Gulu University urged to turn scientific research into economic opportunities

GULU, November 14, 2026 – Minister in the Office of the President in charge of Science, Technology and Innovation, Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki, has urged Gulu University to take the lead in commercialising scientific research and innovations to accelerate industrialisation and economic transformation in Uganda.

Asiimwe said universities in Uganda must move beyond producing academic research and publications to developing marketable products capable of generating income, creating jobs and contributing to national economic growth.

He made the remarks during a ministerial visit to Gulu University as part of an assessment of selected public universities and research and innovation laboratories to establish their contribution to science-led economic development.

“The President of Uganda wants to see money coming out of science and technology products delivered into the economy. For a long time, universities have been doing a lot of research and design, but these have not been translated into money,” Asiimwe said.

He challenged researchers and university administrators to transform research findings into commercial products, saying Uganda had the scientific expertise and industrial potential to drive economic transformation.

The minister said government had invested resources in research at public universities, but the returns had not sufficiently translated into tangible economic benefits.

“We will prioritise building the best laboratories at public universities in a drive to see how we can control, transform and improve the economy using our scholars,” he said.

Asiimwe urged Gulu University to encourage graduates to establish enterprises and develop products using the knowledge acquired during their studies.

He pledged that his ministry would explore providing scholarships, start-up capital and international benchmarking opportunities for science lecturers and professors to strengthen research commercialisation.

He also said ministry technical teams would regularly visit the university to identify promising innovations for support.

The minister challenged Gulu University to become a centre of scientific innovation and industrial development in the Acholi Sub-region, taking advantage of electricity generated at Karuma to support value addition and manufacturing.

He cautioned universities against establishing industries without first identifying the economic challenges and opportunities within their respective communities.

Meanwhile, Gulu University is piloting research commercialisation through a cassava-processing business incubation project aimed at transforming locally sourced agricultural produce into higher-value products.

According to Dr Grace Okiror, the project’s lead, the incubation centre provides researchers with a platform to test innovative ideas and develop products for the market. The initiative also supports local farmers by purchasing cassava directly from their gardens.

However, she said production had been affected by labour shortages during harvesting and a prolonged dry spell that reduced cassava supplies.

The project has consequently extended its sourcing network to neighbouring districts, including Amuru, Gulu, Omoro and Nwoya.

The facility produces premium cassava flour, starch, children’s cassava porridge and fermented flour used in making locally consumed alcoholic beverages. It is also targeting regional and international markets, particularly South Sudan, where demand is reportedly growing.

However, limited production capacity remains a major obstacle.

“We expected to produce three tonnes of cassava in a day, but due to the low capacity of our machine, we are producing only one tonne of cassava in two days,” Okiror said.

She appealed to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to provide modern processing equipment to increase production capacity to more than 10,000 kilogrammes a day.

Okiror added that the project intended to submit product samples to the Uganda National Bureau of Standards [UNBS] for certification to improve consumer confidence and access to wider markets.

Samuel Kabi, a senior lecturer in Gulu University’s Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, said the facility was also turning processing waste into useful economic resources.

He said cassava peels were being converted into animal feed, while wastewater was being processed for further productive use, including ethanol production.

Kabi said the initiative was designed around waste reduction, resource efficiency, wealth creation and job creation. The university also planned to extend the pilot project to communities across Acholi to increase cassava production and strengthen the supply chain.

He added that cassava products could provide alternatives to wheat-based ingredients in bread and cake production when blended with wheat flour.

Gulu University Vice-Chancellor Prof. George Openyjureu Ladaah said commercialisation was a key priority under the institution’s strategic framework. He said the university was working with Government institutions and other stakeholders to translate research into marketable products.

However, he identified intellectual property concerns, limited business expertise and regulatory requirements as major obstacles preventing university innovations from reaching larger markets.

Ladaah said the university needed to bring business and entrepreneurship experts on board to work alongside academics and researchers in guiding product development, marketing and commercialisation.

“We have only academia, not business-oriented minds. We do not know what to do on the lasting procedure of products. Restructuring would help to support staff and students who have products to sell,” he said.

He also called for clear agreements governing private researchers’ use of university facilities, particularly regarding ownership of innovations and revenue-sharing arrangements.

The Vice-Chancellor said some private researchers had developed products using university laboratories but later operated independently without clear arrangements on the institution’s share of the commercial benefits.

He further blamed stringent regulatory requirements and delays in product certification for frustrating student-led businesses and limiting their survival.

Ladaah urged government to review testing and institutional policy frameworks to make it easier for young innovators to commercialise their products. He also called on the Uganda Revenue Authority [URA] to consider tax relief for student start-ups, arguing that excessive regulatory and tax obligations could undermine emerging enterprises.

He appealed to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to develop a supportive policy framework that would enable regulatory agencies to nurture young entrepreneurs rather than impose requirements that could push their businesses out of the market.

He reaffirmed the university’s commitment to working with government to transform scientific research and innovation into commercially viable products.

https://thecooperator.news/universities-urged-to-turn-research-findings-into-viable-businesses/

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