Uganda: Former Trade Minister Tips Women on Innovation

Kampala — The former Minister of Trade Industry and Cooperatives Amelia Kyambadde has urged women in business to be innovative to be able to succeed in business.

She was speaking during the World Intellectual Property Day celebrated on April 26, organized by Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) in Kampala.

Intellectual property (IP) is a vital part of Uganda's creative and innovative ecosystems, especially for individual creators, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Kyambadde said IP offers potential to the younger generation, especially women to focus on transitioning to a more suitable future using creativity.

"To consolidate the efforts made by government to empower women, there is need for our women to be directly involved in creative and innovative activities. I am convinced that this is possible and attainable," she said.

Justice Minister and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao said his ministry passed the National Intellectual Property Policy 2019 to guide Uganda's aspiration to utilize IP for socio-economic transformation.

"Celebration of IP encourages the development and enforcement of IP laws and regulations that ensure that individuals and businesses are able to protect their ideas and artistic works"

URSB's Mercy Kainobwisho on her part said this year's world IP day celebrations would help raise critical public awareness on the role of IP systems while advocating for more women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs to add value to the technologies, brands and creative works they develop.

"Our role as URSB is to support, protect, promote and commercialise your inventions," she said, 'When women lose out on IP, we all lose out."

At the same event URSB held an exhibition for women in business to interact and showcase their products and services to potential clients.

The IP day exhibition at the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre provided an opportunity to highlight the stories of a few of the women who rely on IP rights to accelerate innovation and creativity in their business.

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