This innovative convening initiative, implemented in 2016 with USAID funding, created a dynamic marketplace connecting Ugandan innovators with USAID’s Feed the Future implementing partners to foster mutually beneficial linkages and accelerate agricultural innovation. The Innovation Bazaar emphasized reciprocal learning and partnership formation rather than just one-way pitching. The event design incorporated several innovative elements: pre-event matchmaking surveys to identify complementary interests between innovators and implementing partners; facilitated networking sessions using speed-dating formats to maximize connections; interactive demonstration stations where innovators could showcase working prototypes; and “collaboration canvas” workshops where participants co-designed potential partnership projects. The bazaar attracted over 150 participants including 40 innovators with solutions spanning agricultural productivity, post-harvest handling, market access, and financial inclusion, alongside representatives from 15 major USAID implementing partners working across Uganda’s agricultural value chains. 

The event also incorporated capacity-building elements, with workshops on partnership negotiation, intellectual property considerations in development contexts, and scaling pathways for agricultural innovations.