Deputy Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Rukia IsangaNakaddama has called upon Ugandan girls and women to take up opportunities in the Information and Communication Technology sector.

Rt Hon  Nakaddama at the recent event, challenged women to take on the male-dominated field in order to excel in their respective careers and improve their efficiencies at work and lifestyles.

“As a woman who has risen to a high office, I would like to encourage more women out there to take up opportunities more so in ICT which has been predominantly taken up by men.”

She lauded Ms. Doreen Nalwoga, a student from Lira University who emerged top among the world’s best at the Huawei ICT Competition Global finals.

“I thank the likes of my daughter Doreen, one of the participants of the 2020 ICT Competitors who took up the first position at the global stage, thank you once again and I wish you luck in your life journeys.”

Doreen is one of the three Ugandan students who not only took the first position at Africa Stage but also at the world stage beating off competition of over 39 countries and 103 teams. The other two students representing Uganda were Shaffic Nyanzi and Emmanuel Kiguli from Muni. The Huawei ICT Competition is an annual international competition, a communication platform for university students and higher education institutions within the Huawei ICT Academy program.

Ms. Doreen Nalwoga said after the competition, “Huawei gave students the opportunity to learn skills which are recognized in the world of ICT. Huawei provided us with a platform to experience and practice on new, innovative and cutting-edge technology to grow and develop ourselves.”

Huawei Uganda has continued its efforts to build a competitive ICT talent pool among the young generation, who will be an indispensable accelerator for Uganda’s post-COVID recovery and digitization.

The third deputy prime minister recognized Huawei ICT Talent development report importance saying the ICT sector is one of the primary drivers for achieving economic growth and status as a middle-income country.

“When I saw the ICT Talent development report of Huawei and what they have actually done in Uganda, I was very glad because they are helping us achieve our ICT visions.” She added, “Programs such as the Huawei ICT Academy, Seeds for the Future and ICT Competition, have managed to produce globally competitive human resources for Uganda. And what is important to note that they have done all these things they have mentioned here today for free.”

According to Uganda’s ICT Vision 2040, ICT enabled services industry provides enormous opportunities that Uganda can exploit to transform the economy and peoples’ lives through job creation, accelerated economic growth and significantly increase productivity.

She said that the government has diligently worked through NITA-U, UCC and other players towards expanding the nation’s digitalization in a number of fields, in order to unleash the multiplier effect of ICT on associated secondary and tertiary industries for tremendous impact on the economy. 

“These efforts have borne fruit. ICT is now Uganda’s fastest-growing sector and contributes significantly to its GDP; there are more than 26 million mobile phone subscribers; nearly 50% of the Ugandan population is connected to broadband, and the total number of registered Mobile Financial Services accounts has reached 27.7 million,” Rt Hon Nakaddama explained.

She highlighted the fact that during COVID-19 pandemic, ICT has also shown how it is a pivotal player in the economic recovery and resilience of institutions that embrace it.

She said Uganda Government was committed to making sure ICT is mainstreamed in education and preparing future generations of ICT-savvy workers, and ensure their effective utilization.

She thanked Huawei Technologies Uganda for setting a good example on how a global company could contribute to the ICT sector’s growth and advancement in technology by boosting ICT infrastructure and introducing cutting-edge technologies to Uganda.