By Reporter
The Kampala Innovation Week 2020 (KIW) is set to run for the fourth time this November from the 26th to the 28th. This year, organized by Startup Uganda, an association of Uganda’s Startup enablers and supported by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), it promises to be a higly interactive and innovative virtual experience. Startup Uganda currently consists of prominent hubs such as Design Hub Kampala, Outbox, Innovation Village, Response Innovation Lab, among others. It’s aim is to assemble all key players in the Startup Ecosystem to raise Uganda’s profile in the startup space, provide visibility to it’s entrepreneurs, and attract investors & global partnerships. Towards this vision, KIW will gather Uganda’s entire innovation community in an effort to discuss “ Recovery and Resilience with Innovation as a tool to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ecosystem. ”.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had various effects on businesses. Businesses have had to reframe their models, repurpose their work streams, halt operations, or close to mention but a few. Going forward, the recovery and resilience of small and medium enterprises is critical in ensuring that lives and livelihoods are improved.” –Richard Zulu, Startup Uganda.
From humble beginnings in 2017 with just over 150 attendees, KIW more than doubled its attendance to 350 active participants in 2018, and thanks to support by UNCDF and various national & international partners (Ministry of foreign affairs, International Trade Center, Uganda Green enterprise finance Accelerator , Enabel in Uganda, Response Innovation Lab, Liquid telecom , Motiv), is set to break the threshold of 1000 attendees in 2020, with a virtual event that will see participants from all over the globe. The event will bring together various ecosystem enablers and thought leaders from all over the world such as Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Tomi Davies
Under the theme ‘Recovery , Resilience and Innovation’, a conducive space will be created to display the latest in Ugandan innovation from startups, private sector players and development partners. There will be access to and information on platforms and resources available to enable ecosystem players’ efforts. Through pitch competitions we will explore innovative solutions to many of the challenges brought about by COVID-19 and enable those innovative solutions to find opportunities for investment. With a number of keynotes and panel conversations planned, there will be a chance to discuss how to take Uganda’s innovation and startup ecosystem to the next level, find potential partners, customers, investors or investees, and engage with various thought leaders on how to take both your business and the Ugandan Startup Ecosystem to the next level through an online platform called Whova.
Head over to our website, www.kiw.ug and register today, to participate or download the official event App at https://whova.com/portal/webapp/kamap_202010/ .