Thank you President for innovations support
As a researcher, I see the immense potential in our young population. With 73% of Ugandans under 30, the energy and creativity of our youth are our greatest natural resource.
David Ssenfuka.
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OPINION
By David Ssenfuka
As a Ugandan researcher working on herbal medicines for cancer and diabetes, I find President Yoweri Museveni’s defence of Uganda’s industrialisation agenda both timely and necessary. For too long, our continent has been trapped in a cycle of exporting raw materials while importing expensive finished goods. This model has drained our wealth and stifled innovation.
Museveni’s insistence on value addition is not just rhetoric — it is a survival strategy. When Uganda refines its gold, processes its coffee, or transforms bananas into flour and snacks, we multiply the earnings that flow back into our economy. As someone who has received government support to develop herbal therapies, I know firsthand that investment in local innovators is not charity — it is nation building.
Equally important is the President’s call for youth to create jobs locally rather than seek exploitative work abroad.
As a researcher, I see the immense potential in our young population. With 73% of Ugandans under 30, the energy and creativity of our youth are our greatest natural resource.
If harnessed through agribusiness, innovation, and industrialisation, they can transform Uganda into a modern economy.
Of course, challenges remain. Research is expensive, markets are competitive, and infrastructure gaps persist. But as Museveni rightly notes, failure is not defeat — it is a lesson. Just as my own herbal research has faced setbacks before breakthroughs, Uganda’s industrialisation journey will require persistence, adaptation, and courage.
In my view, the debate should not be about whether industrialisation is perfect. It should be about whether we want to remain exporters of raw coffee at $2.5 per kilogramme or become exporters of processed brands at $25–$40 per kilogramme. The answer is obvious.
Uganda’s future lies in industrialisation, youth empowerment, and innovation.
As a scientist, I stand with those who believe that our destiny is not to serve as cheap labour abroad, but to build industries, create jobs, and transform our society here at home.
The writer is a local innovator in cancer treatment