Global University Business Club Limited

GUBCCo is the best avenue for universities to be entrepreneurial - intervening in improving societal well-being through replication into community and commercialisation of university-based students’ projects. Dwelling on this value proportion, GUBCCo will be cultivating reading culture using best written books on protecting, managing and restoring the ecosystems of universities' neighboring communities. Readers will be encouraged to design social business initiatives for ecosystems protection, managing and restoring.  GUBCCo's digital home is made in such a way that a subscriber has a shelf in which he/she can display up five initiatives of other subscribers.  The more one’s initiative appears on other subscribers' shelves, the more it rates  high in ranks. At the end of each a certain period, tentatively a month, GUBCCo will be picking the topmost five initiatives and supports them with the technical development financing needs of the initiative - with GUBCCo becoming a Co-Founder.

The problem is bi-polar. On one hand: Uganda's National State of the Environment Report, NSOER2018/19, outlined major hazards that are causing destruction in the different parts of the Country. It included  droughts, floods, hailstorm, landslides/mudslides; pests, diseases, human epidemics, accidents, fires, terrorism, displacement of persons, and human-animal conflicts—downplaying the NSOER2006/07's highlighted issues which are glaringly the biggest problem, including the threats from the brewing exploration and future production of oil, climate change, plastics' environmental degradation, to mention but a few. On the other hand: it is Uganda's/Africa's terribly poor reading culture on which the environmental degradation, hazards and disasters thrive. Prof Kanyeihamba, a prominent Ugandan books author makes the following observations on reading culture in Uganda.

“Unfortunately, Uganda, like many other countries, especially in the so-called developing world, does not have a reading culture … Millions of books, journals, periodicals and newspapers on both current affairs, better methods of governance and development are available … A nation which is characterised by those phenomena of illiteracy is doomed to be retarded in the modern world of technology and science” (Kanyeihamba, 2011:394)[1].

[1] Kanyeihamba G. W. (2011). The blessings and joy of being who you are.

The Two-Fold GUBCCo's Solution

1. Cultivating and nurturing reading culture: Carrying out live TV talk-shows -  focusing on students and graduates through:

a) Discussion - involving invited guests—including using latest technology of teleconferencing, especially, with prominent authors of books, publishing houses, book outlets, famed educationists and the like who may not have time to spare to  be physically in the live talk show's studio.  

b) Electrifying quiz- with viewers calling in live to win prizes by answering questions that test knowledge of themes in the early-on-ear-marked books  on environmental ecosystems. Thus, cultivating and nurturing reading culture with a motivation philosophy of being paid-for-reading a book.

2. An online presence – Readers will be encouraged to design initiatives for ecosystems protection, managing and restoring.  GUBCCo's digital home is made in such a way that a subscriber has a shelf in which he/she can display up five initiatives of other subscribers.  The more one’s initiative appears on other subscribers' shelves, the more it goes up in ranks. At the end of each month, GUBCCo will be picking the topmost five initiatives and supports them with the technical development financing needs of the initiative, with GUBCCo becoming a Co-Founder.

The Solution's Target Populations

Firstly, the target population are tertiary education students and graduates. Graduates are agonize under unemployment. This is because, notwithstanding the static job market and Uganda's/Africa's economy being hugely dominated by informal sector, universities and students have continued focusing on wage employment, explaining the disheartening graduate's unemployment in Uganda, raging at 87% (National Planning Authority (National Planning Authority, 2020) [2]. 

As in what ways will the solution impact their lives, is informed by Reverse Bloomy Learning Framework (RBLF)'s psychomotor domain, which refers to training the hands, or hands-on, which is learning by doing for gainful for gainful self-employment, in entrepreneurship clubs and hubs in universities. In Uganda, the universities' focus has been, and still is, focused on the traditional Bloomy taxonomy cognitive domain - that is training the mind. With Uganda's economy being hugely informal, the universities focus on cognitive domain has been and still is recipe for the disheartening graduates' unemployment. RBLF stresses the affective and psychomotor domains – the later emphasizing hands-on, which is the student's learning by doing, while the former lays emphasis on training the heart, that is,  "passion" and "compassion". The RBLF's affective and psychomotor domains  are the student and graduate readers' designed social business initiatives for ecosystems protection, managing and restoring. 

Secondly, the target population are universities - focusing on making Uganda's/Africa's universities entrepreneurial universities. Oxford has topped world’s best university for the fifth consecutive year, but the latest rankings show that it’s China's universities that are the rising stars of global higher education. Why? It is because they are the leading entrepreneurial universities in the world. 

Thirdly, the environment - in the reading culture cultivation drive, readers' designed social enterprise initiatives  will do justice to the ecosystems protection, managing restoring.

[2] Third National Development Plan (NDPIII) 2020/21 – 2024/25. P.57).

We in the era of knowledge economy, which challenges universities to be actively seen intervening in improving societal well-being! It starts with awareness creation about environmental concerns  in the communities through cultivating and nurturing a reading culture, focusing on the best books out there deliberating on the environmental ills in the ecosystem. How? By readers being paid for their reading. Then from environmental protection, management and restoration books read and deliberations of guest speakers invited, readers will be encouraged to come with projects and social enterprise initiatives to address ecosystem ills - projects and initiative focused on protection, managing restoring.

GUBCCo is a newly founded public limited company. Its founding was informed by Babyetsiza (2019)[1] and Babyetsiza et al. (2019) [2] – responding to these studies' recommendations. The process of GUBCCo's registration was started early 2020, but was extremely delayed by COVID-19, completing on 28-Jan-2021, with the issuance of the Certificate of Incorporation to GUBCCo on 22/01/2021. The Company is living laboratory for Babyetsiza's PhD study.

[1] Babyetsiza, J. (2019). Development of gainful self-employment skills amongst tertiary education graduates: perceptions, expectations and experiences at Ankole Western University in Uganda. Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance (AJPSDG), Vol. 2 No. 2 of Africa Management Development Institutes ’ Network (AMDIN). Retrievable from https://journals.co.za/content/journal/10520/EJC-1b11317bee

[2] Babyetsiza, J., Komwangi, D. & Twesigye, C.  (2019). Conference Paper presented at the 6th International [2]Conference on Social Sciences 2019 (ICOSS2019), on 19th –20th of September  in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Retrievable from  https://drive.google.com/file/d/16w3k68rEeO3EvH0U9mNcupy_d-29ccKH/view           

Apple, which is currently one of the world's top most profitable businesses in the world, producing iphones, but doesn't have factories of its own. It outsources the phones' manufacture to the likes of Amazon. GUBCCo has a kindred business model. The Club signs MOU with universities to use their facilities such as the Business Parks and libraries. 

GUBCCo carries on entrepreneurship mentoring of university–based students with business projects online. GUBCCo's digital home markets entrepreneurs' business initiative to mobilise funding as they are mentored entrepreneurially. 

Learning by doing GUBCCo's Business Model of university-based students’ business initiatives – being informed by Reverse Bloom’s Learning Framework (RBLF)'s psychomotor domain, which refers to training the hands, or hands-on experience, which is learning by doing for gainful self-employment, in entrepreneurship clubs and hubs in universities. In Uganda, the universities' focus has been, and still is, on the traditional Bloomy taxonomy cognitive domain - that is training the mind. With Uganda's economy being hugely informal, the universities focus on cognitive domain only has been the recipe for the disheartening graduates' unemployment. RBLF deployed in GUBCCo's production model stresses the affective and psychomotor domains – thereby emphasizing hands-on, which is student's learning by doing – Figure below. The affective domain lays emphasis on training the heart, that is,  "passion" and "compassion".

Currently, GUBCCo target communities and populations of universities and other tertiary educations Uganda. According to National Council for  Higher Education (NCHE, 2000), Uganda has 53 universities, both public and private; and 176 tertiary education institutions - altogether with over five million people out of the country's currently over 40 million people. 

In one year's time, GUBCCo will have became a sought-after Club among higher education institutions in Uganda and globally - with hordes (millions) of students and rest of the university communities. 

In the next five years, GUBCCo will be a truly attractive initiative in many universities a cross the Global. For instance, a paper entitled "Learning by doing in Global University Business Club Limited: Lessons from entrepreneurial university model in China"  is slated to be presented at the  8th of International Conference on Social Sciences 2021 – (ICOSS 2021) which will be held from 14th– 15th October 2021 in Malaysia.

Measuring GUBCCo's progress toward her impact goals is through following

For reading culture,

• Viewership of the Live TV sessions
• Stream of calls to calling in for quizzes to win prizes
• Rating by Guest speakers and viewers
• Number of university communities, students; academic and management, engaged
• Interventions in improving societal well-being through university-community/industry cooperation
• Activeness of GUBCCo clubs in the universities
• Number of  business ideas and projects generated and uploaded the digital facility
• Level of engaging visitors to the digital facilities by Business Projects initiators to engage
• Number of mentored business projects/entrepreneurs, who will be demanded to subscribe/pay subscription
• Robustness, activeness and growth GUBCCo SACCO Scheme
• Number of students' projects financed by GUBCCo SACCO Scheme—with GUBCCo becoming a Co-founder.
• Richness of MOU entered into with higher educational institutions
•  Intellectual property rights policy  and its workability
• Level of university communities engagement
• The digital facility traffic
• GUBCCo SACCO Scheme/Fund portfolios
• Number of Universities' facilities available for GUBCCo.
• The engagingness of GUBCCo Website/digital facility
• Robustness of GUBCCo SACCO Scheme/Fund for financing the best students' projects, which rank high on the digital facility.
• Number of subscribers of account holders at the digital facility
• Proceeds from entrepreneurial mentoring programmes
• Interest from loan facilities given to the best/high ranking projects that are selected and financed by GUBCCo
• Dividends  from shares/holdings in the above said initiatives 

Two full time

Four part time

A number of students volunteers.

Table 1: Showing the Directors/promoters/resource personsMs (Personal details, Qualifications, Experience)

Name

Role

Key skills & experiences they will contribute to making the innovation a success

Mr. Julius Babyetsiza (PhD Candidate) – a Makerere University PhD student; and a Lecturer at Ankole Western University, Uganda

Managing Director (Full time)

The business idea initiator - conceived GUBCCo being informed by his PhD research.

Prof. Firimooni Banugire – a Don at Bishop Stuart University, Uganda

Adviser (Part time)

Babyetsiza’s like-mind and mentor – a Development Economics and Community Management Expert, with a “Village Economy Initiative[1]”.

Mr. Derrick Komwangi – a Lecturer at Ankole Western University, Uganda

HRM Manager (Part time)

Monitoring and Evaluation with two Masters Degrees: Management science (M&E); and Socioeconomics and Community Management (MSECM).

Counsel Mubiru Philip

The Company Secretary and the Intellectual Property (IP) Manager  (Part time)

A law advocate

Dr Namanye Ezrah (PhD)

Senior Lecturer at Makerere University and GUBCCo resource person (Part time)

Environment professional and expert.

Ms. Everlyn Alupo

Assistant Managing Director (Full time)

Social Economist.

Student volunteers/interns support staff

Operations resource persons (Part time)

• Students in internships or carrying on research projects from which they have conceived business projects or initiatives

[1] Banugire, F. R. (2017). The role of universities in sustainable rural development: towards a knowledge intermediation model of university community outreach programs. ICOSS217, TIIKM,  Retrievable from http://tiikmpublishing.com/proceedings/index.php/icoss/article/view/300

Our approach to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive leadership team is GUBCCo's key partners, the university communities - it goes without saying that the universities are bedrocks of knowledge creation and management and skills development. 

Key Partners
 Students 
 Lecturers
 Entrepreneurship clubs
 Entrepreneurship hubs
 Industrial parks
 Universities themselves
 Other tertiary education institutions
 Enthusiastic entrepreneurial   graduates and people elsewhere in the society
 GUBCCo's support partners, such as Internet Service Providers, Banks, and the like
 Government

Relationships

 Entering into MOU with each university/higher educational institution to have GUBCCo as one of the clubs in the university; and 
 Intellectual property rights policy

BUBCCo is applying to solver, seeking support with the three of the following  technical development financing needs:

1) The complex digital home of GUBCCo.

2) Capitalization of GUBCCo SACCO Scheme

3) Resource motivation for reading culture cultivation 

For financial, as earlier along and above indicated:

I am applying to solver seeking support with the three of the barrier that I have indicated: 1) The complex digital home of GUBCCo; 2) Capitalization of GUBCCo SACCO Scheme; and 3) Resource motivation for reading culture cultivation.

For Public Relations; and Product / Service Distribution, supporting GUBCCo reach to her key partners, especially, university leaders.

For Technology, support GUBCCo come with best digital facility for her trades.

The organisations GUBCCo would like to partner with, are universities - big and small; and in Uganda as well as cross the global.

Universities are the most rich caches of resource with solutions for every problem through researches and knowledge translation. Replication into community and commercialisation of students’ university-based projects, the initiatives will come from all walks of live, including innovation  for solutions that advance the economic, financial, and political inclusion of refugees.

Universities are the most rich caches of resource people with solutions for every problem through researches and knowledge translation. Replication into community and commercialisation of students’ university-based projects, the initiatives will come from all walks of live, including  innovations in creating smart, safe, and sustainable communities around the world.

Universities are the most rich caches of resource people with solutions for every problem through researches and knowledge translation. Replication into community and commercialisation of students’ university-based projects, the initiatives will come from all walks of live, including innovations that advance the needs of women and girls, and that promote a world where women’s voices can be celebrated.

Universities are the most rich caches of resource people with solutions for every problem through researches and knowledge translation. Replication into community and commercialisation of students’ university-based projects, the initiatives will come from all walks of live, including Innovation to help improve fisheries monitoring, eliminate illegal fishing and forced labor, and increase supply chain integrity through improving fisheries monitoring, eliminating illegal fishing and forced labor, and increasing supply chain integrity.

Universities are the most rich caches of resource people with solutions for every problem through researches and knowledge translation. Replication into community and commercialisation of students’ university-based projects, the initiatives will come from all walks of live, including innovation to develop, share, and replicate best practices for carbon absorption and decarbonization.

Replication into community and commercialisation of students’ university-based projects, the initiatives will come from all walks of live, including innovation leveraging data science, artificial intelligence, and/or machine learning to benefit humanity.