08/09/2026
UGANDA MUST RAISE JOB CREATORS—NOT ONLY JOB SEEKERS. change the programming.
This picture tells a painful story. It represents thousands of educated and capable young Ugandans waiting for employment opportunities that may never come.
From childhood, many of us are taught one path: go to school, earn good grades, graduate, find a job and work for someone.But what happens when the jobs are not there?
Our education and social systems dont teach us how to identify opportunities, start businesses, manage money, market products, solve problems or build sustainable enterprises.
Like computers, we have been programmed to search for jobs—but not taught how to create them.
That is why many university graduates remain unemployed for years. It is also why so many Ugandans leave the country searching for work. Looking for an established job feels safer and easier than creating one—especially when nobody has taught you how to start, manage or sustain a business.
This is not because our young people are lazy or incapable. They are intelligent, creative and very hardworking. But talent without training, resources, mentorship and opportunity can easily become frustration.
Entrepreneurship should not begin after university. From an early age, children should learn practical skills, financial literacy, agriculture, technology, manufacturing, problem-solving and business management. Schools should help students discover what they can create and how to solve everyday problems—not only prepare them to become someone else’s employees.
Uganda is a young country with tremendous potential. We cannot build a prosperous future while preparing millions of young people to compete for a small number of jobs. We must prepare them to create businesses, industries and employment opportunities for others.
It is time to change the programming.
Let us raise builders, innovators, producers and job creators—not only job seekers.