The flag of Mbarara University of Science and Technology commonly known as MUST, was again elevated very high as it emerged the 2025 National AYuTe Africa Challenge winner! This transpired today at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala where MUST Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering student Mr. Aaron Etyang and MUST alumni and. Mr. Frank Magyezi Rubandamayonza both incubatees of the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT) were declared as the overall grand winner and the 1st runner up for Season 4 of the AYuTe Africa Challenge respectively. Aaron has innovated a Grain Guard Monitor that reduces post-harvest losses among farmers while Frank has innovated the Afri-Milk Check Kit that tests and manages the quality of milk. Aaron attributed the winning to a very conducive and supportive innovation landscape at MUST with a start-of art CITT co-creation space and able mentors who refine ideas to real life innovations. “Any student who finishes university without going to the CITT innovation space will be doing themselves a de-service. CITT has given me the best mentorship I can get and I feel inspired to go miles” Aaron remarked.
The Innovation Challenge was organized and hosted by Heifer International Uganda in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, and Consortium for Enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development (CURAD), EzyAgric, Makerere University, and the Government of Uganda. The AYuTe Africa Challenge is an initiative of Heifer International that supports young innovators and entrepreneurs transforming agriculture through technology and enterprise.
In Uganda, the challenge serves as a platform to showcase, support, and scale youth-driven solutions that reimagine agriculture and create opportunities for sustainable growth. “At Heifer International Uganda, we take great pride in this evolution. For over four decades, our mission has been clear: to work alongside smallholder farmers to lift incomes, promote sustainability, and empower youth and women. The AYuTe Challenge is a natural extension of this legacy. It is a platform where we not only discover groundbreaking ideas but also provide the resources and networks to transform them into real businesses that create jobs, strengthen food systems, and build resilient communities,” -William Matovu, Country Director, Heifer International Uganda. The winners for the 2025 challenge were awarded a total of UGX 222 million in funding, with the overall winner receiving UGX 50 million to accelerate their agribusiness journey.
Among many participating Universities and Incubation Centres in Uganda, MUST has emerged the overall winner, after a long month of multi-stage competition. While officiating the ceremony, Hon. Dr. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, the Uganda’s State Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development in charge of Youth and Children Affairs, reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment “to creating an enabling environment for youth in innovation and agribusiness—through improved access to land and credit, investment in infrastructure, and Public-Private Partnerships”. He mentioned that this initiative aligns with Uganda’s Agro-Industrialization Strategy, which positions agriculture as a driver of manufacturing, trade, and inclusive national development.
While participating on the panel of experts “from ideas to impact”, Dr. Medard Twinamatsiko Katonera, the Director of Innovation and Technology Transfer at the Centre for Innovations at Technology Transfer (CITT), who led MUST innovators, emphasized the University’s commitment to “achieving a knowledge based economy by creating an enabling multidisciplinary environment for innovation, invention and commercialization of innovative ideas and products”. He appreciated
Heifer International and AYuTe Africa Challenge partners for financially supporting the youths to bring their ideas to life. He noted that MUST institutionalized the Innovation Ecosystem and has come up with a clear Innovation Pathway framework that focuses on starting from the most pressing societal problems to solutions but not the reverse.
MUST has for the last 3 years been the overall winner of the AYuTe Africa Innovation Challenge. In 2023, it was the Smart Kuku Brooder System while in 2024, it was the Egg Incubator System, which both offer timely solutions to reducing the chicken mortality.
We congratulate our own Aaron Etyang and Frank Magyezi Rubandamayonza for raising the MUST Flag high! Congratulations MUST! Congratulations CITT! Congratulations FAST! Succeed we MUST!
