Hive Colab, Uganda’s first tech hub, is developing incubation and acceleration programs with the help of its partners to encourage and support digital innovation in the country.

Hive Colab is an innovation and incubation center, a collaborative workspace for the business and technology community in Uganda. Founded in 2010 by Barbara Mutabazi, Daniel Stern, Jon Gosier, and Marieme Jamme, its co-working center provides entrepreneurs with internet access, a professional and calm working environment to develop their ideas, host events, and collaborate.

As Uganda's first tech hub, it aims to encourage tech lovers from current and future generations to create and develop applications that address the country's development issues. It also fosters creativity and innovation in the youth, pushing them to develop world-renowned tech products.

The hub supports actors operating in the following sectors: education, finance, health, governance, and agriculture. It offers several incubation programs, including the Youth Startup Academy Uganda (YSAU) project, its flagship program. The latter aims to incubate 1,000 young entrepreneurs by 2024. The registration phase for the program's third cohort ended on July 15th.

The innovation center also offers acceleration programs such as the University Acceleration program, which aims to generate new startups or innovations that address society's daily challenges. The solutions will then be developed and scaled by the students themselves, with the support of Hive Colab, transforming their ideas into businesses.

The hub has already incubated several companies, including Easy Matatu, a mobility startup, and ChapChap, which helps MSMEs have more productive networks and expand their distribution area.

Hive Colab is supported by various companies and organizations, like The Indigo Trust, UNICEF, Microsoft, Seacom, AfriLabs, Village Capital, and Startup Uganda.

Melchior Koba