The Director of Operations at Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), Sylvia Owori, has called for urgent reforms in Uganda’s creative sector, warning that entrenched monopolistic practices and weak structural systems are limiting growth and restricting opportunities for artists and innovators.
Speaking at the launch of the Uganda One Festival 2026 in Kampala, Owori said the sector’s challenges are not driven by lack of talent, but by structural exclusion, fragmentation, and concentration of opportunities among a few dominant players.
“For too long, Uganda’s creative industry has been divided by extreme individualism and monopolistic tendencies that turned opportunity into private property and collaboration into rivalry,” Owori said.
She noted that many creatives including musicians, filmmakers, designers, and performers continue to miss opportunities due to weak access systems, limited collaboration structures, and lack of transparency in contracts and distribution frameworks.
Owori said sustainable growth in the creative economy will depend on coordinated systems that promote shared access, mentorship, and collective bargaining among industry stakeholders.
She cautioned that while monopolistic arrangements may benefit a few individuals in the short term, they ultimately weaken the broader ecosystem and undermine long-term industry sustainability.
“No creative industry anywhere in the world has thrived on isolation,” she said, citing Hollywood and Nollywood as examples of collaborative creative economies.
Owori added that unity in the sector should be understood as structured cooperation rather than uniformity, stressing the need for inclusive systems that allow wider participation.
She described the Uganda One Festival as a platform that could help advance a more organised and inclusive creative economy.
Organisers of the Uganda One Festival announced the opening of its 2026 edition, unveiling partners and launching nationwide exhibitor registration for creatives, entrepreneurs, and cultural practitioners.
The festival will run under the theme “We Are One,” with a focus on promoting culture, creativity, tourism, and enterprise development.
Registration for exhibitors opened on April 30 and will close on June 30, 2026. Selected participants will take part in regional activations before the national finale in Kampala.
Organisers said the festival will feature multiple sectors including fashion, music, performing arts, film and photography, visual arts and crafts, culinary arts and agro-processing, tourism and cultural heritage, innovation, and creative enterprise.
A key highlight will be Uganda One Fashion Week, which will showcase designers, models, stylists, and textile innovators as part of the national creative economy platform.
They said the festival is intended to support talent development, expand market access, and strengthen collaboration across Uganda’s creative and cultural industries.