UIRI traces its roots to the East African Federation of the 1970, as a precursor of the then East African Research Services Organization (EARSO) which was headquartered in Nairobi and served as a regional R&D institution for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Upon collapse of the East African Federation, the EARSO disbanded in 1977, and later transformed into the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI). Tanzania followed with establishment of the Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization (TIRDO). It was not until 2002 that Uganda fully established and legally sanctioned Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI).