#4 Uganda - Robust Talent, Exceptional Businesses
Summary - 10 seconds
Core takeaway: Uganda has an extraordinary concentration of high-caliber talent with the potential to drive significant economic growth, but the government needs to give them the freedom to do so.
Detailed Overview - 2 minutes
People: Uganda has a population of 50 million people, 75% of which are under the age of 35, AND it’s expected to double in the next 25 years. What makes this even more compelling is the extraordinary potential of its current and emerging generations. With a youth literacy rate of 82% and leadership development training starting as early as first grade, Uganda is investing in its future from the ground up. At the school I visited, students were remarkably disciplined—far beyond what you'd typically see in the U.S.—and the quality of entrepreneurs and business leaders I met was a powerful testament to that foundation.
Businesses: With over 50 distinct tribes, Uganda is a nation shaped by a culture of uniqueness, innovation, and entrepreneurship. I was deeply impressed by the caliber of businesses I encountered: from an anti-human trafficking geo-tracking and rescue startup to a digital market-making business for personal loans, to hospitals delivering life-changing care. I saw an aviation export company, cutting-edge telemedicine solutions, exceptional schools, and even a life coaching enterprise. Simply put, Ugandans aren’t just starting businesses—they’re building solutions to their greatest challenges.
The Problem: One of the biggest challenges Uganda faces is government corruption. While it’s absolutely possible to build successful businesses in Uganda, a persistent risk is the government’s history of misappropriating intellectual property—an issue that has discouraged both local innovation and foreign investment. Infrastructure is another critical area in need of attention. Although international partners like Japan have made meaningful contributions—such as the impressive road connecting Entebbe Airport to Kampala—it’s evident that the Ugandan government has not prioritized infrastructure development at the scale required to support sustained economic growth.
Ultimately, the people of Uganda will transform their country—they’re highly skilled, highly talented, highly innovative, and deeply entrepreneurial, but the pace of that transformation will depend largely on how quickly the government curbs corruption and creates a more enabling environment for growth. In the meantime, a few ways the west can partner with the Ugandan people are by 1) continuing to invest in the leadership development and education of the people, 2) investing in and supporting local businesses solving core problems, and 3) strategically leveraging different types of capital to develop infrastructure profitably – when the government isn’t heavily involved in infrastructure development, we need to rethink how we build.
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