The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency has launched the ICT Industry Promotion Project during the first Joint Coordination Committee meeting at the National ICT innovation Hub.
The Joint Coordination Committee is the highest-level decision-making organ that is composed of stakeholders from the Government, academia and the private sector and is headed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Dr Aminah Zawedde as the Project Director.
This comes after the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance signed a Record of Discussion with Japan International Cooperation Agency to strengthen the ICT ecosystem and accelerate job creation for Ugandan Youth in November last year.
The Record of Discussion is meant to help Uganda access one of the world’s most digitized nations which is Japan, and its advanced technology knowledge, market, and platforms through the ICT Industry.
The project has four expected outputs that include Policy Support which has policy recommendations a conceptual framework for an enabling environment to support the ICT services industry are developed, Human Resource Development which is a practical training program for strengthening the competitiveness of ICT human resources in Software Engineers is developed and delivered in collaboration with the stakeholders in the ICT industry, Business Matching where there is business matchmaking between Ugandan and foreign ICT enterprises is promoted by strengthening the competitiveness of Ugandan enterprises and Mentorship where a technology-drive and entrepreneurship is strengthened and promoted.
According to Dr. Zawedde, the launch of the UJ-Connect, Uganda is poised to take a significant leap forward in its ICT industry and by leveraging the expertise and resources of Japan, the project aims to create a thriving ecosystem that will drive economic growth, create jobs and technological advancement in the country.
“Our country’s greatest asset is its young and vibrant population with an average age of 16 years and at least 30,000 university graduates annually. Therefore, we must focus on creating job opportunities for our youth by providing valuable employment prospects for young people,” She said.
Dr Zawedde informed the meeting that the UJ-Connect Project is not just collaboration, but it’s a transformative initiative with a clear vision to achieve Uganda’s identified priority areas in the Digital Transformation Roadmap over the next four years.
“By creating a robust regulatory framework, nurturing ICT human resources, and supporting the innovation and start-up ecosystem, we aim to foster sustainable growth in the ICT industry”, She said.
The Chief Representative Japan International Cooperation Agency Mr. Yiochi Inoue, stressed that the UJ-Connect project will work towards strengthening the ICT ecosystem in Uganda and this shall be demonstrated through various indicators like increasing number of companies in the ICT sector, developing a Human resource matching platform for ICT engineers, establishing a sustainable tech-entrepreneurship support program, and increasing business matching between local and global ICT companies among others.
“Last week, we held a day-long consultative workshop with private sector players in the ICT
ecosystem where we extensively discussed on the priority areas of the project carried out by our project team, including application software such as Mobile App / Web App, database management and Analysis, cyber security, among others and the project team will work towards strengthening these areas through the different project outputs as you will know later in the program”, He said.
The Ambassador of Japan in Uganda, His Excellence Hidemoto Fukuzawa, highlighted that the ICT industry in Uganda is already a growing sector, driven by the government and private companies, including domestic and foreign start-ups, as it contributes to the high value added to the industry through digital transformation.
“I am hopeful that the project will promote ICT industry growth and it will lead to the growth of the republic of Uganda”, Ambassador Fukuzawa said.
He also noted that the UJ-Connect project will contribute to human capacity development, including both Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology (UICT) staff and ICT human resources, and to ICT business expansion by establishing a business matching platform.
In his keynote address, The Minister of ICT and National Guidance Hon Dr Chris Baryomunsi expressed his appreciation of Japan’s support and collaboration with the government of Uganda through the Ambassador of Japan to Uganda and JICA in different development initiatives.
Minister Baryomunsi also emphasized the government’s appreciation of the role of ICT in fostering ICT for national development which is why ICT has been integrated in all initiatives of the Social-economic development of Uganda.
“For a long time, the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Japan have enjoyed cordial relationships. Over the years the Japanese Government has facilitated many developmental initiatives in Uganda that include infrastructure development projects, capacity building, and skilling of Ugandans among others. I am extremely delighted to note that the Japanese support to Uganda has now been extended to the area of ICTs”, Dr Baryomunsi said.
Dr. Baryomunsi said that the Government of Uganda has invested significantly in expanding ICT infrastructure across the country, ensuring that more citizens have access to the internet and digital services which has been instrumental in bridging the digital divide and promoting inclusivity and similarly, Uganda has actively engaged in public-private partnerships to attract foreign investment and expertise in the ICT sector, promoting knowledge transfer and technology adoption.
He said that it is in this regard that the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance on behalf of the Government of Uganda partnered with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency on behalf of the Japanese Government for the promotion of the ICT Industry in Uganda.