Uganda is recording a defining milestone in its intellectual property (IP) journey as the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Daren Tang, undertakes a landmark mission to Kampala from 3rd to 5th December 2025. This high-level visit, one of the most significant WIPO engagements in Africa in recent years, underscores the country’s growing commitment to strengthening its innovation ecosystem, modernising IP governance, and positioning creativity at the centre of long-term economic transformation.
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), the nation’s IP office, is leading the mission with a series of strategic engagements involving Government leaders and the WIPO delegation. Among the key activities is the launch of the pioneering “IP in Schools” Programme, which seeks to integrate intellectual property appreciation into Uganda’s education system while nurturing innovation among young learners.
Registrar General Mercy K. Kainobwisho described the visit as a historic opportunity. She noted that Uganda has made significant progress in expanding IP awareness, strengthening institutions, and inspiring creativity across industries and schools. According to her, the mission deepens Uganda’s collaboration with WIPO and accelerates the country’s steady march toward an innovation-driven economy.
Under Daren Tang’s leadership since 2020, WIPO has evolved from a traditional administrative custodian of IP rights into a global catalyst for job creation, enterprise growth, cultural enrichment, and social inclusion. Tang has championed a vision that makes IP accessible and meaningful not only to established corporations but also to SMEs, youth innovators, women-led enterprises, and local communities. His approach emphasises capacity building, inclusiveness, and commercialisation, ensuring that innovators can convert ideas into tangible socio-economic value.
In his 2025 address to the WIPO Assemblies, Tang captured the essence of today’s knowledge economy when he observed that the world is undergoing a “quiet revolution” where value creation is rapidly shifting from tangible assets to intangible ones such as brands, designs, software, and data. His visit to Uganda brings this message to life and presents the country with a rare opportunity to embed strong intellectual property culture at the heart of national development.
A key highlight of the mission is the national exhibition showcasing innovations by schoolchildren, particularly in robotics, agritech solutions, and digital creativity. The “IP in Schools” Programme is expected to spark a new era of curiosity, experimentation, and invention, ensuring that Uganda nurtures a generation capable of competing in the global knowledge economy. Beyond education, the visit is poised to catalyse critical reforms across Uganda’s institutional and legal frameworks, accelerate the commercialisation of scientific and creative works, expand access to technical assistance, and open new avenues for IP-based investment.
Registrar General Kainobwisho has emphasised that Uganda is no longer on the margins of the global IP conversation. She notes that the country is building a future-ready ecosystem that enables innovators, researchers, and young creators to thrive. WIPO’s presence affirms the momentum that Uganda has built over the years and signals confidence in the country’s direction.
Over the past decade, URSB has championed wide-ranging reforms aimed at easing the cost of doing business, simplifying company registration, and strengthening enterprise formalisation. Under the stewardship of URSB Board Chairman Francis K. Butagira, the Bureau recently unveiled Strategic Plan IV (2025/26–2029/30), which positions Uganda as the best destination for doing business. Butagira has affirmed that Uganda is committed to creating an environment where investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs can flourish, stressing that the new strategic plan is designed to unlock opportunity and support national transformation.
The timing of the WIPO Director General’s visit is therefore both symbolic and strategic. It reinforces Uganda’s credibility as an emerging hub for innovation, creativity, and enterprise. It strengthens Uganda’s standing as a promising destination for global investors seeking stable, efficient, and forward-thinking markets. And it reaffirms WIPO’s commitment to ensuring that intellectual property becomes relevant, concrete, and visible to everyone, especially youth innovators, SMEs, women, and community-based creators.
Uganda now stands at the threshold of a transformative era in which intellectual property is no longer viewed as a peripheral subject but as a central pillar of economic growth, job creation, and social development. The visit by WIPO’s Director General marks a powerful affirmation of Uganda’s ambition to build a modern, knowledge-driven economy where creativity is recognised, protected, and fully harnessed for national prosperity.
