CK Japheth

This year has felt like I was operating from the frontlines of WWIII; but there are those among us, they hide in plain sight.

I call them .

Every morning they join me on the frontline. I celebrate you all, the past, present & the future.

We shall Motiv , The Innovation Village

Today Motiv celebrates the , the young talented makers and artisans that are changing the creative industry!

I am inspired by your limitless resilience and what you have achieved throughout the year even with these changing times.

Congratulations Quad A Academy, Voodo Arts Society & Labs, British Council Uganda, Teesa Bahana and Uganda Press Photo Award on receiving the Inaugural Ine! Award 2021, aimed at recognizing individuals and entities with outstanding Impact on the creative sector.

As we strive to build a better ecosystem for the creative entrepreneurs, there’s a lot we have done but there’s still a lot more we can do, and my hope is that every creative out there gives back to another that needs inspiration.

Thank you Mastercard Foundation for believing in us to support the creatives as we maximize talents and create opportunities & platforms for them to thrive as we build to make Uganda the best place to be a creative.

Congratulations on the landmark deal
Onyeka Akumah

Hakiza Ronald

Treepz HQ

Love to see it, this one story will unlock many others; because now its possible. Thank you for visiting The Innovation Village , Motiv.

You have successfully returned my visit to your
Farmcrowdy 3 years back. 😅

Excited to see our physical back and championing market access for Ugandan products made by Ugandan creatives!

Very proud of the creative entrepreneurs who keep breaking out of the normal to make it work.

Pass by Motiv today or shop online http://omwoleso.africa/

Kampala Innovation Week
So far we have come,
So far we still have to go…

The best sight in the world is an entrepreneur going through the creation process. When something only they thought was possible eventually begins to happen.

Love to see it; EVERY BIT, anytime!

Happy to see our Motiv growing in the desire to build the capacity for Ugandan brands & confidence in the Ugandan story.

Looking forward to seeing more local emerging brands bringing the world essentials made in Uganda by Ugandans.

Congratulations

Our monthly by the Kampala Angel Investor Network (KAIN) is back and growing.

It has been a long hard 2 years trying to build KAIN. At first our job was convincing local angels that we actually have investable local startups.
That was hard because of alternative portfolio including real estate, loans and stock options.

With the startup scene growing, it is exciting to see startups growing as a real asset class. The tables have turned and local angels are now requesting to meet startups.

It is exciting to see!

Through our series we present some of the most exciting entrepreneurs solving deep market problems looking to connect with serious Angel investors. These are closed sessions with vetted investors and entrepreneurs who we appreciate and vouch for.

You too can join as an investor or entrepreneur in the closed sessions.

Sign up here as an Entrepreneur https://bit.ly/3Cq9aMp or as an investor or investor group https://bit.ly/3HvLlGN as we look to catalyse local mentor driven capital.

DON’T STOP BELIEVING…

I am humbled to accept the UNESCO Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Prize for the on behalf of my team at Motiv, the creatives and partners that have believed in us from H.E. PM and Audrey Azoulay the Director General of UNESCO at the

For young people building something, I just want to say-don't stop believing. Whatever your dream - don't stop believing.

My own story is a story of believing. I graduated university thinking I was going to change the world, It took me 80 job applications to get my first job.

Eventually, I landed my first job teaching economics and entrepreneurship earning $80 a month. It dawned on me that I couldn't raise a family on that.

Deep down, like many entrepreneurs, I believed I had something to offer, so I started believing…

But its not that easy
⁃ The default state is failure. Your tolerance for pain must be high
⁃ The hardest part is not when no one believes, its when you don't,
- Its not when others tell you its impossible, its when you don't have evidence that its possible!

But sometimes you have to believe in someone's belief in you before your belief kicks in. At that point the only people who believed in me were my mother and father. They are the first entrepreneurs who taught me how to dream and believe!

As our belief grows, we begin to believe in others. MoTIV is a story of belief in the creative potential of our young generation. That if we teach them to believe, they in turn will teach others to be bold and to believe.

This award is dedicated to everyone who believes in something but more important to those who have made it their life mission to believe in the potential of others, you are the real life heroes.

If you are lucky enough to be in a position of power, government, international space - your belief is the fuel that keeps creative entrepreneurs going.

Grateful to my team (who tolerate me 😊) my mentors who I feel I let down more than make proud. Thank you for believing-don’t stop believing.

To every entrepreneur. You are the ones we have been waiting for!

Don’t miss an exclusive interview with CK Japheth, co-founder of The Innovation Village, Uganda’s launchpad for leading innovators and entrepreneurs, and winner of the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy. CK will tell us how creativity can be harnessed to create jobs for young entrepreneurs.

More here: https://on.unesco.org/3wAcdQJ

The 2nd cohort of the Future Fashion Designer course concluded today at Motiv with 37 creative graduands in tailoring, textile, design and pattern making .

“To those who say stop dreaming and face reality, I say to the graduands, keep dreaming and make reality.”

Part of why I got into entrepreneurship was the ever inspirational Emmanuel Katongole who later became my mentor. My own goal is to inspire others to do the same. Super excited about an upcoming project that shall work to bridge industry & academia through innovation.