Youth innovators told to address the market needs

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Youth innovators have been told to generate products that address people’s needs.

Joseph Kitamirike, a businessman operating a stock exchange company, says youth come up with innovations that target the foreign market.

“A lot of innovations have been made but lack the market. You should maintain what exactly drove you to come up with that innovation which should attract the market. This should be maintained even if you come out with other products,” Kitamilike says.

He made the call at the launch of the Business Trendsetters’s Forum at the Das Berlin Hotel in Wakiso district.

At the event, Joseph Musumba of Altx African Investment showcased a security exchange innovation and Esther Kitumaine of Book Drive store showcased a TR code that aids learners to read books.

Kitamirike, who formerly worked as Uganda Security Exchange chief executive officer, said it takes time for business to pick up. He, therefore, advised people to maintain their first vision when doing business in order to achieve its goal.

He said when he started his security exchange organisation in 2016, he wanted to earn shillings two trillion a goal he claims to have achieved.

"Youths should look out for innovation in relation to market needs, many products which have been made lack competitiveness in the markets," he said, adding: "In the first three months of 2016, we traded less than shillings 20 million but to-date we trade over sh two trillion per year which was my dream".

“We traded shillings 300 million in 2017, then 750 million in  2018 and 2019 were able to reach shillings five billion. Every entrepreneur in business is about solving a problem and to manage his or her in business you must protect your solutions” Kitamirike said.

"I wanted business investment as Mistry earns shillings two trillion per year and for people to become wealthy. In the USA the brokers earn $12 million per minute and yet for us we earn two trillion per year”.

 We have made ourselves available through using the simplest mobile phone available on the market, one can open an account to access what the wealthy people use to access investment opportunities, he said.

Yvonne Mpanga, the executive director of the Business Trendsetters’ Forum, said the aid in mentoring the youths to come out with good innovators and search for people who did notable things in improving people’s life by creating jobs.

Mpanga said when she was growing up realised that many people who start innovation and contribute to society are never recognised and by starting this idea in 2017 a lot of innovators have been recognised.  

She in their first forum recognised Patrick Ayota the first car innovator, Regina Mugongo the first funeral director, Peter Ssematimba for the musical shows and many others.

She said they have worked with over 500 CEOs and the general public to see that during the innovation forum held in July, where innovators will be recognised.

Kitumaine in her response to the reading innovation said this is an appropriate way of promoting the reading culture using a digitalization App.

She said with many people with mobile phones the new technology will advance both the child and parent to learn more about the subject matter.

In 2022, Makerere University vice-chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe, while discussing the future of information and computing, said the Government had allocated shillings 30 billion for research and innovations where 1.5 billion would be deducted from the research fund to boost innovations.

He said many of the students who come up with many ideas tend to vanish after completing the courses at the university and the ideas are not brought into reality due to lack of funding.