Vice President Maj. Jessica Alupo has said that the Youth Start-up Academy (YSAU) project being implemented by Uganda and government of Korea is on a steady course to achieve it’s desired goals.
She says in 2022, both governments in collaboration with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME), set an ambitious goal to incubate 1,000 young entrepreneurs by the end of this year 2024.
“We are not far from achieving those goals. By the end of last year (2023),
the project had supported 545 entrepreneurs offering services such as access to local and international expert coaches, exposure to international markets through exhibitions and linkages to investors and FDIs in Startups among others” the Vice President said as she gave her opening remarks at the 2024 Korea-Africa Youth Startup Forum at Four Seasons Hotel, Seoul.
Alupo explained that as youthful Ugandans graduate from an intense, six-month incubator course at the Youth Startup Academy Uganda (YSAU), their talent has already paid off with one of the graduating companies having signed a milestone investment deal.
She said since 2011, when the programme was first implemented by KOSME in Korea, the initiative has supported the creation of 4,798 startups, including two unicorns with a current market valuation that exceeds USD1 billion.
“The Youth Startup Academy Uganda (YSAU) alumni have been able to raise over $200,000 and generate $3.3 million raised through different Start-ups. This we concede, is a good starting point, but we can do more and better” she noted.
The country’s No.2 who is also the Katakwi woman MP, informed participants that the Youth Startup Academy created a state of the art collaboration space at Hive Co-lab in Kampala, which provides young Ugandans with a facility to design, innovate and finally bring their product to markets.
She said Uganda and Korea continue with their collaboration in advanced technologies including digital technology to exploit their capacity to accelerate our National Development Goal (NDPIII) plans.
Alupo challenged Korea and African countries to take into account the dynamics and their demographics, noting that future economies will thrive not just by the collective strength of the youth, but also by the amount of knowledge our societies are able to hold and share amongst each other.
Citing current statistics in Uganda, Alupo said 53.52 percent of the country’s population is aged between 15 to 64 years, making it a young population.
“Our focus for prosperity therefore, is on educating, supporting, and nurturing a productive youth that makes meaningful contribution to the economy. The Republic of Korea is a fertile ground to learn about the implementation of Youth Start-up programmes, given the success you have had over the years” she noted.
The soft-spoken but very convincing African wear Queen Alupo, told the forum that the success of the people of Korea in transforming from an agrarian economy into a knowledge-based economy with a wide range of entrepreneurial and life skills, compelled Uganda to establish stronger bonds in the ICT sector.
She said Uganda and Africa at large look forward to this continued collaboration with a focus on knowledge transfer. Alupo said this will allow Africa to leap big from the knowledge economy on account of critical mass of Startups we expect to accrue from our relations with the Republic of Korea.
