The Uganda Climate Innovation Fund (UCIF), launched in 2023 under the Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ) project, is a bold experiment that backs innovators to tackle climate-related problems for smallholder farmers in northern Uganda. So, where are we now, and what’s the story behind the progress? Two team members, Stephen Maxi Opwonya (UCIF Lead until November 2024) and Nelson Kasadha (Incubation Lead), share their thoughts. 

Where we stand today

All 5 pioneers in Window 1 have received at a minimal their first disbursements and the product development and refinement activities are underway in Kampala and northern Uganda. Incubation is ongoing and covers themes like tax and finance, building lean business models, and customer profiling for product-problem fitness. We have completed technical due diligence for the semi-final candidates in Window 2. The best pioneers (5) have been forwarded to the final committee for selection and award. Concurrently, preparations for the launch of Window 3 are in full swing. We will have sessions in Arua, Gulu, Tororo, Kampala and Mbarara in collaboration with regional stakeholders like academic and religious figures, community innovation hubs, and agriculture groups. The quality of innovations is getting stronger and stronger. Applications from pioneers in northern Uganda have spiked too, thanks to our boots-on-the-ground outreach. Face-to-face matters.

Bumps along the way

The path has had its twists, but each one has been a worthwhile lesson. For instance, we first set a funding ceiling that encouraged big financial asks - sometimes more than was needed. It stretched negotiations as the team guided applicants toward sensible plans. We must remember that many innovators are technical thinkers, not (yet!) business pros. Some dream big on budgets without the commercial piece figured out. The solution lies in a team that works well together: we encourage them that entrepreneurship survives through a team, so get co-founders who bring that know-how.

UCIF took more effort than expected because we didn’t expect innovators to need so much handholding. For instance, one pioneer doubled their price mid-conversation, with no thought to costs or margins. We also realised that our incubation tools weren’t agribusiness-ready at the outset. We’re closing that gap and have a tailored manual on the way.

We are continually learning the best ways to engage with and gather exciting ideas from refugees and women. For Window 3, the UCIF team is exploring “open innovation” where we combine ideas from diverse voices. Put simply, if two or three people have different ideas, we might merge them to strengthen their potential for success, rather than discarding them due to their individual weaknesses.

Looking ahead

We thought it might be challenging to get new innovations. How wrong we were! Ugandans have got ingenuity! Still, market gaps exist; for instance, few local manufacturers exist. But there is potential in untapped players, and that’s one area we can add value. A typical Ugandan enterprise is informal and small, and by the time they realise they need to formalise, it’s too late! But through UCIF, we can show them how to grow gradually.

Financial modelling support is critically important. In the CSJ context, a pioneer is somebody with an innovative idea. Typically, they come from a technical background – academicians and students playing with ideas from their expertise. For some, their motivation isn’t even commercial; it is passion. Therefore, it’s important that we prepare them to think commercially. Of course, we aren’t just interested in academics and students. We want diversity and that means we need a pool of diverse technical expertise on our side too. Some innovations, like robotics, need a specialist on our panel to sniff out pretenders and give promising ideas a fair shake.

Our advice for pioneers? 

Build a support network, give timelines some breathing room, and pair technical passion with business smarts. Teams make all the difference.

Look out for the next call on April 21, 2025. You could be the next pioneer supporting northern Uganda’s farmers in building resilience!