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The purpose of this study is to examine institutional framing for entrepreneurship in a sub‐Saharan context and provide policy input required in solving the daunting problem of the existing low levels and high failure rate of business start‐ups in Uganda.

Data were collected from a sample of 659 SMEs from two districts of Uganda in Jinja and Mukono which were scientifically selected for this study. Appropriate analytical data techniques were applied.

Results reveal the presence of implicit regulative, explicit regulative, constitutive cognitive and normative institutions which affect entrepreneurial activities in Uganda. These findings and their policy implications are fully discussed in the paper.

This research parallels the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2004 study that reports high total entrepreneurship activity (TEA) from Uganda and presents the importance of understanding the institutional framing for entrepreneurship. There is a paucity of research addressing institutional framing for entrepreneurship from a sub‐Saharan context, creating a need to study and systematically document the prevailing supporting institutions as a framework for promoting entrepreneurship in Uganda.

The purpose of this paper is to provide policy and managerial implications required in solving the daunting problem of the existing low-entrepreneurial capital in Uganda.

A large-scale comprehensive survey using a sample of 11,105 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from 40 high-growth towns was selected and undertaken from five regions of Uganda. The response rate was 40.5 per cent, translating into 4,498 usable questionnaires.

Results reveal that institutional framing, entrepreneurship human capital and entrepreneurial moral values predict entrepreneurship capital in Uganda. These results are presented and discussed in detail in this paper.

The study applied a cross-sectional approach to study behaviour, yet studying behaviour requires time. Therefore, there is need for scholars to undertake a follow up study to test the hypotheses using longitudinal data.

The paper provides implications for the review and development of supporting institutional frames for entrepreneurship, promoting generalized forms of human capital and entrepreneurial ethics moral values.

The motivation for the study is derived from the observation that the legal and regulatory framework in Uganda is biased against SMEs. This is manifested in the high-regulatory burden of registering and running enterprises in Uganda. For example, the cost of registering a business in Uganda is high. Legal proceedings in Uganda are inefficient, complex and costly only favouring firms with resources and connections. This may restrict enterprise development and increase the costs of running businesses, distort human capital and entrepreneurial moral values thereby affecting entrepreneurship capital.