How banana waste became a symbol of Uganda’s innovation push

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Deep inside Bishop Stuart University’s growing agribusiness laboratories, researchers have been experimenting with something many Ugandans would normally throw away: banana stems.

The result is BANATHERM, a locally developed innovation that converts banana stem waste into thermal insulation materials that can be used in vehicles and buildings.

Now, that kind of university-based innovation is receiving a major institutional boost.

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) on May 14, 2026, launched a new Technology and Innovation Support Centre at Bishop Stuart University in Mbarara, expanding a national programme designed to help students, researchers and inventors turn academic ideas into commercially viable products and businesses.

The new centre becomes Uganda’s 41st Technology and Innovation Support Centre, commonly known as a TISC. The programme is implemented by URSB in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organisation to support innovation, research and intellectual property protection within universities and research institutions.

In practice, the centre will help innovators access patent information, technology databases and guidance on how to legally protect inventions and potentially commercialise them.

That is key because one of Uganda’s long-standing challenges has not been a shortage of ideas, but the difficulty of turning research into sustainable businesses, industrial products or scalable technologies.

Many university projects never move beyond laboratories or student exhibitions because researchers often lack financing, intellectual property protection or technical support needed to commercialise innovations.

The launch in Mbarara reflects a wider shift in how Uganda is increasingly viewing universities, not simply as teaching institutions, but as potential engines for economic growth, technology development and industrial transformation.

Speaking during the launch, Ambassador Francis K. Butagira, who officiated as chief guest, described innovation as central to Africa’s future development.

“The future of Africa will depend greatly on how well we support innovation, research, and creativity among our young people. Universities are becoming powerful centres for solutions that can transform communities, industries, and economies. The launch of this TISC is therefore an investment in Uganda’s future,” he said.

The timing is significant.

Across Africa, governments are increasingly trying to build knowledge-based economies capable of creating higher-value industries instead of relying mainly on raw commodity exports. Uganda has repeatedly emphasised industrialisation, science and technology as part of its long-term economic strategy.

However, achieving that transition requires stronger links between research institutions, innovation systems and markets.

URSB Registrar General Mercy K. Kainobwisho said the growing network of Technology and Innovation Support Centres is intended to strengthen those connections.

“Technology and Innovation Support Centres are creating pathways for students, researchers, and innovators to transform ideas into commercially viable solutions. Through the TISC network and the IP in Schools initiative, URSB is supporting the Government of Uganda’s vision of building a knowledge-based economy driven by innovation, research, and creativity,” she said.

The emphasis on intellectual property protection is particularly important.

Intellectual property refers to legal rights protecting inventions, designs, research and creative works from being copied or commercially exploited without permission. For innovators, patents and related protections can help secure investment, attract partnerships and create opportunities for scaling products commercially.

Without such protections, many researchers struggle to benefit financially from their own innovations.

At Bishop Stuart University, several projects are already attracting attention for their practical local focus.

Beyond BANATHERM, the university’s Agribusiness Incubation Hub is producing environmentally friendly banana fibre products such as paper bags, table mats and decorative materials intended as alternatives to polythene.

The institution is also collaborating with Mbarara University of Science and Technology and the National Agricultural Research Organisation on projects involving biogas and bio-fertiliser production from organic waste.

Other innovations supported at the university include mushroom farming and processing, fruit juice production, tomato ketchup manufacturing, dairy value-chain solutions and digital systems designed to improve student enrolment and administration.

What makes many of these projects notable is their strong connection to local economic realities.

Rather than focusing only on abstract research, several innovations target everyday challenges such as agricultural waste management, environmentally friendly packaging, food processing and rural enterprise development.

Professor John F. Mugisha, the university’s Vice Chancellor, said the centre would help move research beyond classrooms into communities and markets.

“This TISC will provide our students and researchers with access to valuable intellectual property resources and innovation support systems that will help move research from classrooms and laboratories into communities and markets where it can create real impact,” he said.