The handover of the International Trade Centre NTFV-funded project to ATIS and the ICT Association of Uganda (ICTAU) marked not just a transition, but a bold declaration of faith in Uganda’s tech-driven entrepreneurship. Speaking at the handover ceremony at Hotel Africana, H.E. Frederieke Quispel, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Uganda, outlined a compelling vision in which strategic investment and collaboration, not just aid, will unlock the country’s future, driven by its youth and fueled by technology.
Ambassador Quispel highlighted entrepreneurship as a common ground between the Netherlands and Uganda. “Both nations built on entrepreneurship,” she said. Drawing a parallel between the Netherlands’ mature, innovation-driven economy and Uganda’s youthful dynamism, she noted that while Dutch population growth has leveled off, Uganda’s rapid demographic boom, driven by its burgeoning youth population, demands swift economic expansion to secure meaningful livelihoods.
“Uganda, you have an enormous population growth. You have so much potential in your youth, but that means your economy needs to grow quickly and a lot to make sure that all these young people have a future in Uganda,” she contrasted this with the Netherlands’ aging, stable population.
At the heart of Ambassado Quispel’s message was the transformative power of technology in supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly within agriculture, which employs approximately 70 percent of Africa’s workforce. She highlighted the stark contrast she’d observed between subsistence smallholder farms and high-tech commercial operations and stressed technology as the indispensable tool for bridging the stark divide between subsistence farming and high-tech agriculture.
Beyond agriculture, the Ambassador underscored health as another vital sector ripe for tech-driven collaboration, expressing the Netherlands’ eagerness to collaborate on “sustainable and financially viable” health solutions powered by ICT.
“We’ve been development partners for a long time,” she said, “but for me it’s more and more about investing in technology because it holds enormous potential to transform the country’s economy.”
Ambassado Quispel also celebrated the culmination of NTFV, which had impressive metrics: from 2021 to 2024, beneficiary startups and MSMEs reported US$14.5 million in revenue and US$12.3 million in fresh investment, while collectively creating 1,596 jobs for young people and women. Equally noteworthy was ICTAU’s institutional growth from 213 members in 2021 to nearly 500 by 2025, which was achieved through revamped governance structures and targeted capacity-building interventions led by ITC experts.
“Congratulations on this enormous impact. These are very impressive results and we are happy with them,” the Ambassador declared.
With the NTF project officially handed over to ATIS, the coming program, named ‘ATIS’ instead of NTF Six, will focus on closing the gap between agriculture and technology to boost and create mutual benefits, with a specific focus on the tech sector in Uganda.
In her closing remarks, she urged Ugandan entrepreneurs to seize ownership of their future: “You need to come to the point where you don’t need these kinds of programs anymore. You’re doing it yourself, and you’re investing in the generations to come.” She envisioned a future where the beneficiaries of the NTF program actively support the next wave of entrepreneurs: “You should be ready now to help a lot of young people with their businesses, who knows, in time, you’ll be an angel investor.”
The Ambassador closed with a rallying call: with Uganda’s deep entrepreneurial spirit and smart, driven youth, there is “no reason” the country cannot compete with regional peers like Kenya—or even the Netherlands—on the world stage. The handover of the NTF project marks not an endpoint, but the opening chapter of a renewed Dutch-Ugandan partnership built on mutual growth, shared know-how, and a commitment to transform Africa’s digital future.
