By Patrick Ssentongo – KAMPALA, UGANDA
Foreword
Uganda’s creative economy is often invisible in policy discussions, yet it is alive, vibrant, and largely youth-driven. From self-taught fashion designers to digital illustrators and freestyle rappers, young Ugandans are finding innovative ways to earn a living and express their culture. This article, written by journalist and storyteller Patrick Ssentongo, shines a light on the resilience and ingenuity within Uganda’s informal creative sector—an ecosystem that sustains livelihoods, fosters identity, and demonstrates the urgency for greater recognition and investment.
25-year-old Sharon Atekit adjusts the hem of a hand-dyed Ankara (kitenge) jacket hanging neatly in her open-air stall at MoTIV, a premier creative hub and maker space in Kampala where local artisans, designers, chefs, and entrepreneurs sharpen their craft. She doesn’t have a business degree. She never attended fashion school. Yet every month, Sharon earns close to UGX 2 million designing and selling urban-styled African wear. “I started with only 50,000 shillings as capital,” she says with a laugh. “Now I pay rent, take care of my siblings, and I’ve even employed two tailors.”
Sharon is one of thousands of young Ugandans powering an informal yet vibrant creative economy—a space often overlooked by policy-makers and development planners. From fashion to music production, digital art to handmade crafts, youth are innovating, creating, and hustling their way into livelihoods that sustain families and enrich Uganda’s cultural identity.
But operating in the informal sector comes with both freedom and friction. The flexibility and low entry barriers have allowed Sharon to start small and grow without complicated paperwork. However, the same informality limits her long-term prospects. Like most creatives running Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) Sharon works without a formal contract, fixed salary, or employer benefits. Her business isn’t formally registered, which means she avoids corporate taxes but also misses out on opportunities to bid for large orders or government contracts. Financing remains a challenge—banks and investors shy away from lending to unregistered or small-scale businesses, making expansion slow and risky. Her sales channels—pop-up stalls, festivals, and Instagram—keep costs low but lack the stability of structured supply chains. One slow market season or a social media algorithm change could cut her income sharply.
An Invisible Engine of Growth
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the principal data collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating agency already shows that Uganda’s creative SMEs—more than 12,460 enterprises as of 2013 (likely double that today)—are generating billions in revenue, estimated at UGX 3.18 trillion annually, nearly 3% of GDP. These numbers are not side hustles—they are the backbone of an emerging economy. These SMEs are largely informal, ranging from Music enterprises, film and video producers, audio visual media, crafts and accessories, performing arts, drama and entertainment enterprises, stage comedy, video and photography. Kiosks of music retailers, video halls, fashion houses. The informal sector is a major driver of Uganda’s economy, contributing over 50% of the national GDP and employing the majority of non-farm workers—most of them youth—with Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) forming a significant part of this vibrant space.
UBOS further estimates that over 13% of the country’s informal employment stems from cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the government regulatory body of the communications sector in Uganda also reported a rise in digital content creators, especially on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, where comedy, music skits, and fashion reels have become a source of both fame and income.
This highlights the significant economic contribution of these sectors. The 13% figure, though specific to informal employment, underscores the importance of CCIs in solving the unemployment problem, providing livelihoods and contributing to the overall economy. Globally, the story is similar. A 2022 UNCTAD Creative Economy Outlook projected that Africa’s creative economy could become a multi-billion-dollar industry by 2030. Yet in Uganda, the sector still receives crumbs—far below the Connect for Culture Africa Initiative (CfCA) and the African Union’s recommendation that countries commit at least 1% of their national budgets to arts and culture. Without recognition, the sector remains invisible: alive, vibrant, but constantly battling for air. “The numbers are there. The impact is clear,” says Julius Kawuki, a policy analyst based in Kampala, Uganda. “What lacks is visibility and structured support.”
Youth Taking the Lead
Despite the gaps, Uganda’s youth are rewriting the rules of what it means to be an artist, creator, or cultural entrepreneur. At the Uganda National Cultural Centre, home to the country’s National Theatre, a new breed of musicians performs to enthusiastic crowds during the weekly Monday Jam Sessions. Among them is 21-year-old rapper MC Wassy, real name Wasswa Moses who fuses Luganda rhymes with Afro beats and uploads his freestyles online. “I don’t have a studio,” he admits. “I just use my phone and a cheap mic. My last freestyle got 20K views on TikTok, and from that, I landed my first paid gig.”
MC Wassy on stage during a jam session 📸 by Patrick K. Ssentongo
MC Wassy is not alone. Many young creatives are also increasingly embracing technology to bypass traditional gatekeepers—record labels, galleries, theatres—and carve direct pathways to their audiences. They are self-taught, self-promoted, and self-sustaining. Platforms like Canva, CapCut, and TikTok have become virtual stages and studios, allowing youth with limited resources to express themselves and earn from their craft.
Ugandan youth at a jam session 📸 by Patrick K. Ssentongo
For 22-year-old Aisha Kalungi, a freelance illustrator, the internet became her breakthrough. “I started drawing during lockdown,” she explains. “Now, I get commissions from South Africa, Nigeria, even the UK. I made more last year than I ever imagined possible.” Technology has opened doors once closed. Women like Sharon and Aisha prove that the informal creative economy is not just surviving—it’s innovating. Beyond personal success, they are setting examples for other young women, mentoring peers, and challenging traditional gender roles, demonstrating that female leadership in creative entrepreneurship can redefine Uganda’s cultural and economic landscape.
While stories like theirs reflect grit and creativity, they also expose the gaps facing Uganda’s informal creative economy. For many young people, pursuing music, fashion, photography, or performance art means navigating an uncertain environment with little to no government support. Most creative workers are self-employed freelancers, gig hustlers, or micro-entrepreneurs who survive without formal contracts, fixed salaries, or benefits, meaning that access to capital, formal training, exhibition spaces, or markets remains limited.
Their ventures are rarely registered businesses, so they operate outside tax systems and regulations—making it harder to attract financing or scale up. Without formal recognition, access to bank loans, insurance, or investment is almost impossible, leaving many to depend on personal savings or small community networks for funding. Even when it comes to reaching audiences, the market is largely informal: sales happen in open markets, pop-up stalls, festivals, or through social media, often with no structured supply chains. The result is a sector bursting with talent and resilience, but still struggling against systemic barriers that stifle its growth.
Bridging the Gap
To bridge the gap between informal creativity and formal economic recognition, experts recommend strengthening community creative hubs, lowering tax thresholds for creative startups, and setting up micro-grant schemes tailored to artists and cultural entrepreneurs. “Even small investments can make a huge difference,” Kawuki insists. “A community theatre in every district, a monthly market for crafts, digital skills training… these would uplift thousands.”
John Luzze, a visual artist based in Kampala, Uganda , 📸 by Patrick K. Ssentongo
What makes this youth-led creative economy more than just side hustles is its potential to drive national pride and identity. Whether it’s kitenge streetwear or spoken word poetry in native languages, the output is deeply cultural and uniquely Ugandan. “When I rap in Luganda, my local language” says MC Wassy, “It’s about telling our stories. Our way. With our voice.”
Uganda’s youth have shown that with little to no support, they can still create magic. But it shouldn’t have to be this hard. If given the right tools, training, and recognition, they could transform not just their own lives, but also Uganda’s economic and cultural landscape. Globally, nations like Nigeria and South Korea have proven that strategic investment in creative industries can transform not only economies but also soft power and cultural pride. Uganda has the same potential—if its young creators are recognized, supported, and financed.
Policymakers, funders, and cultural institutions must act now; provide grants, infrastructure, training programs, and formal support structures so young people don’t just survive—they thrive, driving Uganda’s cultural economy forward. Immediate steps could include creating targeted micro-grants for female-led enterprises, formalizing mentorship networks, offering tax incentives for informal creative businesses, and establishing accessible maker spaces and digital hubs to accelerate innovation and market access.
The stakes are high. Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world, with over 75% below the age of 30. Formal job opportunities are limited, and every year, hundreds of thousands of graduates enter an already strained market. Cultural and creative industries can absorb this talent, offering employment and dignity where traditional sectors cannot. What is missing is urgency. Without clear government frameworks, tailored financial products, or dedicated cultural infrastructure, Uganda’s youth will continue to innovate in isolation, their billion-shilling hustle celebrated abroad but underfunded at home. The big question however is, is that what we would love to see as a country?
As Aisha puts it: “We need the government to believe in us. Not with speeches, but with support. Give us space. Give us tools. And watch us build Uganda’s future.”
Editor’s note
📸 Patrick K. Ssentongo, Journalist, Storyteller and Content Producer, Uganda.
Patrick K. Ssentongo is a Ugandan journalist and storyteller with over six years of experience in media engagement and content production across print, digital, and broadcast platforms. His work spotlights artists, institutions, and grassroots movements shaping Uganda’s evolving creative ecosystem.
In this article, he highlights how Uganda’s youth are driving a billion-shilling creative economy with minimal support—proving both the sector’s resilience and its untapped potential. His reflections reinforce CfCA’s call for urgent public investment in culture, reminding us that recognizing and financing youth-driven creativity is not charity, but a strategic pathway to sustainable development.
