evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) — Uganda's Government-Funded Knowledge-Transfer Pipeline

Uganda · Kampala · See the Uganda profile · See the Kampala profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 93% 43/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2019 Uganda's government has channelled over UGX 79bn into Makerere's Mak-RIF, funding 1,300+ research/innovation grants; by 2025 only about half had completed and 65 were earmarked for commercialisation, while a 2024 budget cut now threatens momentum.

79 UGX billion
Cumulative government appropriation, first 3 financial years
775 projects
Projects financed in first 3 years
1,300+ awards
Total multidisciplinary awards since inception, by FY2023/24 (by FY2023/24)
666 projects (~half of 1,300+)
Completed awards (by FY2023/24)
157 projects
Completed projects yielding a tangible product
30 units
Weather stations deployed nationally
15 projects
First Commercialization Grant cohort size (launched Dec 2023)
2.08 UGX billion
First Commercialization Grant cohort value (launched Dec 2023)
560 projects
Projects reported with market-ready products (by April 2025)
UGX 29.4bn to 15.3bn
Cut to Makerere's development budget (2024/25 budget cycle)
Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) — Uganda's Government-Funded Knowledge-Transfer Pipeline

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Makerere University, funded by the Government of Uganda
Period
2019–present
Keywords
Applied research funding, university-industry knowledge transfer, research commercialization

Context

Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) is a Government of Uganda grants mechanism, launched in August 2019, channelling annual state appropriations directly into applied research and innovation at Makerere University. Administered through a Grants Management Committee, it funds research grants, PhD grants and — since December 2023 — dedicated commercialisation grants, targeting the pipeline from university research to marketable products, patents and industry or community adoption.

Results

Over its first three financial years, the Government of Uganda appropriated a cumulative UGX 79 billion to the fund, financing 775 projects. By FY2023/24, Makerere reported over 1,300 multidisciplinary awards since inception, of which roughly half (666) had completed implementation, with at least 157 completed projects yielding a tangible product — from a portable weather-station network (30 units deployed nationally, feeding Uganda's National Meteorological Authority) to medical, food and engineering solutions. The first dedicated Commercialization Grant cohort (December 2023) funded 15 projects worth roughly UGX 2.08 billion, and by April 2025 independent University World News reporting described 560 projects as having developed market-ready products.

Conclusions

The fund's sustainability is fragile: it depends entirely on annual government appropriation, and the 2024/25 budget cycle cut Makerere's development budget nearly in half, prompting the Vice Chancellor to warn publicly that the cuts would 'cripple gains' in research and innovation. Reported total project figures also vary somewhat across Makerere's own communications over time.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Government of Uganda as sole appropriating funder, Makerere University Grants Management Committee administering awards, Makerere researchers, PhD candidates and commercialisation-grant teams as recipients

Conditions for success

  • Direct annual government appropriation providing a dedicated, ring-fenced research funding line
  • A staged grant structure (research grants, PhD grants, and a dedicated Commercialization Grant line added December 2023) matching funding to different stages of the research-to-market pipeline
  • Formal Grants Management Committee oversight of awards

Common failure modes

  • Entirely dependent on annual government appropriation with no diversified funding base
  • The 2024/25 budget cycle cut Makerere's development budget nearly in half, forcing the university to publicly announce reduced research funding and warn of 'crippled gains'
  • Only around half of the 1,300+ funded projects had completed implementation by FY2023/24, and project-count figures vary across Makerere's own communications

Where it fits

Governance type
national government appropriation to a public university
Scale
single institution (Makerere University), national funding source
Income level
low-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 62

one-north (Biopolis / Fusionopolis)

Singapore

Since its 2001 launch, Singapore's 200-hectare one-north estate — Biopolis and Fusionopolis — has grown to 400+ companies and 50,000+ …