Tech hub Outbox making strides for tech entrepreneurs in Uganda
With $1m raised, Ensibuuko, Safeboda, KolaStudios & Women Passion Program among most successful projects
Founded in 2012, Outbox was founded to help fledgling African tech entrepreneurs to build high growth companies with workspace, mentorship, and training programs. Just four years later, Outbox has housed 13 resident start-ups that have raised +$1,000,000 and created 80 jobs. Outbox has also channelled over 7,000 participants through in-house workshops.
Outbox founder Richard Zulu is a tech specialist with 6 years of experience building and managing the developer and startup ecosystem, and counts a Google student Ambassadorship among his accolades. “Our mission is to provide the entrepreneurship, innovation and technology infrastructure that supports African entrepreneurs”, he says. “It is estimated that more than 40,000 young people graduate from Ugandan Universities each year. Yet the market can provide only 8,000 jobs. We strongly believe that the use of technology in various disciplines presents a great opportunity to alleviate Uganda’s youth unemployment problem.”
Outbox provides co-working space, mentorship and training programs for start-up ventures and tech enthusiasts. Through Outbox’s partnership network, they help new start-ups to raise money for their ventures and to access markets. Three of Outbox’s most successful projects include incubating start-ups Ensibuuko, Safeboda and Kola Studios, and initiating the Women Passion Program (WOPA).
Start-up Ensibuuko offers a cloud based management software (Mobis) for savings and credit cooperative societies (SACCOS), embedded with mobile money capabilities to improve financial record keeping, build operational efficiency and cut costs. Ensibuuko currently supports +80 savings cooperatives across Uganda. It has already raised $500k worth of investment, and is currently working with one of Uganda’s largest banks to reach 2,000 SACCOs within the next one year. Ensibuuko has won multiple awards, including the East African ICT4Ag hackathon, Sankalp Forum, and Unilever Sustainable Living.
Talking about Outbox’s role in Ensibuuko’s success, founder and COO Gerald Otim says “Outbox ensured that we did not burn out of resources, by introducing us to potential funding partners that enabled us to build a product, test the product, build our team and gain traction. Outbox helped us find our first funding at a very critical time”.
Another successful start-up supported by Outbox is Safeboda, which is bringing innovation to the motorcycle taxi industry in Uganda and further afield. Motorcycle taxis are very popular and serve as the lifeblood of most cities in Africa, but they are unsafe and disorganized. SafeBoda is a community of professional, trained motorcycle (boda-boda) taxi drivers, offering a safer experience to passengers. Users can easily hail a SafeBoda in the street or conveniently book one via a mobile app. Safeboda currently serves +1,000 motorcycle taxis in Uganda.
Kola Studios is a successful gaming studio that was supported by Outbox in its early days. They develop local games into mobile experiences. Their most successful game so far has been Matatu that has gone on to become the most locally developed and downloaded game so far with 200,000 game downloads on the Android play store, 90,000 monthly active users and 20,000 daily active users. The team has also been able to develop games for the Kenyan, Ghanaian and even Australian market. The success of a local game like Matatu has positioned it for brands that are seeking a digital audience, given that each player spends an average of 27 Minutes within the game.
Last but certainly not least, the Women Passion Program (WOPA) was a one-year experiential program to equip women and girls with skills in human-centered design, lean startup methodology, web programming & leadership. 75 girls were trained, 15 girls received one-to-one mentorship from a global software consultancy firm, and 4 girls secured employment soon after the program. Talking about her WOPA experience, tech enthusiast Emily Karungi says, “One of my biggest dreams is having a large number of girls join the tech community and I’m delighted to be a part the Women Passion Program. The Women Passion Program has not only equipped me with technical and business skills, but also changed the way I view life.”
Outbox’s partners include Google and Seacom. Outbox has also worked with other partners on various initiatives that include MTN Uganda and Africa Broadcasting (U) ltd
The impact Outbox has had on early stage entrepreneurs demonstrates that more support systems are required to build a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Uganda. More to that, that impacted is amplified 10x if the country policies are right, the culture is conducive and investment into the entrepreneurs and support systems is encouraged.
