth and vitality, and recognising the potential women have towards national wealth creation and women advancement.

 

The 2019 World Bank research states that women-owned microenterprises in Uganda generate 30% lower profits than their male counterparts. This could be attributed to gender specific constraints that include childcare responsibilities and time constraints, lack of information and networks, lack of access to finance, and social norms (e.g., mobility constraints, attitudes towards women in business). These constraints greatly contribute to the low participation of women in business accelerator programs and limit their chances of scaling their businesses.

 

Based on the unique needs, contexts, sectors and size of the women-owned enterprises, the Hi-Innovator Program launched the Women Accelerator, tailoring it to provide integrated personal agency training complementary to business technical skills trainings specifically for women entrepreneurs. This is focused on developing a growth-oriented mindset, empowering women with the skills needed to surmount social and psychological obstacles, improve their personal agency and leadership which we expect to positively impact their confidence, motivation, and resilience.

**KAMPALA: Thursday, May 09, 2024:** Over 11,305 female entrepreneurs have benefited from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Hi-Innovator programme, an innovation initiative that provides seed funding and entrepreneurship training to small and growing businesses, over a period of four years, Alex Rumanyika the NSSF Head of Strategy and Performance has revealed.

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Speaking at a business pitching session at Makerere University Business School, Rumanyika revealed that the program has so far successfully funded over 242 businesses across all sectors of the economy where 79% have been women owned businesses, with a total of Ushs 18 billion seed funding.

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“It is encouraging that the program is now attracting businesses from all over the country to pitch, specifically women. I believe that women are becoming a game changer in transforming Uganda and supporting them will even yield better results.” Rumanyika said.

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He added, “I believe that the future of this program should have bias towards women but we must make it unique in terms of value proposition. With support from our partner Entrepreneur Support Organisation , Hi-innovator program can be at the center of transforming what these value propositions look like for women in businesses.”

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An additional 38 female owned businesses were also selected for potential seed funding during the pitching sessions held at Stanbic Business Incubator in Kololo, Mkazipreneur in Ntinda and Makerere University Business School on 6th, 8th and 9th May respectively.

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The selected businesses will be provided with seed funding after a thorough evaluation and due diligence process. This financial boost is intended to propel them to the next stages of growth, helping to solidify their market positions, expand their operations, and ultimately contribute to the broader economic fabric of Uganda.

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The NSSF Hi-Innovator program is an innovation initiative by the National Social Security Fund in partnership with Mastercard Foundation and is implemented by Outbox Uganda. It aims to create an ecosystem where Small and Growing Businesses by Ugandan entrepreneurs can be supported to mature into viable businesses.

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To date, the Hi-Innovator Programme has made significant strides in fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth within Uganda. The initiative has equipped 30,000 individuals with critical entrepreneurship skills, enabling them to navigate the complexities of starting and managing successful businesses. In addition, it has provided essential catalytic financing to 242 Small & Growing Businesses. This financial support is designed to jump-start operations, fuel growth, and drive innovation, helping these businesses scale and become more competitive in the market.

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The Hi-Innovator Programme has played a pivotal role in job creation, having sustained over 100,000 work opportunities. Remarkably, 82 % of these opportunities have been secured for Ugandan youth, underscoring the programme's commitment to addressing unemployment among this demographic.

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Richard Zulu, founder of Outbox, the lead project implementing partner, noted, "Our focus is on building the capacity of entrepreneurship support organizations to enhance the programme’s pipeline. Success for us is defined by our partners' ability to fully implement their activities, ensuring sustained impact and empowerment."

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Christina Lunkuse and Patrick Mwebesa, both seasoned investment advisors noted that the quality of businesses getting into the Programme were conversant with their unique value proposition and what commercialization would do for the growth of their businesses.

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Speaking at the Pitch event at Mkaziprenuer, a teary-eyed Charity xxx narrated how failure from the previous cohorts did not dampen her hope to join the Hi-Innovator Programme. With the financing, she hopes that her business will purchase machinery that will shorten her production process and increase her ability to grow her client base.

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ENDS.

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About NSSF Uganda

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The National Social Security Fund Uganda is a multi-trillion Fund mandated by Government through the NSSF Act, as amended, to provide social security services to employees in the private sector.

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The Fund is a secure, innovative, and dynamic social security provider that guarantees safety, security, and a competitive return on members’ savings of over 2% above the 10-year inflation average.

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The Fund manages assets worth over UGX 20 trillion, invested in Fixed Income, Equities and Real Estate assets within the East Africa region.

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The Fund is regulated by the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority while the Minister of Gender, Labour & Social Development, and the Minister of Finance, Planning & Economic Development are responsible for policy oversight.

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For more information, please visit our website at www.nssfug.org, www.facebook.com/nssfug, www.twitter.com/nssfug

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About Mastercard Foundation

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The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.

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It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. It was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company.

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The Foundation is independent, and its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its Board of Directors and senior leadership team. It is a registered Canadian charity with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org.

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About Outbox Uganda

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Outbox is an innovation and entrepreneurship support organization that brings together the people, knowledge, capital, and infrastructure that enables entrepreneurs to build successful businesses through the growth of inclusive communities that create value where we operate.

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To date, Outbox works with various partners to create work opportunities for over 150,000 young people by 2025.

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For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.outbox.co.ug

 11,305 Women Entrepreneurs Benefit from NSSF, Mastercard Foundation Innovation Programme

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Calling all Women Entrepreneurs to join the NSSF Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator Window III for a chance to receive UGX. 75,000,000 to grow their businesses

Women Accelerator Window III

The Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator has been designed for women-owned and women-led businesses operating in all sectors in Uganda. The program will be open to women running micro, small to medium sized enterprises that have been in operation for at least 2 years. The businesses could be family-run, side-hustle businesses established to supplement/diversify the entrepreneurs’ income, retail businesses or high-growth businesses employing upto 50 staff. 

During the program, businesses will get:

USD 20,000 grant funding and in turn provide a 6% equity stake ownership to NSSF.

Tailored technical support 

Mentorship and peer-peer learning opportunities

Unlimited access to the entrepreneurship learning content on the Hi-Innovator Business Academy and alongside learning from a community of like minded entrepreneurs. 

Networking opportunities e.g investor networking sessions, forward & backward market linkages

The National Social Security Fund and the Mastercard Foundation have a shared vision of creating and sustaining 132,000 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young people, 70% of these for young women in the next 3 years. In the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), Uganda was ranked as the second country globally with the most women business owners (38.4%), this being a percentage of the total business owners in the country. This serves as a clear indication that it is crucial to focus on supporting women-owned enterprises as a means of accelerating Uganda’s economic growth and vitality, and recognising the potential women have towards national wealth creation and women advancement.

 &nbsp;

The 2019 World Bank research states that women-owned microenterprises in Uganda generate 30% lower profits than their male counterparts. This could be attributed to gender specific constraints that include childcare responsibilities and time constraints, lack of information and networks, lack of access to finance, and social norms (e.g., mobility constraints, attitudes towards women in business). These constraints greatly contribute to the low participation of women in business accelerator programs and limit their chances of scaling their businesses.

&nbsp;

Based on the unique needs, contexts, sectors and size of the women-owned enterprises, the Hi-Innovator Program launched the Women Accelerator, tailoring it to provide integrated personal agency training complementary to business technical skills trainings specifically for women entrepreneurs. This is focused on developing a growth-oriented mindset, empowering women with the skills needed to surmount social and psychological obstacles, improve their personal agency and leadership which we expect to positively impact their confidence, motivation, and resilience.

Why Women?

Following a screening of over 250 applications over a one-month period week-long boot camp, 122 businesses were then shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a 30-person Investment Committee that consisted of seasoned Ugandan entrepreneurs and investors. 

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Over 2 days of pitching, the Investment Committee identified 98 businesses that were able to demonstrate the potential to effectively utilise the award to sustainably grow and, in turn, deliver positive impact to society through the Sustainable Development Goals and unlocking new opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work to youth directly or indirectly.

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Speaking at the Pitch day in June 2023, Patrick Ayota, the NSSF Managing Director said "when we launched the NSSF Hi-innovator in May 2021, we set a target of creating 132,000 work opportunities for youths countrywide by 2025. We are close to 50% of that target and as   businesses in the pipeline begin realizing more value from the funding provided, more and more work opportunities will be created."

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“We noticed the low participation of women entrepreneurs business initiatives. Whereas Uganda is ranked the second country in the world with the highest number of women business owners (38.4%), according to a 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, a 2019 World Bank stated that women-owned micro-enterprises in Uganda generate 30% lower profits than their male counterparts,” he said.

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“Through our women-only funding round of the NSSF Hi-Innovator, we will provide opportunities for women entrepreneurs to reverse the trend. We will avail Ugx 75m as seed funding for each women business and our target is to fund at least 100 businesses this round.”

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93 more women-owned businesses have benefitted from the latest round of seed funding after selection by the programme Investments Committee that evaluates competing entrepreneurs.

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The selection follows a strict criterion that includes the potential for scalability, sustainability, governance framework, and impact on the community.

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Richard Zulu, the Outbox Lead, that champions the implementation of the programme explained that potential businesses are selected from the Hi-innovator business academy and are then subjected to a boot camp that prepares them to pitch for seed funding.

Women Accelerator II Report

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This was the second women-focused cohort. 183 women-owned businesses were found eligible to pitch before a well-vetted investment committee.

Women Accelerator II

Following a screening of over 250 applications over a one-month period week-long boot camp, 122 businesses were then shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a 30-person Investment Committee that consisted of seasoned Ugandan entrepreneurs and investors. 

&nbsp;

Over 2 days of pitching, the Investment Committee identified 98 businesses that were able to demonstrate the potential to effectively utilise the award to sustainably grow and, in turn, deliver positive impact to society through the Sustainable Development Goals and unlocking new opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work to youth directly or indirectly.

&nbsp; 

Speaking at the Pitch day in June 2023, Patrick Ayota, the NSSF Managing Director said "when we launched the NSSF Hi-innovator in May 2021, we set a target of creating 132,000 work opportunities for youths countrywide by 2025. We are close to 50% of that target and as   businesses in the pipeline begin realizing more value from the funding provided, more and more work opportunities will be created."

&nbsp;

“We noticed the low participation of women entrepreneurs business initiatives. Whereas Uganda is ranked the second country in the world with the highest number of women business owners (38.4%), according to a 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, a 2019 World Bank stated that women-owned micro-enterprises in Uganda generate 30% lower profits than their male counterparts,” he said.

&nbsp;

“Through our women-only funding round of the NSSF Hi-Innovator, we will provide opportunities for women entrepreneurs to reverse the trend. We will avail Ugx 75m as seed funding for each women business and our target is to fund at least 100 businesses this round.”

&nbsp;

93 more women-owned businesses have benefitted from the latest round of seed funding after selection by the programme Investments Committee that evaluates competing entrepreneurs.

&nbsp;

The selection follows a strict criterion that includes the potential for scalability, sustainability, governance framework, and impact on the community.

&nbsp;

Richard Zulu, the Outbox Lead, that champions the implementation of the programme explained that potential businesses are selected from the Hi-innovator business academy and are then subjected to a boot camp that prepares them to pitch for seed funding.


The National Social Security Fund and the Mastercard Foundation have a shared vision of creating and sustaining 132,000 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young people, 70% of these for young women in the next 3 years. In the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), Uganda was ranked as the second country globally with the most women business owners (38.4%), this being a percentage of the total business owners in the country. This serves as a clear indication that it is crucial to focus on supporting women-owned enterprises as a means of accelerating Uganda’s economic growth and vitality,  and recognising the potential women have towards national wealth creation and women advancement.

&nbsp;

The 2019 World Bank research states that women-owned microenterprises in Uganda generate 30% lower profits than their male counterparts. This could be attributed to gender specific constraints that include childcare responsibilities and time constraints, lack of information and networks, lack of access to finance, and social norms (e.g., mobility constraints, attitudes towards women in business). These constraints greatly contribute to the low participation of women in business accelerator programs and limit their chances of scaling their businesses.

&nbsp;

Based on the unique needs, contexts, sectors and size of the women-owned enterprises, the Hi-Innovator Program launched the Women Accelerator, tailoring it to provide integrated personal agency training complementary to business technical skills trainings specifically for women entrepreneurs. This is focused on developing a growth-oriented mindset, empowering women with the skills needed to surmount social and psychological obstacles, improve their personal agency and leadership which we expect to positively impact their confidence, motivation, and resilience.

Following a screening of over 145 applications over a one-month period week-long boot camp, 118 businesses were then shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a 21-person Investment Committee that consisted of seasoned Ugandan entrepreneurs and investors. 

&nbsp;

Over 2 days of pitching, the Investment Committee identified 66 businesses that were able to demonstrate the potential to effectively utilise the award to sustainably grow and, in turn, deliver positive impact to society through the Sustainable Development Goals and unlocking new opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work to youth directly or indirectly.

&nbsp; 

Speaking at the Pitch day in March 2023, Patrick Ayota, the NSSF Deputy Managing Director said that the funding is aimed at giving women entrepreneurs an opportunity to improve their business skills and grow their businesses whilst readying them for future investor funding.

&nbsp;

“We noticed the low participation of women entrepreneurs business initiatives. Whereas Uganda is ranked the second country in the world with the highest number of women business owners (38.4%), according to a 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, a 2019 World Bank stated that women-owned microenterprises in Uganda generate 30% lower profits than their male counterparts,” he said.

&nbsp;

“Through our women-only funding round of the NSSF Hi-Innovator, we will provide opportunities for women entrepreneurs to reverse the trend. We will avail Ugx 75m as seed funding for each women business and our target is to fund at least 100 businesses this round.”

&nbsp;

The NSSF Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator was open to all women entrepreneurs in all economic sectors across the country. Adrian Bukenya, the Mastercard Foundation Country Director expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership saying “Our vision is to play a catalytic role in supporting partners to spur change built on a shared vision and values, equity, and accountability. Our approach is holistic, emphasizing resilience and coordination among local implementing partners. Therefore, we are excited to be partners with NSSF on the Hi-innovator program,” he said.

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Explaining the criteria, Richard Zulu, the Outbox Team Lead, said that participating businesses must have over 50% female ownership or have at least 70% women in top management, must be legally operational in Uganda for at least two years and, employ at least 2 full-time staff, among others.

Women Accelerator Report

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This was the first-ever women-focused cohort. The NSSF Hi-Innovator Initiative sought to support women-owned and women-led small and growing businesses in Uganda across all sectors.

Women Accelerator

Following a screening of over 300 applications over a one-month period week-long boot camp, 80 businesses were then shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a 28-person Investment Committee that consisted of seasoned Ugandan entrepreneurs and investors. 

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During the year's pitch-day, the Investment Committee identified 64 Ugandan businesses that were able to demonstrate the potential to effectively utilise the award to sustainably grow and, in turn, deliver positive impact to society through the Sustainable Development Goals and unlocking new opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work to youth directly or indirectly.

&nbsp;

Speaking at the awarding ceremony on 17th October, 2023, Alex Rumanyika, NSSF Head of Strategy, said, “Our goal for the Hi-innovator program is to invest in atleast 500 enterprises by 2025. The businesses selected today are an affirmation that we are on the right track to reach that target within the set timeframe,” he said.

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Rumanyika added that the selected businesses would be subjected to a final due diligence process before they receive the funds to ensure efficiency and that they fully comply with the program requirements. Each business will receive shs75 million seed funding upon successful due diligence.”.

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Representing the Implementation partners, Richard Zulu, the founder at Outbox that is the Lead project Implementing partner, emphasized that the above sectors were given priority this time around because of their potential to create dignified and fulfilling work opportunities among youth and women.”

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This brings the the programme's impact to this below; 
1. Number of Small &amp; Growing Businesses seed funded under Hi-innovator to date – 242
2. Number of jobs created since program inception in 2021– 111,293 jobs of which 81,828 are youth
3. Seed funding provided – Ushs18 billion (funders: NSSF &amp; Mastercard Foundation)
4. Entrepreneurs trained through the NSSF Hi-Innovator Business Academy – 16,760
5. Youth trained through the NSSF Hi-Innovator Business Academy – 7,954 (47%)
6. Women trained through the NSSF Hi-Innovator Business Academy – 5,343 (32%)

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Some of the winners of the funding include Damba Kezaala Enterprises a dynamic agricultural venture dedicated to empowering agropreneurs and agricultural entities, Frotexured Limited that manufactures organic beauty and hair products and InfoSec Technologies Limited developers of the SmartCase Manager, a Ugandan-made, holistic Law Firm Management System tailored to streamline and automate business processes for law firms and legal departments among others.

Why Cohort 3?

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Cohort 3 will focus on Agriculture, Digital Economy, and Light Manufacturing sectors. 

Cohort 3 Accelerator

Following a screening of over 6,300 applications over a one-month period, 103 entrepreneurs were shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a 21-person Investment Committee that consisted of seasoned Ugandan entrepreneurs and investors. 

&nbsp;

Over 2 days of pitching, the Investment Committee identified 78 Ugandan businesses that were able to demonstrate the potential to effectively utilise the award to sustainably grow and, in turn, deliver positive impact to society through the Sustainable Development Goals and unlocking new opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work to youth directly or indirectly.

&nbsp;

Speaking at the awarding ceremony on 3rd October, 2022, Patrick Ayota, the Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund said, “It is gratifying to see that the number of businesses we are supporting this year through the Hi-Innovator Program has increased from 28 to 78. This is an indication that we have more innovative ideas and possible scalable businesses to support in growth”.

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Representing the Mastercard Foundation, Arnold Byarugaba affirmed the positive impact the Program was making, “It is not enough to start a business. We have to ask ourselves what is required of me today, what can I do? That’s why Hi-Innovator is here, that’s why the Mastercard Foundation partnered with the National Social Security Fund.”

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This brings the total of businesses funded to 110 since the Hi-Innovator Programme was launched in May 2021, totaling UGX 10.5 billion in seed funding.

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Some of the winners of the funding include Apa Original Kisubi Tea Limited, Arua City Food House, who majorly processes maize and cassava flour into highly nutritious and affordable maize and cassava flour, Chomsky U Ltd, which seeks to offer affordable orchard management services that are easily accessible to orchard farmers, Redvers E-Mobility, an e-mobility Conversion Kit and battery for motorcycles, and Bugiri Female Youth Tailoring and Designing Association, which majors in capacity building through training youth women in tailoring and design and production of more tailored cloth to the market.

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This cohort focused on Agriculture, Fashion and Beauty, Light Manufacturing, Digital Economy, and Health sectors

Cohort 2 Accelerator

Following a screening of over 136 applications over a one-month period week-long boot camp, 46 businesses were then shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a 15-person Investment Committee that consisted of seasoned Ugandan entrepreneurs and investors. 

&nbsp;

Over 2 days of pitching, the Investment Committee identified 78 Ugandan businesses that were able to demonstrate the potential to effectively utilise the award to sustainably grow and, in turn, deliver positive impact to society through the Sustainable Development Goals and unlocking new opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work to youth directly or indirectly.

&nbsp;

Speaking at the awarding ceremony on Wednesday, 27th October 2021, Patrick Ayota, the Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund said, “The Hi-Innovator is about taking a chance on great business ideas while they are at their most vulnerable stage of their business cycle, and at a point where no financial institution is willing to invest in them.”

“We also targeted businesses in the agriculture value chain such as agro-processing, agro-industry, and service support. We chose agriculture specifically because the sector employs about 73 per cent of the population and has the potential to create more jobs,” he added.

&nbsp;

According to the National Development Plan III (2020-2025), the government has emphasised the need to focus on enhancing value addition in key areas, including agriculture, which has a high potential to generate employment and have a positive multiplier effect on other sectors.	

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Despite this, financial institutions have been reluctant to advance credit to the agriculture sector due to inadequate collateral. Adding to this complexity is the industry being mainly “rain-fed", that is being easily affected by adverse weather conditions and seasonal price fluctuations.

The Covid-19 pandemic also saw banks decreasing their appetite for lending due to an increase in the number of business closures. This in turn affected their ability to honour credit obligations.

&nbsp;

In addition to limited access to low-cost loan financing, a 2018 Uganda Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative survey by Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) found that small businesses are also negatively affected by limited access to information about enterprise establishment and sustainability.	

The Hi-Innovator programme seeks to address these challenges by bringing together and catalysing opportunities among small and growing business entrepreneurs, business incubation services, development partners, and other stakeholders operating in the entrepreneurship ecosystem to accelerate the ecosystem’s maturity.

Cohort 1 Report

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This pioneer Cohort focused on businesses in the Agriculture sector, only 46 businesses were shortlisted to proceed to the next phase of the process - Pre-accelerator Bootcamp where businesses engage with coaches and mentors who prepare them to pitch before a selected Investment Committee. 

Cohort 1 Accelerator

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Access to mentorship throughout the process

Mentorship

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Receive upto $20,000 equity financing to scale your operations.

Funding

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Access & exposure to investors to scale your business

Investors

The business should have launched a product or service to market and received early customer feedback with some revenue (at least UGX 20 Million in the previous two years). 

The business should be legal and actively operational for at least two years and should not have raised more than UGX 1 billion in either grant, convertible grants, venture capital or Private Equity at the time of submission.

Your application must be submitted through the Hi innovator Business Academy website. Applications received by email, WhatsApp or in person will not be accepted.

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Legal Registration

You must have a fully registered business with Uganda Registry Services Bureau (URSB), Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), and The National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

The Business must have 2 Co-founders

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Compliance

The Hi-Innovator initiative requires founder participation. All founding team members must commit to fully participate in at least 90% of the scheduled learning labs, and mentorship sessions in the initiative. Founding team members not fully committed to the initiative will not be accepted in the initiative, and their removal may render the remaining team ineligible for the program. Employees of NSSF, Outbox, other selected partner entrepreneurship support organisations and any individual involved in the Hi-Innovator program design, production, promotion, execution, distribution and any such individual’s immediate family or household, are not eligible to participate in this initiative.

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Founder participation

Individuals applying for the Accelerator must be 18 years and above. 

Teams must have 2 founding individuals. A team of one founding individual will not be considered. 

You must be a Ugandan national OR a non-national currently living and working in Uganda with an up-to-date working permit. Non-Ugandans running a business that includes a Ugandan in an ownership and decision-making role will be considered.

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Youth Participation

Eligibility Criteria

Join one of our 6-month accelerators to gain funding, mentorship, and access to the Alumni network for life. The NSSF Hi-Innovator accelerators have one goal: to help entrepreneurs succeed. During each six-month program, we surround companies with the best mentors and an unrivalled network of corporate partners, investors, and alumni. We provide funding and fundraising opportunities, workshops and curated resources, not to mention countless moments where you can learn from your peers. It’s a proven model that’s helped build thousands of successful companies, all over the world.

About Our Accelerators

Does your business have the potential for great impact? Can you demonstrate how your solution differentiates from already existing initiatives?

Are you an Entrepreneur with a big dream?

Benefits

Eligibility Criteria

Our Accelerators