At the Huawei ICT event that was held on Friday at the Kampala Serena Hotel, Rt. Hon. Rukia Nakaddama Isanga, the 3rd Deputy Prime Minister to Uganda while giving her remarks, she called upon all Ugandan girls and women to take up opportunities in the ICT Sector.
Rt. Hon. Rukia Nakaddama Isanga attended the event on behalf of the Prime Minister; Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja as Guest of honor. It was at the event that Huawei Uganda launched its first-ever Huawei ICT Talent Development Report, launched the 3rd edition of the Huawei ICT Competition, and also awarded the regional & global winners of the 2020 Huawei ICT Global Competition.
Prior to her [Nakaddama] speech, it came to her attention that the global winners of the 2020 Huawei ICT Global Competition were team Uganda, and among the three students that represented Uganda one was a female; Doreen Nalwoga who emerged top among the world’s best in the competition.
During her speech, Nakaddama lauded Nalwoga, who challenged girls and women to take on the male-dominated ICT field in order to excel in their respective careers and improve their efficiencies at work and lifestyles.
“I thank the likes of my daughter Doreen, one of the participants of the 2020 ICT Competitors who took up the first position at the global stage betting some men, thank you once again and I wish you luck in your life journeys,” said Nakaddama. Adding that “As a woman who has risen to a high office, I would like to encourage more women out there to take up opportunities more so in ICT which has been predominantly taken up by men.”
Nakaddama recognized Huawei’s ICT Talent Development report’s importance saying the ICT sector is one of the primary drivers for achieving economic growth and status as a middle-income country.
“When I saw the ICT Talent development report of Huawei and what they have actually done in Uganda, I was very glad because they are helping us achieve our ICT visions,” remarked Nakaddama. Adding that “Programs such as the Huawei ICT Academy, Seeds for the Future, and ICT Competition, have managed to produce globally competitive human resources for Uganda.”
She applauded Huawei for offering all the programs and competitions for free.
Meanwhile, according to Uganda’s ICT Vision 2040, the ICT-enabled services industry provides enormous opportunities that Uganda can exploit to transform the economy and peoples’ lives through job creation, accelerated economic growth, and significantly increase productivity.
Nakaddama says that the government has diligently worked through NITA Uganda, UCC, and other players towards expanding the nation’s digitalization in a number of fields, in order to unleash the multiplier effect of ICT on associated secondary and tertiary industries for tremendous impact on the economy.
“These efforts have borne fruit. ICT is now Uganda’s fastest-growing sector and contributes significantly to its GDP; there are more than 26 million mobile phone subscribers; nearly 50% of the Ugandan population is connected to broadband, and the total number of registered Mobile Financial Services accounts has reached 27.7 million,” Nakaddama explained to journalists.
She highlighted the fact that during the Covid-19 Pandemic, ICT has also shown how it is a pivotal player in the economic recovery and resilience of institutions that embrace it.
She said the government is committed to making sure ICT is mainstreamed in education and preparing future generations of ICT-savvy workers, and ensure their effective utilization.
Huawei Uganda has continued its efforts to build a competitive ICT talent pool among the young generation, who will be an indispensable accelerator for Uganda’s post-Covid recovery and digitization.
Nakaddama concluded by thanking Huawei for setting a good example of how a global company could contribute to the ICT sector’s growth and advancement in technology by boosting ICT infrastructure and introducing cutting-edge technologies to Uganda.