Analysis of business incubators in Uganda: A case study of Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI)

Abstract

The study was carried out to analyze the growth of business incubators in Uganda. Business Incubation is a unique and highly flexible combination of business development processes, infrastructure and people, designed to support entrepreneurs, nurture and grow new and small businesses, products and innovations through the early stages of development and or change (Rice, 2002; Philips, 2002). This study recommends the creation of a business incubator focused upon attracting large numbers of early stage entrepreneurs into an entrepreneur community- a hub- where business owners share communal space and partake in a well managed array of social and business interactions. This model, called Co-work incubation, serves early stage entrepreneurs with mostly opt-in communal space rather than offices or labs, then creates a cyclical flow of intimate and formal interaction between the community, entrepreneurs, investors, talent, researchers, existing business and innovators. And furthermore, the survey recommends that for incubators not to incur the burden of being wholly responsible for their cost. Incubation space can be designed to encourage peer-to-peer networking through the provision of communal spaces such as common rooms and canteens located in visible and accessible areas.

The study recommends that a new organization be developed under Ministry of trade Uganda, with representation from all of the community stakeholders including members of the entrepreneurial community to guide and fund this project. Such an organization would bring a fresh program to Uganda without any commonly held perceptions associated with any other organization and offer an opportunity to create a unique brand to attract and engage the entrepreneurial community with services clearly exclusive of existing programs and services.