What happens when a government policy leader, four ambitious founders and mentors from Japan share one virtual room? On 30 September 2026, the Africa-Asia Venture Bridge answered that question with big ideas, honest advice and the first steps toward real partnerships.Startup Kano created the Venture Bridge for a simple reason: African founders are building real solutions every day, but too often lack the visibility and access to investors and partners they need to grow beyond their home markets. After the Nigerian edition, the Uganda Session turned the spotlight on East Africa under the theme "Emerging East African Innovation Opportunities."
Setting the Scene: Uganda's Moment
Opening the conversation was Vincent Okema, Senior MSME Expert at Uganda's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. With over 20 years of experience in enterprise development and innovation policy, and as Deputy Chair of the Technical Committee on Uganda's National Start-up Policy, he has had a hand in shaping the very ecosystem he described.His message to Asian investors was clear: Uganda is a destination with real momentum in agritech, fintech, mobility and clean energy, and the opportunity grows with regulatory clarity and strong partnerships.
Four Startups, Four Big Ideas
Feyti Medical Group
GETTING LIFE-SAVING MEDICINES TO MARKET FASTER
Getting a medicine approved in Africa can mean a maze of regulators, languages and paperwork. Feyti's AIcyclinder platform cuts through it, taking a medicine from regulatory dossier to approval and keeping it compliant afterward, with automated dossier preparation, translation, regulatory intelligence and drug safety reporting. Working with established pharmaceutical companies, Feyti's ambition is to become the leading AI-powered contract research organization, so that medicines reach patients sooner.
Afriplastrec
BUILDING WITHOUT CUTTING DOWN FORESTS
On Ugandan building sites, timber formwork is used once and thrown away, and forests pay the price. Afriplastrec has a smarter idea: the Modular Carbon Offset Board, a reusable, snap-together panel made from recycled plastic and biomass waste. It installs faster, leaves less waste on site and can be recycled at the end of its life. Offered on a rentals-first basis to mid-sized contractors and hardware stores, it was co-created with Japanese recycled materials expertise from partner Heiwa Kagaku.
FXLens
FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN TRUST
Markets are open to everyone, but understanding them is another story. FXLens brings AI-powered market analysis, financial education, a personal AI financial agent, Shariah-conscious Islamic finance intelligence and a blockchain-based trust layer together in one platform, so a new generation of investors can decide with clarity instead of noise. Born from financial market education in Kano Nigeria, it has its sights set on Africa and the Middle East.
CORE
AI THAT WARNS YOU BEFORE IT FAILS
Most AI does not announce when it is about to get things wrong. It simply does, quietly. CORE changes that. It is a physics-based early-warning layer that watches how stable an AI system's understanding of a scene is, and flags the exact relationships about to become unreliable before failure occurs, so a human or a backup system can step in. It works alongside the vision systems teams already use, with no costly migration, and is being applied to media and compliance, surveillance and robotics, beginning with surveillance.
Voices from Asia Japan.
Listening closely to every pitch were mentors from Japan. Jun Kojima, Director at ANT Capital, Japan, and co-creator of the series, was joined by Tadashi Nakai, a commodities and energies expert based in Japan, and Yoshiki Chijiwa, a former venture capitalist based in Tokyo who has been involved with tech startup ecosystems and programs such as 500 Global's VC Unlocked: Tokyo.Their advice was refreshingly practical: tell a clear market story, show the product in action, and back it up with evidence of traction. Vincent added his own challenge to the founders: bring concrete examples and measurable results.
Beyond the Webinar
This is where the bridge starts carrying traffic. The startups that pitched are now being introduced to potential partners, with further collaboration discussions to follow.The journey continues with the next country sessions in Egypt and Zambia, and Startup Kano has announced plans for a virtual venture studio and more engagement sessions in the first quarter of next year.
Thank you to our Uganda Ecosystem partners, our mentors, the founders and everyone who joined us. Stay tuned for the next stop on the Venture Bridge.
