The Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) and Innovation Council have vetted IT innovators and BPO professionals that are to represent the Ugandan ICT sector at Dubai Expo 2020 Innovation Week next month.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of ICT & National Guidance; Dr. Aminah Zawedde, said the vetting processing was in line with the council’s mandate which entails working with the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance to formulate strategies for creating jobs for the youth through ICT outsourcing and Innovation.
Eleven (11) Innovators and BPO companies that presented before the BPO and Innovation Council members of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance —await next week for the Ministry announcement of the successful innovators and companies that will be selected to represent Uganda at the expo.
Speaking on the selection process, the BPO and Innovations Council Chairperson Prof. William Bazeyo said, the council is keen to select companies that will represent Uganda’s national aspirations for promoting innovations to deliver Social-Economic transformation. “At the end of the day, we expect jobs to be created as a result of participation in this exhibition,” he noted.
Dr. Zawedde said the Dubai Expo highlights innovations from across the globe that have the potential to make dreams into reality and shape the future and Uganda is rich with such innovations.
At the Dubai Expo 2020 Innovation week, Uganda will be part of the Opportunity Pavilion which reflects the necessity of financial capital as a resource to support growth, and partnerships as a primary driver of innovation and employment. Companies that will be selected [to represent Uganda] will be provided an opportunity to interact with investors looking to support innovation as a driver of employment.
Since the BPO and Innovations council was launched, it has moved fast to pave the way for the ultimate goal of creating jobs for the youth through ICT outsourcing and Innovation, and prescribing regulatory frameworks/reforms and projects relevant to the growth of the BPO and Innovation industry. In addition, the council will also identify, support, and scale-up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovations.
The government embarked on an initiative to develop the BPO and Innovation sectors in Uganda as one of the key areas that they can exploit as a long-term solution to addressing issues of unemployment amongst educated youths. The council is targeting to create 20,000 jobs in at least 18 months.
Apart from employment, the BPO industry comes with many other benefits, including the increased inflow of foreign currency and workforce skilling among others. As the Ugandan BPO industry develops, a class of confident and empowered local professionals and entrepreneurs will continue to emerge and grow, driving the BPO sector and the entire economy forward.
