Seven small businesses in Uganda have each secured seed funding of approximately $20,000 through the Hi-Innovator program, an initiative jointly run by the National Social Security Fund.
The program is run jointly together with the Mastercard Foundation.
The recipients are Marjoz Farm Stores Limited, Ebenezer Energy Saving Stoves Limited, Kaps Circle Company Limited, Dreck Ventures Limited, Classic Baking and Catering Limited, Crested Resources Limited and Afro Lube Limited.
Launched in August 2020, the five-year initiative focuses on raising the visibility of enterprises that are not considered attractive to traditional investors and would otherwise struggle to attract the financing and technical support they need to grow.
Women and youth-owned businesses have been given some preference.
Hi-Innovator is being implemented by Outbox and supported by several Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESO’s), including the Stanbic Business Incubator Limited (SBIL), a subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited.
“We want to remind you that this will be the start of a new journey. More hard work, focus and commitment, are needed. For those who have not gone through today, do not give up. Use the skills, knowledge and networks you have attained during this period to refine your business ideas and become better while positioning yourselves for other opportunities,” said Patricia Ainembabazi, a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at NSSF
Dubbed the ‘Ignite cohort’, the seven winners emerged after a day of robust pitching involving 13 business owners in total and before a panel of three Investment Committee members at the SBIL offices in Kampala.
“Entrepreneurship is lonely. You need partners and that is one of the reasons why we exist as the Incubator. Everything that we are doing here, is about the transformation of Uganda. As the Stanbic Incubator, we are driven by our mandate that runs on three key pillars of access to finance, access to markets, and business operational skilling. Therefore, do not limit yourself but show ambition,” said Stanbic Incubator’s Chief Executive, Catherine Poran.
During the pitching, the business owners were assessed on problem-solving; business models and sustainability; market potential and scalability; impact- especially on women and youth, and finally the composition of their team.
Prior to pitching, the entrepreneurs underwent a rigorous five-day boot camp session where different entrepreneurial modules were undertaken.
Patricia Temba, a Program Administrator at NSSF Hi-Innovator said, “Winning the $20,000 award gives the entrepreneurs an opportunity to join the accelerator program, where they will then participate in a rigorous six-month process. This process includes work planning, mentorship sessions, and access to Business Development Service providers, all aimed at addressing barriers to scale and enabling them to unlock additional follow-on funding beyond the initial $20,000. By the end of this process, the businesses will be investor-ready and bankable.”
“This is a provisional $20,000 financing award. As per policy, these seven businesses will undergo due diligence, which will determine the unlocking of the financing,” Temba added.
As of April 2024, the Hi-Innovator initiative has trained 29,000 entrepreneurs, availed seed-funding and technical assistance to 330 businesses, built the capacity of 13 ESO partners, and reached out to over 150,000 youth and women.
