“The President reappointed them and I have since written to all of them confirming their new appointments,” said Nakyobe.

Dr. Zawadde assumed the position on July 15th, 2021 in a reshuffle by the President that sent at least seven permanent secretaries into retirement noting that the retirees have been retired in the Public Interest. Dr. Zawadde succeeded Hon. Vincent Waiswa Bagiire who had been the permanent secretary for the ministry since November 2016.

“I am deeply honoured by the trust and confidence placed in me by the appointing authority, H.E The President of Uganda, with my reappointment as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance,” Dr. Zawedde told PC Tech Magazine. “I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Honorable ICT Minsters and the dedicated staff at the ICT Ministry for their unwavering support and to all stakeholders in the ICT sector for their continued collaboration.”

She further adds “As we move forward, I remain fully committed to coordinating the multi-sectoral efforts to digitize Uganda, create meaningful employment opportunities for our youth, and ensure that government services are brought closer to the people, equitably, through the use of ICT. Together, we will continue to drive innovation and transform our nation through the power of technology.”

In her tenure, Dr. Zawedde has provided strategic and technical guidance on how various sectors can leverage innovation and digital technologies to solve their problems within academia, government, and the private sector. To this end, she has played a big role in strengthening the linkages between academia and industry and developing policies, strategies, and programme documents for funding partners that align IT with the government’s development agenda.

Dr. Zawedde holds a Ph.D. from the Eindhoven University of Technology, a PGDip in Educational Technologies from the University of Cape Town, a PGD in Education from IUIU, an MSc. Computer Science and a BSc. in Statistics and Economics from Makerere University.

She has experience as an IT consultant on both local and international projects. Her expertise includes ICT advisory, re-engineering, systems integration, e-governance, information security, business transformation, digitization, research, modeling for decision support, process improvement, system integration, and capacity building, to mention a few.

Following her appointment, Dr. Zawedde has received various congratulatory messages some of which we have randomly selected from X (formerly Twitter).

“Congratulations to our very own PS, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, and other Permanent Secretaries on their reappointment for another term of public service by H.E. Kaguta Museveni,” writes the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.

“Congratulations Aminah Zawedde on your reappointment as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. Your leadership continues to inspire innovation and progress in the digital transformation of our nation, Uganda. Wishing you even greater success in this next chapter,” writes UCC.

“Congratulations to Aminah Zawedde on your reappointment as Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. Your dedication to advancing Uganda’s digital landscape is truly remarkable. We stand with you as you continue to champion innovation and digital inclusion. Here’s to even greater success,” writes ICTAU.

Congratulations to Dr. Aminah Zawedde on your re-appointment as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. Wishing you even greater success in this next chapter,” writes the National ICT Innovation Hub.

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The high cost of the internet could partly be responsible for the vast number of citizens unconnected to the internet. According to the Global Digital Report, 35 million Ugandans (approx. 73% of the country’s population) don’t access the internet. Uganda, Burundi (88%), South Sudan (87%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (72%), and Tanzania (68%) are the top countries with the highest percentage of people unconnected to the internet in the East African region.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), says internet penetration which is still below global standards has been attributed to the cost of smartphones (which is indeed true) —while the other reason according to Angela Wamola, Director of sub-Saharan Africa at GSMA, the International Association of Telecom Operators, “buying data remains beyond the household budget.”

According to data available, the high cost of internet connection, coupled with its wavering reliability and poor governance have kept it out of reach for many that need it, reducing the internet to just an entertainment medium with few making constructive use of it. Mostly students, youth, and SME owners continue to grapple with high internet costs despite the growing dependence on connection for daily economic activities.

Uganda recognizes ICT as the driver of the digital transformation of its economy. Indeed, many publicly available studies have proven that digitization and ICT are essential drivers of economic growth in today’s world. Yet, the internet, the anchor of digitization, remains inaccessible to many, despite interventions meant to make it cheaper and faster to drive economic growth.

Without a doubt, telecommunications companies, MTN and Airtel are doing their best to see that no citizen is left behind in this digital economy. Working with companies such as itel Mobile who are known for manufacturing budget-friendly high-quality entry-level devices to accelerate smartphone penetration, they provide a free 3GB monthly data bundle for three months to buyers of the phones. In addition, all the devices enjoy a 100% data bonus on every data bundle purchased for the first 3 months.

However, industry experts say to support telecommunications industry initiatives and make smartphones, and internet services more accessible and affordable to customers, the government needs to take some appropriate steps.

Industry experts have tasked the government to reduce import duties on smartphones to lower overall prices for prospective customers especially those in rural areas, subsidize the cost of smartphones to attract first-time users into the data market, and urge telecommunication service providers (ISPs) to adopt friendlier data bundles, among other reasons.

Meanwhile, the government in August last year, through the National Information Technology Authority (NITA)-Uganda announced the reduction in the price of internet bandwidth for Government MDAs to USD$35 (approx. UGX130,000) from USD$70 (approx. UGX260,000).

“We’ve been working hard to consistently lower the cost of internet bandwidth in Uganda especially for government institutions since they provide onward services to ordinary citizens and the private sector,” Dr. Hatwib Mugasa, the Executive Director of NITA-U said at the time of the announcement.

With this bold move, NITA-U drives substantial savings on the government’s communication budget, catalyzes the adoption of e-government services, and deepens digitization while paving the way for improved access to online services for citizens.

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Organized by Refactory Academy, a software skilling academy, and its partners, the UG Dev Summit kicked off today at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa, gathering over 500 attendees including speakers from all over the world, exhibitors, developers, the media, and tech enthusiasts. The summit will end tomorrow, July 18th —and simultaneously the dates for the second annual edition (UG Dev Summit 2025) are expected to be announced.

In her keynote speech, Dr. Zawedde urged Michael Niyitegeka, Executive Director of Refactory Limited, and his team to make the summit a regional event. “Today is the beginning, we are going to grow bigger, stronger, and more impactful,” she said. “Maybe Michael should think of having the next summit in another region of Uganda because we don’t want to leave anybody behind and we don’t want to leave any region behind.”

Dr. Zawedde also noted that the Ministry is honored to be part of the Uganda Developer Summit because it speaks directly to the National Digital Transformation Roadmap, an initiative driving the nation’s digital technological progress and economic growth.

The Permanent Sectary also spoke about the ICT Ministry embarking on an innovation frenzy to establish regional ICT innovation hubs in Soroti, Kabale, and Arua —and more to be opened, providing nurturing grounds for developers, innovators, and tech enthusiasts. The goal is to build IT capacity, position Uganda as a champion for entrepreneurship, strengthen digital technological progress and accelerate national economic growth.

Also read:

• • Ministry of ICT opens a new ICT Innovation Hub at Soroti University
  • Ministry of ICT launch The West Nile ICT Innovation Hub at Muni University

Dr. Zawedde also briefly touched on the Ministry’s partnership with the Refactory Academy. In 2022, the Ministry signed an MoU with Refactory Academy, and during the signing, the Permanent Secretary told the academy she wanted to see what the output of the MoU. “Today, the Uganda Developers Summit is one of the outputs, not the first output —we have celebrated several graduates and we are happy to learn that the trained individuals are employed,” she said.

The Permanent Secretary noted that when they sign an MoU, their area of collaboration is largely supporting the development of the country’s digital ecosystem.

Dr. Zawedde spoke about other topics including, cybersecurity & awareness, emerging technologies, and employment opportunities, among others.

Takeaways
In an insightful panel session that included panelists, Dr. Shamim Nabuuma; co-founder of Chil FemTech, Timothy Musoke; co-founder and CEO of Laboremus Uganda, Dr. Lawrence Muganga; Vice Chancellor of Victoria University, and Sylvia Nakanwagi; Centenary Technology Services —moderated by Arthur Mukembo discussed Uganda’s developer landscape and the strategic opportunities and steps towards leveraging human capital development to lead Africa in the digital economy.

The United Nations projects that by 2050 Africa’s population will reach nearly 2.5 billion, making up 25% of the world’s population. This demographic advantage can serve as a foundation for developing a robust, digitally-driven human capital base for the digital economy.

The session focused on digital innovation and technology, exploring various strategies for Uganda’s software developers to position themselves for global opportunities. These strategies include leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), establishing a strong digital presence, acquiring key digital competencies, and continuously upgrading skills to remain competitive in the global market.

Dr. Muganga emphasized the urgent need for the government to invest in the educational systems by revamping the curriculum to fully integrate digital learning, coding, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects from an early age. “At Victoria University, we continue to use digital learning to prepare our students for the future and to align with the needs of the industry,” he said —adding “These initiatives have ensured that our graduates are not only knowledgeable but also job-ready.”

Musoke in his remarks emphasized that Uganda continues to lag behind in tech talent and must invest in the sector to catch up with the rest of the world. He urged developers to focus on solving Uganda’s immediate issues such as unemployment, social instability, and disease while staying informed about global tech trends to ensure their solutions are relevant and impactful.

Dr. Nabuuma touched on emerging tech, AI which she said is here to stay as it enhances efficiency without replacing jobs. She highlighted to developers and entrepreneurs that revolutionary technology presents significant opportunities, but it’s essential to reinvent oneself by acquiring skills that complement rather than compete with AI.

Nakanwagi on her part highlighted the importance of assessing ecosystem readiness, including the utilization of tech products and available resources to support it. She also stressed the significance of collaboration across the ecosystem to enhance technological adoption and innovation.

In another insightful panel session that included panelists; Isaac Odongo; Deputy CEO of Tek Juice, Davis Agaba; CEO & Co-founder of Emata Uganda, Mark Tusiime; Programs Lead at Zimba Women, and Kenneth Agina; Andanian Labs —moderated by Maureen Agena discussed Africa’s readiness for emerging technologies as well as talent and ecosystem readiness.

On talent readiness, Tusiime applauded women noting that they are the highest knowledge seekers and willing to learn and learn from the various trainings. He said they’ve been able to train over 1,000 women, out of these 100 have received funding and 265 of them have expressed interest in furthering their skills in tech. He also said with the learning comes hinders, one being social-cultural norms. “Gender dynamics are a major obstacle. Men don’t want to learn together with the women and they chase them out, and some are resisting their wives from, joining training programs for fear of being outmatched as a leader of the home,” said Tusiime.

Agaba acknowledged that Uganda has the resources including human resources and the Internet to aid the ability to learn. “The Internet is a powerful resource tool today for learning,” he said. Agaba also noted that it is great to embrace emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). “At Emata we understood early that we couldn’t use software outside Uganda to establish farmers’ credit scores. So we put together an AI team.”

Agina from his remarks said, “We are at a point where we are building tech tools that are relevant to us.”

Day 1 concluded with a fireside chat with Solomon Opio, Preze Masinde, Phillip Gasatura of Katapuli VC, and Arnold Kwizera of Norsemen East Africa discussed Investment in the Tech & Developer Ecosystem.

Day 2 will have keynote addresses on; (1) A Cloud-powered Africa; The Opportunity, and (2) A Progressive Policy Environment for Uganda’s Digitization Agenda. Panel discussions will include (1) Cloud Technology; Powering Africa’s Cloud-driven Future, and (2) Tech governance & Policy regulation; Lessons from the Past Decade & What Next.

The summit will end with an Emerging Tech Showcase/Demos, UG Diaspora Fireside Chat, and a Networking & Cocktail session which will have the launch of Tekjuice in Uganda.

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