Lilian Nantume – Leading Women Entrepreneurs by Example
February 24, 2023
Lilian Nantume is a Ugandan businesswoman behind the organization, Grooming a Successful Woman with Intellectual Mind (GSWIM), a grass-roots non-governmental organization that supports women in launching their own SMEs and protecting their intellectual property (IP) assets to enhance the market value of their products and services.
A journey to success paved with good intentions
Entrepreneurs in 2022 organized by WIPO
in collaboration with the Uganda
Registration Services Bureau and GSWIM.
(Photo: GSWIM)
In 2018, Lilian was selected to participate in the joint International Training Program on IP for Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) offered by the WIPO Division for LDCs (DLDC), the Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV), with the financial assistance of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). During the program, Lilian presented her project entitled “Awareness Creation on the Value of Intellectual Property as a Tool for Growth and Development to Women through GSWIM”, aiming to empower women entrepreneurs in her country to utilize the IP system, particularly for branding, product development and commercialization.
Shortly after the WIPO-PRV-Sida training program, the DLDC launched a flagship pilot project on “The Use of IP for Women Entrepreneurs in Uganda for Branding, Product Development and Commercialization”. Since 2021 and under the framework of this flagship project, the DLDC organized seven national workshops delivering mentorship, and in 2022 Lilian was engaged by DLDC for the project. Under the guidance of WIPO DLDC and with the support of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), she has provided mentorship through GSWIM and supported women register 70 trademarks for their products and services in Uganda.
Lilian started with an academic background in business administration but after landing her first job as a licensing manager at the Uganda Performing Rights Society, a collective management organization (CMO), she was introduced to the world of IP and pursued further IP education. She is a graduate of the Master’s Degree in IP jointly offered by the WIPO Academy, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), and Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe (class of 2014). Since graduating, Lilian has completed a wide range of WIPO Academy courses including the distance learning courses and the first edition of the IP Impact Certificate Course (IPCC) in 2017.
The WIPO courses and the Joint Master’s Program offered by WIPO, ARIPO and Africa University have been so educational and informative. The more IP knowledge I acquired, the more business ideas I developed, which I thought I could pass on to other women through establishing an empowerment organization based on IP for business development.
Lilian Nantume, Founder of GSWIM
Helping women entrepreneurs stay afloat with GSWIM
As the founder and managing director of GSWIM, Lilian trains local women on how to come up with unique business products that are competitive on the market and supports them in setting up SMEs that adopt IP portfolio management to help enhance the market value of their products and services. In 2018, she established GSWIM and successfully registered the trademark for it.
A group of women under Lilian’s mentorship making crackers locally known as Bagia for a group business. This is done after A GSWIM training on product development and the competitive advantage of IP knowledge.
(Photo: GSWIM)
A group of women who met through GSWIM making liquid detergent under a group business registered as, Esthero.
(Photo: GSWIM)
Through GSWIM women are supported to register a business name where they produce and sell local products, such as the Esthero liquid detergent, as a group business.
(Photo: GSWIM)
In 2020, she was able to register GSWIM as an organization in Uganda. Through GSWIM, Lilian has helped over 300 women in communities amplify their business opportunities by:
- incorporating IP in their businesses;
- increasing the sale of their products;
- contributing to alleviating poverty by creating local jobs; and
- providing opportunities for business networking opportunities and experience sharing to inspire other women entrepreneurs to exploit the potential of their business through IP protection.
My ultimate goal is to support women entrepreneurs through IP for business development in as many countries as possible through GSWIM. I really want to mobilize different communities through IP mentorship because IP is part of business – it is an essential tool for any business that wants to grow and I want women to be empowered by it.
Lilian Nantume, Founder of GSWIM
Lilian is also an aspiring fashion designer, and leading by example, she has launched her own business, a fashion line for office and casual wear she named Delly Fashion Line. She registered the brand Delly in 2021 with the Ugandan IP Office under the WIPO (DLDC), URSB & GSWIM project for women entrepreneurs in Uganda to set an example as the manager of the project. She plans on producing and exporting clothes for her fashion line across East Africa in 2023. Lilian is also planning on protecting her designs with ARIPO once she starts mass production.
Interested in building your IP knowledge and skills?
The WIPO Academy offers year-long opportunities for those wishing to develop their IP knowledge and skills through its Professional Development Program, Distance Learning courses, Joint Master’s Programs and WIPO Summer Schools.
To learn from our alumni and their experiences, please connect to our growing alumni community on LinkedIn by joining the WIPO Academy’s official “Academy Community”.
How WIPO supports Women Entrepreneurs in LDCs?
The WIPO DLDC is dedicated to supporting the 46 countries designated by the United Nations as LDCs. WIPO DLDC assists them to use IP in in support of innovation and creativity to address development challenges and to enhance their productive capacity and competitiveness. A number of tailor-made IP related projects targeting key stakeholders such as women, SMEs and youth are run by WIPO DLDC to help entrepreneurs, innovators and creators harness their potential through hands-on mentoring, support and training.
Following the successful implementation of the flagship project in Uganda, similar projects have been undertaken in Cambodia, Sudan and other LDCs. Through such projects WIPO DLDC is helping women entrepreneurs to harness the power of IP for their product development and commercialization, through a hands-on mentorship approach. LDCs interested in supporting their women entrepreneurs through IP are encouraged to contact the WIPO DLDC.