A takeaway deliveryman hands over food to a customer in Kampala, Uganda, on July 20, 2020 (XINHUA)

Sefoloza Nanozi, 50, had a hard time in the early days of COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda in 2020.   

A single mother of four, she and her family managed to survive through their small restaurant located at Ntinda on the outskirts of Uganda’s capital Kampala, thanks to innovative thinking.  

“When Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced that the country was under total lockdown due to COVID-19, I got confused on how I would survive with my children. People were no longer going out for work and restaurants were also closed down,” she told ChinAfrica. 

However, service providers carrying food from one place to another were allowed to move since people had to eat.    

“My daughter Stella Naka, who is an ICT (information and communications technology) student at Kampala International University, came up with a digital solution that helped me to get through the hard time,” said Nanozi.  

She said that Naka put her technology skills into action and used it to market the food they cooked at their restaurant using her smartphone. They started delivering food to people, especially those who did not cook at their homes and ordered meals online.    

“We started with a few customers, but soon the number grew big and I had to employ more workers to cook enough food and to deliver it to the customers. Even when we opened our restaurant after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown and some people returned to eat there, we continued to use digital technology to market and deliver our food to those who were farther away,” said Nanozi.  

ICT opportunities   

According to research carried out by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, many Ugandans, especially unemployed youth, have turned to ICT for opportunities and survival. Among popular opportunities are mobile money, advertisements, e-banking, job hunting in developed countries, and getting sponsors and donors. Other applications of ICT in Uganda providing lifelines to many are online shopping, online education, digital disease surveillance and monitoring, and dissemination of public health messages. A good number of people have started up ICT-related businesses all over the country.   

Cognizant of this current trend, Ugandan Cabinet Minister of ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsi said that in this era, ICT should be taken seriously by those who aspire to develop. He also said that it is for that reason that the government is fast-tracking the use of the latest digital technology in order to achieve the country’s digital vision.   

While addressing media at Uganda Media Center recently, Baryomunsi said that ICT is now Uganda’s fastest growing sector and “is also a major driver to Uganda’s middle-income status just as the 2040 digital vision states.”  

Uganda’s 2040 Vision project   

Uganda’s cabinet in 2007 approved the national vision statement, which said in part, “Vision 2040 project is about transforming Ugandan society from a peasant to modern and prosperous country within 30 years.”   

To that effect, Uganda’s national planning authority, after consultation with other stakeholders, developed a Uganda Vision 2040 to operationalize that vision statement made by the cabinet.   

On April 18, 2013, Uganda Vision 2040 project was officially launched at a ceremony held in the country’s capital of Kampala.    

A statement released by Uganda’s National Planning Authority at the launch said, “Uganda Vision 2040 project is conceptualized around strengthening the fundamentals of the economy to harness the abundant opportunities around the country. The opportunities include ICT, oil and gas, tourism and minerals among others.”   

While addressing the country recently, President Museveni said, “Science and ICT must be strengthened if we want Uganda Vision 2040 to become successful.”   

To put what he said into action, Museveni increased the salaries of all the scientists and ICT-related workers in the country by over 50 percent, which will take effect in the next financial year, starting July 2022.   

Huawei ICT Congress 2022   

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visits an exhibitor at ICT Innovations EXPO 2019 in Kampala, Uganda, on December 17, 2019 (STATE HOUSE UGANDA)

On March 22, under the theme of Lighting up the Future, China’s ICT giant Huawei held the first ever ICT Congress in Africa. Taking place in Uganda, the congress was designed to help businesses and ICT users such as governments, telecommunications, regulators and enterprises innovate business models, improve quality and efficiency, enhance experience, and strengthen resilience in their digital work, productivity and services.   

Similar to the one Huawei often holds in Barcelona, Spain, the Uganda congress showcased the latest ICT technology in communication, smartphones, smart homes, smart offices, cloud solutions, safe and smart cities and many other areas.   

Baryomunsi, while speaking at the congress, said that the ICT sector in Uganda is growing at a rapid rate. He said the government appreciated new emerging technologies that were exhibited at the Huawei congress.  

“We look to harness new emerging technologies such as those exhibited by Huawei at this congress. We need to look to the future of digital and start implementing the necessary digital infrastructure so that we are not left behind. ICT is now Uganda’s fastest growing sector and contributes significantly to its GDP.”  

Baryomunsi said understanding the importance of ICT in development, Uganda came up with the Uganda Vision 2040 to effectively use and encourage adoption of mature and emerging ICT.   

After the congress, many Ugandans gained new experiences in ICT. One of them is Paul Mbalule, a headmaster of a primary school. “I came out of the congress with vast knowledge in ICT which has helped me in coming up with several digital-related programs in my school,” he said.   

Uganda digital vision plan   

Minister of State for ICT Joyce Ssebugwawo said in an interview that Uganda is committed to developing a digital vision for Uganda. “It is in the plan of the government to build a digitally enabled society. All the sectors in government and country at large are being improved by using ICT to solve some of the problems that hindered development,” she said.  

Among sectors where ICT has been greatly introduced is the judiciary. Joseph Senabulya, Deputy ICT Manager in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, said that through using ICT, they have introduced electronic case management technology. “Now cases can be dealt with through the electronic system. One can file a case online and it can be processed online. That system will reduce corruption and congestion at court premises,” said Senabulya.   

Judiciary Spokesperson Johnson Kalemire confirmed that in the ICT system, disappearance of paper-based case files will come to an end because the files will be in digital format. Judges will no longer carry files to courtrooms but will carry laptops,” he said, adding it will reduce corruption by reducing people who come to court premises where they have been meeting staff who ask for bribes.   

Other areas where ICT is being used is in the education sector where classes are conducted online, health sector for medical advice and treatment, immigration department to easily make passports, security department where ICT technology can be used to help in identifying criminals and many other sectors.    

Daniel Kyabayinze from the Ministry of Health said the ministry is using ICT to net people who forge COVID-19 immunization cards. He said genuine COVID-19 immunization cards have digital codes, which helps them identify those that are fake.  

According to university student Swaibu Ochanthere, 24, most Ugandans, especially the youth, appreciate ICT advancement in the country.    

“ICT has simplified our studies at the university. We use our smartphones for research. They help us a lot while doing our assignments since most of what we want to reach can easily be googled,” he said. 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement that the current national identity card system is one of the successes of ICT technological advancement in the country.