The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi, while giving his remarks today at the Huawei ICT Congress 2023 at the Sheraton Hotel, said the government is to continue working with Huawei to fast-track digital transformation in order to achieve the 2040 Digital Vision, emphasizing the need to embrace and integrate technology in all sectors of Uganda’s economy, such as agriculture, education, and health, among others, for better service delivery and productivity.
“We want to thank Huawei for the good work you are doing, you are one of our committed partners, and we have worked with you in many programs such as the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and we shall continue working with you in the future for our digital transformation journey,” Baryomunsi said in his remarks.
Baryomunsi emphasized on a must for the country to embrace technology and move with the rest of the world. “Our desire as the Ministry is that when we speak of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the technological advances, we must move and Join the rest of the world,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of ICT and National Guidance Dr. Aminah Zawedde applauded Huawei for enabling various digital opportunities in Uganda and called upon all innovators, tech startups, and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) firms to take advantage of the opportunities availed by Huawei Technologies.
Zawedde in her address said the Ministry has been tasked with creating an enabling digital vision having the people at the center of it all. She adds that “Digital transformation is part and parcel of all government agendas to acknowledge the country is transforming at a very fast rate.”
Dr. Hatwib Mugasa, the Executive Director, of NITA Uganda said they are working tirelessly with Huawei Technologies to ensure that the policy’s goals are achieved by providing the necessary infrastructure and support for the digital transformation of Uganda
The National Information Technology Authority (NITA) Uganda and Huawei established a National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) that spans over 4,000 kilometers across the country enabling access to the internet for businesses, schools, and communities in remote areas of Uganda.
Huawei and the government have for years worked together to deepen connectivity to connect more people, homes, and enterprises to the internet as well as improve ICT skills for youth and joint innovations. This has seen Uganda’s network coverage and quality significantly improve, internet users continued to increase, and the digital economy showing gradual progress.
Huawei’s Vice President & President of Huawei Cloud of Southern Africa Stone He noted that Huawei Technologies will continue to work with the Ministry and the operators in Uganda to improve coverage, create more business & social value unleash, digital productivity, and enable digital transformation.
Notably, President Museveni early this month, launched the Huawei DigiTruck project in Uganda to provide free digital skills training for more than 10,000 beneficiaries over three years as part of digital transformation and inclusion.
Running in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Development and an international social enterprise Close the Gap, the Uganda DigiTruck project is aligned with Uganda’s 2040 Digital Vision, National Development Plan, and Education Digital Agenda Strategy. The focus of these initiatives includes promoting digital foundation skills, digital communications and information, digital transactions, using the internet for problem-solving, online safety, civic responsibility, and data privacy, which will promote digitalization of the Informal Sector enterprises for productivity and job growth in Uganda.
The Huawei ICT Congress is a mirror of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), an annual trade show organized by GSMA, dedicated primarily to the mobile communications industry.
The Huawei ICT Congress 2023 with the theme “Guide to the Intelligent World” was organized by Huawei Uganda and aimed at Building collaborations between Uganda and Huawei Technologies to support and deploy artificial intelligence in all sectors of Uganda’s economy.
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