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Building Africa's Policy Future: Inside the Vision Behind the African Policy Toolkit
Gerald Kombo
October 13, 2025
Keneth Twesigye (left), Board Member at Large for AfriLabs and CEO of TechBuzz Hub, among delegates at the 10th AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Nairobi, Kenya, October 2025.
A 254 Report Exclusive
The AfriLabs Affiliate Programme bit.ly/AAPdwnld serves as the foundation for connecting technology hubs, startups, and innovation centers across Africa to resources, networks, and opportunities that drive ecosystem growth. This membership framework provides unlimited access to the AfriLabs network, discounts on services, and creates the collaborative infrastructure upon which transformative initiatives like the African Policy Toolkit are built.
At the 10th AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Nairobi, Keneth Twesigye, Board Member at Large for AfriLabs and CEO of TechBuzz Hub, sat down for an exclusive interview to share the complete vision behind the African Policy Toolkit, an initiative that could transform how policies are created, adopted, and implemented across the continent's innovation ecosystem.
Twesigye, who was elected to the AfriLabs board in Cape Town last year despite visa challenges preventing his physical attendance, has made policy advocacy one of his three pillars of work alongside value generation for members and sustainability. His journey from Nyarushanje, Rukungiri in Uganda to leading one of Africa's most ambitious policy initiatives reflects the transformative potential he envisions for the continent.
Solving Africa's Fragmentation Crisis
The inspiration for the African Policy Toolkit emerged from four fundamental challenges plaguing the continent's innovation ecosystem.
"Fragmentation is our biggest problem; different policies everywhere, and we don't know how they coordinate."
This fragmentation creates a cascade of issues: policies aren't coordinating, innovators aren't coordinating, and the entire ecosystem operates in silos.
The second major challenge is data accessibility. "We do not have access to data simply because maybe our policies are not prioritizing that issue," he explained. Third is what he describes as a communication gap: entrepreneurs and governments don't speak the same language, making it difficult for innovators to access support even when it's available. The fourth challenge revolves around limited support structures that could help startups scale effectively.
These systemic issues have real world consequences. Twesigye shared his experience trying to influence policy in Uganda:
"If the top person is traditional or doesn't very well understand innovation, technology, AI and stuff like that, they will always tell you, 'No, we need to focus on things that are moving SMEs.'"
This disconnect between policymakers and innovators creates barriers that the toolkit aims to dismantle.
Macro Meets Micro: A Dual Level Approach
What distinguishes the African Policy Toolkit from conventional policy frameworks is its dual level approach. At the macro level, it addresses national and regional policies affecting innovation ecosystems across Africa. But the micro level is where Twesigye sees untapped potential.
"When you ask a business what policies they have that govern their operations, they'll quickly tell you they have a fire policy or gender policy; just picking things from their head. But on the ground, these policies don't exist or aren't being used."
The toolkit will provide playbooks for strategic plans, operational manuals, and other organizational policies that drive institutional growth.
These aren't meant to be "another form of document" sitting unused in filing cabinets.
"We're calling them playbooks so that it's easy to understand, not only by the owner but the entire organizational structure, from high level to low level management."
The playbooks will be templates that organizations can customize through collaborative internal processes, ensuring ownership and actual implementation.
The Power of Participatory Development
Community participation forms the backbone of the toolkit's legitimacy.
"We're taking a participatory approach to make sure that the policy toolkit contains the challenges we are facing every day in our different institutions."
Throughout the AfriLabs Annual Gathering, attendees encountered QR codes linking to a 15 minute questionnaire designed to capture ground level realities.
"We don't want to create policies that get copied and pasted from one country to another. We're good at creating policies but not good at implementation. So we don't want that to happen. We want to create policies that speak to people."
The participatory approach ensures that when the toolkit launches, adoption becomes easier because contributors have ownership. "If you contribute and you're part of the process, it becomes easier for you to adopt," he reasoned.
Champions: The Key to Policy Transformation
Perhaps the most strategic element of the African Policy Toolkit is its focus on identifying and empowering policy champions. The questionnaire specifically asks participants to identify who is influencing policy in their countries, information that Twesigye describes as critical for operationalization.
"Champions could be the first conveners we need. When voices have been collected from entrepreneurs, development partners, hubs, and so on, this information should be adoptable by governments."
These champions can bridge the gap between traditional policymakers and the innovation community.
From his experience in Uganda, Twesigye works with champions like James Makula, who chairs the National Start up Technical Working Group and leads the Committee on Startup Policy Development, and Eric Sempa, who collaborates with the Private Sector Foundation. There's also Vincent Okema, a public policy expert and ecosystem builder, Martin Maku, and Dr. Joshua Mutambi, Commissioner for Processing and Marketing at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, who is "still trying to process the work," Twesigye noted diplomatically.
"Champions who can sit at the table with traditional policymakers; people who believe in them; can tell them, 'Yeah, we're being left behind.' That is why identifying them is important, because at the end of the day, they are the people who will lead advocacy."
A Pan African Solution for Continental Challenges
The toolkit's pan African approach addresses challenges at regional, national, and individual levels simultaneously.
"If different countries contribute to this toolkit, they are already divided into different regions. So it means that issues are going to be raised at regional level and at country level, as well as maybe at the personal, individual level."
This multilayered approach enables countries to identify similar challenges and opportunities for collaboration. "If countries are able to identify challenges they're facing, it becomes easier for us to make recommendations on how, for example, trade can happen between each other," he said.
The toolkit will also help unify certain elements across national policies. "Even when Uganda gets to have a startup policy or startup Act, or Kenya or Tanzania or any other country, there are certain things that are going to be similar," Twesigye noted. "That will ease an element of collaboration."
For neighboring countries, the benefits compound.
"When you contribute to the African Policy Toolkit, you're not just supporting your own country; you're supporting neighboring countries, entrepreneurs at the grassroots level across the continent."
Tackling Bureaucracy Through Smart Design
One of the toolkit's most practical applications addresses bureaucratic inefficiencies that drive African startups to register in jurisdictions like Delaware. "Today, if someone wants to register a business, they would rather choose to register it in Delaware, where they know things like dispute resolutions and testing environments are available," Twesigye said.
The toolkit will advocate for Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms tailored to the fast paced nature of startup ecosystems.
"If you don't have them, the startup ecosystem fails to function very well. If I had a dispute with a startup I invested in and you tell me I have to go through normal processes that will take three years, my money at that point would have made 10 times the same amount maybe elsewhere."
On data access, the solution involves a user friendly platform that consolidates policy information.
"The policy is going to come with a platform which clearly highlights the different policies that exist in different countries. It's just a matter of getting to this maybe very nicely UX designed platform and checking where you want to; if it's your country; get to understand which policies speak to you without necessarily having to go through an entire document."
Playbooks That Drive Real Change
The toolkit's organizational playbooks represent a shift from traditional policy documents to actionable templates. "Most of these playbooks are not a one size fits all," Twesigye clarified. "Some of the tools that will come are just templates which you just need to plug in and maybe customize."
But customization is mandatory, not optional.
"We want to put everything so you will just download and say, 'This is mine'? No, it has to have guidance where you have to engage your company members or staff to help you develop something they understand. Because again, it comes back to collaboration. People you work with have to own something that has been theirs."
This approach ensures that policies become living documents rather than shelf decorations. "If I don't own it, if I do not contribute in the development of the real information in there, then it won't be mine," Twesigye reasoned.
A Vision for Ten Countries, Then the Continent
As Board Member at Large for AfriLabs, Twesigye's ultimate vision for the toolkit is both ambitious and measurable. When he contested for his role last year, his manifesto focused on three major areas: policy, how members generate value from AfriLabs, and sustainability for businesses and hubs.
"One year down the road, having done great work on those three areas, I feel like an Africanized policy toolkit is going to accelerate adoption of startup policies. And what does adoption mean? Adoption means capacity building, understanding, empowerment."
The toolkit creates opportunities for comprehensive training across the continent. "Anyone who gets this toolkit and believes in the power it has will take time to understand, to learn, to benchmark," he predicted. Working with champions from the AfriLabs network and newly identified advocates, the initiative aims to build policy literacy at scale.
His success metric is clear:
"At the end of the day, seeing maybe 10 countries start their work as a result of this toolkit; that will definitely mean great success for AfriLabs and the Africa policy advocate."
This target aligns with broader momentum in African policy reform. Uganda's proposed three year income tax holiday for citizen owned startups, effective July 2025, exemplifies the kind of policy innovation the toolkit aims to replicate and improve upon. Similar initiatives across the continent demonstrate growing recognition that supportive policy environments are essential for innovation ecosystems to thrive.
For Keneth Twesigye, the African Policy Toolkit represents more than a framework; it's a movement to ensure that African solutions, developed by Africans, address African challenges with the full participation of Africa's innovation community. Those interested in contributing or learning more can reach Twesigye at [email protected] or [email protected].
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