Hon. Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki gave a trainee at the Makerere Creatives Podcast the opportunity to host him for a few minutes, encouraging young creatives to build confidence, sharpen their communication skills, and pursue excellence in media and innovation.
@influencer74
When dust settles on car windscreens and the journey calls for shoes that can walk the ground, it reminds us that we have reached the places where Government's presence matters most.
Science, technology, and innovation must deliver practical solutions where they are needed most. The communities along these dusty roads feed our cities, supply our industries, and sustain Uganda's economy. That is why our work must extend beyond boardrooms and into the communities where real transformation begins.
#STIUganda
Today, I joined the faithful at Duhaga Cathedral in Hoima City for a special thanksgiving service, which I dedicated to giving thanks to Almighty God following my appointment as Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation by H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
It was a deeply humbling moment to worship alongside members of the Anglican faith, my family, friends, and well-wishers as we gave thanks for God's faithfulness, guidance, and the confidence that H.E President Museveni has entrusted in me to serve our country. I remain profoundly grateful to the President for this opportunity and reaffirm my unwavering commitment to serving Uganda with humility, integrity, and dedication.
I believe that leadership is both a privilege and a sacred responsibility entrusted to us by God. In support of the Church's mission and community development, I pledged to work with relevant Government ministries, departments, and agencies to mobilize the necessary support for the Diocese's radio station project, which will play an important role in evangelization, community education, and social transformation.
I also extended my heartfelt appreciation to the Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese, the clergy, and all the faithful for their unwavering prayers and encouragement for my family and me. As a gesture of gratitude and partnership with the Church.May God continue to guide us as we work together to build a peaceful, united, and prosperous Uganda.
On 21st and 22nd July 2026, I will engage the Makerere University community not merely as an emissary of government, but as an advocate for a future anchored in science, technology and innovation. This engagement reaffirms that Uganda’s prosperity will be secured not by resources alone, but by intellect, rigorous research and transformative innovation. Makerere’s legacy positions it as a strategic hub for converting knowledge into technologies, enterprises and national value.
Together with university leaders, researchers, scientists, innovators and students, I will explore pathways to accelerate commercialization, technology transfer and talent development. Science must move beyond laboratories into industries, jobs and improved livelihoods. Through collaboration, execution and innovation, we shall build an ecosystem where STI becomes the foundation of Uganda’s transformation and sustainable prosperity for generations through purposeful partnerships and shared national ambition for all.
Day Five, and the final day of our Western Corridor Technical Mission, brought me to Vital Tomosi Dairy Limited in Rushere, Kiruhura District, where I and my #STI team engaged the company's leadership, plant managers, engineers, scientists and technical staff while inspecting a world-class processing ecosystem that transforms Uganda's milk into premium MilkMan fresh milk, yoghurt, butter, ghee and cream through rigorous laboratory science, uncompromising food safety standards, hygienic processing and precision manufacturing. This is how science, technology and innovation elevate agriculture into industrial value, strengthen the dairy value chain, protect public health, expand markets and deliver prosperity from the farm to the consumer.
I also could not resist taking a Spiro electric motorcycle for a ride, not as a diversion, but as a practical affirmation that innovation must be experienced, not merely discussed. Concluding this five-day mission has strengthened my conviction that Uganda's journey to a US$500 billion economy will be secured by bold investments in science, technology and innovation that convert local resources into globally competitive products, create high-value jobs, deepen industrial resilience and position our nation as a continental leader in innovation-driven manufacturing. #STIUganda
I conclude the third day of my Western Corridor STI Mission at the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID) and the Banana Industrial Research and Development Centre (BIRDC) in Nyaruzinga, Bushenyi, with renewed conviction that Uganda's industrial future lies in the intelligent application of science to our natural endowments. I engaged the Centre's leadership, scientists, researchers, engineers, innovators, technical staff and banana outgrowers, inspected the processing plant and assessed the Industrial Technology Park's water supply infrastructure—an indispensable foundation for research, innovation, agro-industrialisation and sustainable production. From patented Tooke innovations, including instant matooke flour, bakery-grade flour and banana fibre technologies for textiles, I witnessed science translating agricultural potential into industrial value.
This is the model of development Uganda must relentlessly scale: research that becomes intellectual property, innovation that becomes industry, and agriculture that becomes wealth. Every factory powered by science and supported by resilient infrastructure strengthens farmer incomes, expands markets, creates dignified employment and advances our march towards a US$500 billion economy by 2040. Our responsibility is to accelerate commercialisation, protect innovation and ensure that every scientific breakthrough translates into measurable national prosperity. #WesternCorridorSTI #STIUganda #UgandaAtWork
Today, on the third day of my Western Corridor STI Mission, my STI team and I conducted a high-level institutional assessment at the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID) in Nyaruzinga, Bushenyi, where we engaged the institution's leadership, scientists, engineers, researchers, innovators and Tooke technical staff before undertaking a comprehensive inspection of the banana processing plant. From premium Tooke flour, porridge formulations, nutritious baby foods and other value-added banana products, the facility demonstrates how science, engineering and industrial research can transform Uganda's most abundant agricultural resource into commercially competitive products that reduce post-harvest losses, expand farmer incomes and strengthen agro-industrial value chains.
PIBID is compelling proof that Uganda's journey towards a US$500 billion economy by 2040 will not be realised through the export of raw commodities, but through research-led industrialisation, value addition and technology-driven manufacturing. As we strengthen the Banana Industrial Research and Development Centre, our resolve remains unequivocal: to accelerate commercialisation, deepen scientific innovation, expand high-value production and position Uganda as a globally competitive knowledge-based economy anchored in Science, Technology and Innovation. #WesternCorridorSTI #STIUganda #UgandaAtWork
Banana Industrial Research Development Centre (BIRDC) is transforming lives through taking up banana produce for the value addition.
Thank you @KagutaMuseveni for not only encouraging scientists but supporting them.
Hon. Eng. Jonard is living no stone unturned.
@tookeonline
Today, together with my STI Secretariat team, our Western Corridor strategic mission commenced at the Engineering Development and Innovation Centre (EDiC), Rwebitete, Kiruhura, a 45-acre Smart Manufacturing Centre advancing engineering excellence through precision manufacturing, bindustrial innovation, technology commercialization and skills development. We engaged the Centre's leadership and technical teams in a strategic review of institutional performance, research commercialization, innovation outcomes and the next phase of implementation.
We subsequently inspected the Centre's advanced machinery, manufacturing systems and operational processes, assessing how its engineering capabilities in design, prototyping, fabrication and CNC machining are strengthening indigenous manufacturing, reducing import dependence and accelerating Uganda's science-led industrial transformation. This is how innovation is translated into productive capacity, economic resilience and sustainable national development.
#STIUganda @NSTEISEP
Hon. Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki, accompanied by the STI Secretariat support team, will undertake a technical visit across Uganda's Western Corridor.
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