For Joan Rukundo Nalubega, malaria was never an abstract public health challenge.
Growing up in an orphanage in Uganda, she spent much of her childhood battling the disease herself. At night, she would prop up mosquito nets with sticks to keep them from collapsing while she slept. Years later, after a close friend lost her child to malaria, those experiences became impossible to ignore.
Rather than accept malaria as a reality of life, Joan began asking a different question: what would it take to prevent it?
That question became the foundation of Uganics Repellents Ltd., a preventive health company dedicated to making malaria protection more accessible for African families.
Building Prevention, Not Just Treatment
Joan founded Uganics in 2016 with just $30 to cover transportation for field research. Starting with a single product, the company has grown into a preventive health ecosystem offering malaria protection and sanitation solutions tailored to local communities.
Today, Uganics produces a range of products including repellents, creams, lotions, sprays, oils, soaps, and sanitation products designed to help families protect themselves before illness occurs.
The venture reflects a simple but often overlooked idea: some of the most effective health interventions happen before a patient ever reaches a clinic.
Scaling Impact Across Communities
Over the past eight years, Uganics has expanded its reach across eight countries, serving more than 4.5 million people and helping over 300,000 households access subsidized malaria prevention products.
Participating households have reported malaria case reductions of nearly 90%, demonstrating the impact that locally developed prevention strategies can have when designed around community needs.
What began as one young woman’s response to a problem she understood personally has evolved into a venture improving health outcomes for millions. In recognition of her work, Joan was named to the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 Class of 2026, joining a new generation of African entrepreneurs building solutions with both commercial potential and social impact.
Learning to Build Solutions
As a student in the Entrepreneurial Leadership programme at African Leadership University’s Rwanda campus, graduating in 2025 with First Class Honours, Joan further developed the entrepreneurial mindset that continues to shape Uganics today.
The programme challenged her to think beyond identifying problems and focus on building sustainable solutions capable of creating long-term impact.
That combination of lived experience, entrepreneurial thinking, and commitment to community has helped transform Uganics from an early-stage idea into one of Africa’s emerging health ventures.
The ALU Philosophy
Across Africa, many of the most transformative innovations are being built by people who understand the challenges they are solving because they have lived them.
At African Leadership University, students are encouraged to turn personal experiences into opportunities for impact, combining leadership, entrepreneurship, and practical action to address complex challenges.
Joan’s journey demonstrates what becomes possible when purpose is paired with the skills, confidence, and support needed to build solutions that extend far beyond the classroom.