Innovex Scales Up Manufacturing as it Eyes Growth
Douglas Baguma, Founder and CEO, Innovex, talks to World Business Journal about the company’s market share in the local business environment, as its internet of things technology solution, REMOT penetrates beyond Uganda, and into the EAC.
What inspired Innovex’s inception, and what range of services does the company presently offer?
Innovex’s journey began with a vision to bridge Africa’s technology gap, as there are very few technology products that are made in Africa and sold to the rest of the world. Founded in 2015, we are a Ugandan company that aims to spur Africa’s socio-economic transformation through the development of novel technologies. Innovex’s competencies include embedded systems, connected devices, web and software development, and wireless communication technologies. We entered the market with a homegrown internet of things (IoT) solution. This IoT solution, REMOT, offers after-sales service support; remote monitoring and controlling solar photovoltaic systems and equipment; and supporting preventative maintenance and repair activities. To date, REMOT has been used in eight African countries by solar companies and solar energy researchers.
Working with the Carbon Trust, a UK headquartered climate expert partner, under the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) programme, Innovex has established a local surface-mount technology and plastic manufacturing facility for its products. This establishment seeks to ensure local value addition by providing better job opportunities for local product developers in the solar energy space while increasing accessibility to produce spare parts.
REMOT helps solar businesses, non-governmental organisations and other solar players solve problems around the operation, efficiency and maintenance of their solar installations. We work with over 60 companies in Uganda, these include Village Energy, Solar Nation, All in Trade and Aptech Africa, and also with programmes in Kenya, Nigeria, DRC, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania like E4I, Clasp, and Vodafone.
Additionally, we assist partners like GIZ and USAID in verifying installations and monitor critical equipment, such as the Ministry of Health’s oxygen plants, to prevent failures. We also offer customised hardware and software solutions within a three-month turnaround. With our move into local electronics manufacturing supported by the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Secretariat, we are progressing towards becoming contract manufacturers.
Initially funded by the UK government, our transition to local manufacturing has been fruitful. Collaborating with the government of Uganda, we are relocating to an industrial park by year-end 2023. This partnership with government will increase our production capacity to 20,000 units per year, while benefitting from a number of governmental initiatives that are aimed at promoting local value addition, import substitution and employment creation. We will later scale up the manufacturing facility with equipment of bigger capacity.
How did partnerships aid Innovex during its initial growth period and throughout the company’s continuous growth?
The partnerships have played a pivotal role, securing over $1m in funding through grants, debt and equity. Initial collaborations began during our early stages of growth with government programmes, and over time, Innovex has been a part of a number of programmes, such as Efficiency for Access, TEA, Water and Energy for Food, Innovate UK, Netherlands Trust Fund IV programme and Mandela Washington Fellowship programme. Through these initiatives, Innovex has received financial and non-financial support from organisations, such as FCDO, USAID, GIZ, IKEA Foundation, International Trade Centre and OVO Foundation, as well as with Belgium, the US Department of State and the government of Uganda. Each of these opportunities have enabled commercialisation and business development for our product.
How did your innovation journey translate into deploying successful, market-ready solutions?
Our journey started with a government initiative while at Makerere University, notably the Presidential Innovations Fund for College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology. This led to early exposure to robotics and embedded systems, shaping our expertise. Later, in 2019, a government grant allowed engineer training to take place in Belgium and equipment procurement for our electronics lab. Continued support from various government programmes including favourable taxation policies for equipment import, has fuelled our local manufacturing initiatives. As entrepreneurs, we thrive on challenges, particularly in changing perceptions surrounding African technology. Although the shift, especially in hardware, is difficult, it is also incredibly rewarding and inspiring for others, to tackle such a significant problem.
Could you outline the company’s objectives over the next two years?
For REMOT, we have recognised a significant demand among development partners and organisations in the energy access subsector for verifying and monitoring the impact of their investments. Discussions with the World Bank in handling a $600m energy access programme in Uganda, highlight the need for real-time verification during installations and ensuring sustained value afterwards. Over the next two years, we aim to assist these partners in verifying and monitoring the impact of their investments, including metrics such as the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Additionally, REMOT offers an opportunity in mitigating risk for financial institutions that invest in energy access businesses. By ensuring the quality of our equipment, our solution minimises the risk associated with loans for installing such equipment, while preventing non-performing loans that occur because of equipment failure. Our goal within local manufacturing is to establish Innovex as the primary electronics manufacturer across Africa, as we also aim to become the preferred local electronics manufacturing service provider.
