KAMPALA, Uganda — Universities across Uganda have been recognised for developing innovative and affordable housing solutions aimed at addressing the country’s growing housing deficit, with Kyambogo University emerging as the overall winner of the 2026 University Students Affordable Housing Design Competition.
The awards, held at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Thursday, brought together students and academic institutions participating in a competition organised by Habitat for Humanity Uganda (HFHU), with support from the Citi Foundation.
Students from Makerere University, Kyambogo University, International University of East Africa (IUEA), Uganda Martyrs University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) presented designs seeking to make decent housing more affordable, sustainable and adaptable to Uganda’s urban and rural communities.
Rather than simply identifying a single winning idea, the competition recognised innovations from across the participating institutions, reflecting the organisers’ emphasis on developing a wider pool of young professionals capable of responding to Uganda’s housing challenge.
Kyambogo University was awarded the overall prize, while one of the standout innovations came from students at IUEA, who developed a housing solution estimated to cost Shs13.2 million.
The IUEA design focused on affordability, sustainability and user comfort, demonstrating how students can combine technical knowledge with practical considerations to produce housing concepts suited to low-income households.
The competition targeted students in architecture, engineering, construction and related disciplines, challenging them to develop housing solutions based on affordability, technical feasibility, environmental sustainability, creativity and the innovative use of locally available building materials.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Minister of State for Housing, Princess Persis Namuganza, congratulated all participating universities and institutions, saying their involvement was important in generating new ideas for one of Uganda’s pressing development challenges.
She said bringing major universities into the competition was not only about identifying the best minds, but also about harnessing the energy of young people to find practical solutions to housing poverty.
“Bringing on board major Universities in the country does not only help us get top minds and innovative ideas but also brings on board young and dynamic energies to find solutions and contribute to affordable housing design solutions facing the country,” Namuganza said.
She said the innovations were particularly relevant as Uganda’s population grows and demand for housing increases in both urban and rural areas.
Namuganza also commended the competition for incorporating gender considerations, including safety, accessibility and privacy in housing design, as well as considerations for water, sanitation and land.
She urged the participating students not to regard the awards as the end of their work.
“These Awards do not mean that you have done what is enough and can relax,” she said. “These awards appreciate and recognise your contribution, and we believe that they will galvanise you to do more and improve the conditions of our informal settlements.”
From university projects to real homes
Habitat for Humanity Uganda National Director Paul Okiring said the competition was intended to move student innovation beyond classrooms and academic assessment towards solutions that can eventually improve people’s lives.
He described decent housing as a basic human need and a foundation for health, education, economic opportunity and community development.
“The true value of your work will be measured not by today’s applause, but by the lives it improves tomorrow,” Okiring told the students.
He said Habitat for Humanity Uganda would continue working with universities, government, the private sector and development partners to turn promising ideas into practical housing solutions.
The organisation said several of the winning and recognised concepts will now be refined into demonstration housing units, allowing the designs to be tested and showcased for possible adoption by developers, policymakers and communities.
The designs will also be shared with government institutions, industry players and development partners to encourage wider adoption of affordable housing technologies.
Housing challenge requires new ideas
Uganda’s housing challenge has been driven by rapid population growth, urbanisation, rising construction costs and limited access to affordable housing finance.
Habitat for Humanity Uganda is responding by promoting innovative construction technologies, strengthening housing systems and encouraging market-driven approaches that can expand access to decent housing for low-income households.
The competition forms part of the Addressing Homelessness through Market-Driven Approaches Project, supported by the Citi Foundation.
In 2024, the Citi Foundation committed US$500,000 to Habitat for Humanity Uganda through its Global Innovation Challenge to support efforts addressing homelessness and housing insecurity.
Citi Uganda Chief Executive Officer Sarah Arapta said collaboration between financial institutions, civil society, academia and government was essential if Uganda was to address its housing needs sustainably.
“While large-scale infrastructure projects drive macroeconomic progress, the ultimate measure of development is the dignity and economic mobility of our citizens, and decent housing is the cornerstone of that dignity,” Arapta said.
She said the partnership was intended to bridge the gap between academic innovation and commercial viability, allowing student designs to develop into scalable models capable of attracting private investment and policy support.
Innovation beyond the classroom
Habitat for Humanity Uganda Board Chairperson Robert Kaggwa Nsibirwa said the competition demonstrated the importance of investing in young innovators while confronting a housing problem that affects families and communities across the country.
“Housing is more than shelter. It is the foundation for better health, quality education, economic opportunity and resilient communities,” Nsibirwa said.
He urged partners in government, academia and the private sector to support the transition of promising designs from concepts into actual housing solutions.
The organisation is also mobilising resources to construct a home for Ms Miriyat Nakanabi, whose family was affected by the Government’s wetland eviction exercise in Wakiso District, highlighting the human dimension of Uganda’s housing challenges.
For the participating universities, the competition provided students with an opportunity to work on a problem that extends beyond academic requirements.
While Kyambogo University took the overall prize, the recognition of innovations from Makerere University, IUEA, Uganda Martyrs University and MUST underscores the broader objective of the initiative: creating a generation of architects, engineers and construction professionals equipped to design housing that ordinary Ugandans can afford.
The next step, organisers said, is to ensure that the strongest ideas do not remain on paper, but are refined, tested and ultimately translated into homes and communities.
