East African Gazette
Kampala
The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have convened the second Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting for the UJ-Connect Project today at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Kampala 8 Jan.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information Communication Technology and National Guidance, Dr. Aminah Zawedde said that she was happy to note that this meeting attracted key stakeholders from both the private and public sectors.
She said this project was launched in July 2023 under the UJ-Connect Project aimed to fortify Uganda’s ICT industry to establish a growth model for priority sub-sectors.
She explained it encompasses four main outcomes namely: policy support, human resource development, business matching, and mentorship.
Dr. Zawedde highlighted the significant achievements made under the project notably the development of a skill set standard booklet for 7 identified priority skilling areas under output 1.
She said the priority areas include Software (mobile/web), Database Management and Analysis, Cyber security, Cloud Services, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data by collaboration with UICT which is crucial for enhancing the quality of ICT services in Uganda.
“Under this same output, we have also reviewed and revised the Intellectual Property Policy Guidelines, incorporating insights from global practices “she said
The Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology, has developed a training curriculum to meet the human resource needs of the identified priority areas. A number of short courses have been designed to equip Ugandan youth with essential skills.
She revealed over 2,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from these programs and capacity building for trainers of these programs is already underway.
The business matching event between Japanese and Ugandan ICT companies, scheduled for late February 2024, as part of Output 3. This event will foster collaboration through a six-month pilot project, amplifying Uganda’s presence on the international stage.
A successful webinar was held for Japanese companies to share information about the Ugandan ICT sector and companies and over 40 people from ICT, manufacturing, and development consulting companies in Japan participated, She explained.
She said under the nurturing technology-driven entrepreneurship launched with a pool of 303 applicants, 15 exceptional start-up founders were selected to refine their ideas and business models but collaborate with both Japanese and Ugandan companies.
This mentoring program also targets the entrepreneurs who are in the early stage, and the Project will support them to build the business model and accelerate their business development by conducting mentoring to selected entrepreneurs.
The JICA Chief Representative Yoichi Inoue, emphasized the importance of project sustainability and urged the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance to focus on the future of the project and the ICT industry over the next three years of implementation.
Yoichi the UJ-Connect Project continues to make significant strides towards its objectives through the dedication and collaboration of all stakeholders involved. The Ministry of ICT & National Guidance remains committed to fostering an innovative and vibrant ICT ecosystem in Uganda.
How Ugandans will benefit in the ICT
In this six-months mentoring program, the entrepreneurs are expected to grow their revenue, increase their employment, gain skills for fundraising, and step up to be able to join the acceleration programs like Project NINJA,
Uganda. It is very important for Ugandan entrepreneurs to gain skills to be selected to join the accelerator program to grow their business.
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