As Uganda’s creative economy continues to expand, stakeholders are increasingly exploring how intellectual property can unlock new financing opportunities for creatives.
On March 19, the Centre for Law, Policy and Innovation Initiative (CeLPII), in partnership with the Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA), will convene a high-level dialogue on Intellectual Property (IP)-Backed Lending at Motiv in Bugolobi. The roundtable will bring together actors from the creative, financial, legal, and policy sectors to examine how intellectual property can be leveraged as collateral for financing.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the creative economy encompasses knowledge-based activities that underpin the creative industries. These industries—commonly referred to as the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs)—span sectors such as fashion, creative technology, film, literature and publishing, music and performing arts, and visual arts and crafts.
Globally, CCIs represent a multi-trillion-dollar sector and are an increasingly significant source of employment and exports. Yet despite their economic potential, creatives often face significant barriers when seeking financing.
One emerging solution is intellectual property-backed lending, which allows creators to use the IP embedded in their works as collateral when accessing credit from financial institutions. Uganda’s Security in Movable Property Act (2019) already recognises intangible assets, including intellectual property, as valid forms of security.
However, adoption of this financing approach remains limited. Financial institutions often cite challenges such as unfamiliarity with IP valuation methods, difficulty incorporating intangible assets into credit risk models, uncertainty around the revenue streams of creative works—particularly digital content—and the absence of standardised documentation and registration systems for assets like copyrights.
These challenges have made it difficult for creatives in Uganda to leverage intellectual property for financing.
The upcoming roundtable aims to address this gap by creating space for cross-sector dialogue around the legal, policy, and institutional frameworks required to make IP-backed lending viable. Participants will explore valuation models relevant to Uganda’s creative economy, identify policy and institutional barriers to implementation, and propose practical steps toward operationalising the model.
The dialogue will also inform updates to national intellectual property policy and sector-level guidelines while strengthening collaboration between government institutions, financial institutions, IP practitioners, and creative industry stakeholders.
“The conversation around intellectual property and finance can no longer remain theoretical,” said Yiga Nalubega Vanessa, Research Assistant and Policy Coordinator at the KTA Centre for Law, Policy and Innovation Initiative.
“As the creative economy grows, there is a pressing need to examine how legal and institutional frameworks can support more practical financing pathways around intangible assets. What matters now is building clarity, confidence, and systems that can make IP-backed lending workable within our context.”
For creative sector advocates, the conversation also represents an opportunity to bridge a long-standing gap between creative value and financial recognition.
“We are excited to collaborate with CeLPII and other stakeholders to ensure creatives have the financial pathways needed for growth,” said Amanda Gowa, Community and Program Development Lead at the Africa Creatives Alliance.
“Every day we see creatives building work with real value, yet too often that value remains disconnected from the financial systems meant to support growth. This roundtable creates an important space to explore how intellectual property can be better understood, protected, and positioned within conversations about financing the creative economy.”
The discussions are expected to culminate in the formation of a multi-stakeholder Working Group composed of representatives from Uganda’s creative industries, financial institutions, and policy bodies. The group will continue the dialogue and develop practical recommendations that could feed into a pilot project enabling creatives to use intellectual property as collateral.
Reach A Hand Uganda (RAHU), a youth-centred NGO, will also participate in the dialogue, highlighting the importance of intellectual property for young people pursuing careers in the creative ecosystem.
The organisation’s involvement aligns with its Youth Empowerment, Livelihoods and Innovations (YLI) program area, which promotes economic justice through capacity-building initiatives such as the Ikon Awards Young Filmmakers’ Fellowship. The program underscores the need for practical mechanisms that allow young innovators to leverage intellectual property to access financing and grow their work.
