The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is positioning itself as a key driver of Uganda’s economic growth by investing in innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation, especially among youth and women.

Speaking at the Hi-Innovator Program Impact Dissemination Workshop held on Monday, June 30, 2025, at the Sheraton Hotel, Kampala, NSSF Managing Director Patrick Ayota said the Fund is committed to tripling Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by focusing on high-impact, sustainable, and profitable investments.

“We have so far funded 438 start-ups and created 202,323 jobs through the Hi-Innovator Program. In 2015, the Fund was at UGX 5.5 trillion. We set an ambitious goal to reach UGX 20 trillion by 2025, a milestone we hit a year early in 2024. Today, NSSF stands at UGX 26.1 trillion,” Ayota said.

The Hi-Innovator Program, a five-year initiative (2020–2025) run by NSSF in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, aims to strengthen Uganda’s entrepreneurship ecosystem by supporting small and growing businesses.

The NSSF’s approach aligns social security with national development goals, making it a powerful example of how public institutions can work with the private sector to drive inclusive economic transformation.

“As Uganda pushes toward middle-income status, investment models like this grounded in impact, innovation, and inclusion are critical,” Ayota emphasized.

Lindah Nsabagwa, Senior Research and Evaluation Program Lead at IPSOS, a leading market and social research company explained that the program uses a standardized approach tailored to each stage of a business’s lifecycle.

“Our goal is to help scale 100 businesses and create over 132,000 jobs by unlocking economic opportunities for entrepreneurs. This is about building a resilient ecosystem, not just handing out funds,” Nsabagwa said.

The workshop brought together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to reflect on the achievements of the Hi-Innovator Program and explore ways to scale impact.