Makerere Expo marks decade of promoting student entrepreneurship
Although the exhibitions initially began as coursework assignments, the university hopes students will develop some of the ideas into commercial products and enterprises which can eventually sustain their livelihoods
Maureen Bahati, Job Ezati and Laeticia Aine, Chief Executive Officer of Eco Pave, which makes pavers from waste materials, during the Makerere University Entrepreneurship Expo at Freedom Square on October 30, 2026. (Photo by Wilfred Sanya).
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Moving around the streets of Kikoni, Laeticia Aine, a Bachelor of Business Administration student at Makerere University and her team of five saw an opportunity in what many deem as waste. With Uganda collecting 600 tonnes of waste collected in Uganda daily, her enterprise, Eco Pave Limited, decided to take advantage of that to make plastic-incorporated pavers.
She made the revelation during the second day of the Uganda Entrepreneurship Congress and Students’ Expo hosted by the Makerere University Entrepreneurship and Outreach Centre under the theme, Youth Innovations to Scale Uganda’s Growth Ten-fold”.
Aine, who took part in the 10th edition of the expo, which ran from October 30-31, spelt out the composition of the pavers.
“These pavers are made from only two products, plastic and sand. We made moulds for the pavers in different shapes. We can also make pavers in different colours, different shapes.”
She revealed that the cost of production was sh250,000, which she spent on trowels for mixing the products and protective gear, which is vital, especially when dealing with hot plastic.
“This is our country, and plastic pollution is also the reason why we keep having floods downtown. The drainage channels are being filled with plastic, plastic each and everywhere. We as students of Makerere University, as citizens of Uganda, as East Africans, this is an innovation that can help us reduce environmental degradation.”
For Andrew Collin Ssentamu, a Bachelor of Business Administration student, his enterprise, Legitimate Cookers, makes briquettes out of agricultural waste. He shared his plans to scale up.
“If we can attain about sh 1.5 million, I believe we can expand and support Government efforts to shift people from wood charcoal to eco-friendly solutions,” he said.
Makerere University students display environmentally friendly innovations, including table spoons made from raw materials, during the Entrepreneurship Congress and Students’ Expo at Freedom Square on October 31, 2026. (Photo by Wilfred Sanya).
(Photo by Wilfred Sanya).
Innovation key to ten-fold growth
Dr Godfrey Akileng, the Dean of the School of Business at Makerere University, stated that through the initiative, students have been encouraged to turn academic projects into viable businesses.
“Although the exhibitions initially began as coursework assignments, the university hopes students will develop some of the ideas into commercial products and enterprises which can eventually sustain their livelihoods,” he said.
He added that the expo connects students with experienced entrepreneurs and industry practitioners who share practical experiences, business lessons and insights on starting and managing enterprises.
He noted that the university plans to conduct a tracer study to establish the impact of the Expo over the past 10 years, with a follow-up on former participants to establish how many have developed their ideas into businesses and whether those enterprises are still operating.
He commended Vision Group for being one of the most pivotal partners who have supported the university’s efforts to nurture the innovations of students over the past decade.