Yesterday, Startup Digest Africa Founder, Peter Kisadha Malinz, and Stephen Tumwesigye, a partner at Taslaf Advocates and Consultants, met to discuss and later agree to a partnership to offer free legal advice to Ugandan startups courtesy of the firm's probono program.
Both parties are excited about the partnership because it comes at a time when few startup founders in Uganda know who the right legal person or firm to approach. It is also a time when technology entrepreneurs are on the rise yet few lawyers or firms have the knowledge and experience to address the challenges this rise is presenting.
Worth noting is also the fact that while as some startups may know who to approach, they can not afford to foot such expenses. That's why we hope that this partnership can help solve such challenges.
With experience offering legal services to startup ecosystem players like Acumen and Village Energy, TASLAF is no-doubt the right partner. For Startup Digest Africa, this is one of the first steps it is taking in ensuring the Ugandan startup ecosystem is connected to support startup founders to easily build self-sustaining companies.
The two parties are looking at relaying the advice through three formats. The first will be through a monthly article written by the firm addressing any startup legal issues or clarify on any legal knowledge gaps in the Ugandan startup ecosystem.
The first will be through a monthly article written by the firm addressing any startup legal issues or clarify on any legal knowledge gaps in the Ugandan startup ecosystem.
The second will be through a monthly Startup Clinic which will see startups get face-to-face answers to their unanswered questions by partners or associates from the firm. The clinic will also feature other contributors like Banks, Accountancy firms, HR firms, Marketing and PR firms etc. The aim is to see that Ugandan startups can access services that are crucial to their survival - which they can not afford - for free at least once a month.
The third and last is through organizing occasional legal hackathons aimed at helping them understand their legal obligations.
In case you’re a startup looking for legal advice, you can send an email to [email protected]