Nelson Mandela’s daughter to launch multi-million technology centre in Uganda

Zindziswa Mandela, the youngest daughter of Nelson Mandela (RIP) shows him a letter at his home. Ms Zindziswa will be a guest at the launch of the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) in Masese, Walukuba Division in Jinja District on January 28.

What you need to know:

  • She will on Friday, meet with Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, and address the Parliamentary Forum for Children at Parliament, and later address the Uganda Youth Network at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
  • Mr Kibeedi also says with the help of Busoga Development Link (BDI), they were able to get land to start the foundation for the facility which is estimated to cost Shs200m.

The late Nelson Mandela’s youngest daughter Zindziswa Mandela will be a guest at the launch of the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) in Masese, Walukuba Division in Jinja District on January 28.
Ms Mandela, who is South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark, the managing Trustee Mandela Children’s Fund and the director founder Mandela Legacy, arrives in Uganda tomorrow (Tuesday), according Uganda’s ambassador to the Nordics, Mr Kibeedi Zaake Wanume.

Mr Kibeedi who is also the founder of the TIC said he will host his counterpart for five days and she will participate in a series of activities while here.
On Wednesday, she will pay a courtesy visit to President Museveni, there after she will visit Mandela National Stadium- Namboole, which is named after her late father and then proceed to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo.
She will on Friday, meet with Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, and address the Parliamentary Forum for Children at Parliament, and later address the Uganda Youth Network at Hotel Africana in Kampala.

On the Saturday, Ms Mandela will proceed to Jinja where she will be the chief guest at the fundraising event at Busoga Square in Jinja for the technology innovation centre, and thereafter hoist the foundation stone.
The centre that will be developed in partnership with the Danish Technological Institute will be a solution to the high unemployment rates by providing skills to youth and rejuvenating innovation in the region.

Mr Zaake Kibeedi, says the idea is to inculcate skills and creativity among the youth.
“The Danish Technological Institute (DTI) which is our partner is behind the success of many institutions in Denmark, when we approached them, they gave us two conditions; to get a local partner and a facility to accommodate the technology centre. We chose Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) as our local partner,” he says.
Mr Kibeedi also says with the help of Busoga Development Link (BDI), they were able to get land to start the foundation for the facility which is estimated to cost Shs200m.

“The main causes of unemployment and under employment in Uganda are lack of adequate entrepreneurial business development and technical skills among the youth, unemployed and small businesses in both the formal and informal sectors. The technology innovation Centre (TIC) is being established to address this problem by facilitating for new innovations and modernising the existent ones. We are therefore expecting around 300 participants at the fundraising and we hope that we will be able to raise the money. There is a technology centre in Nordics and it is really helpful to the youths, this is our first project here and success will be shared by the government for replication to other parts of the country,” he says.