Online shopping scammers often set up fake profiles or websites. Cybercrime cost Uganda more than billions last year. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Technology, since time immemorial, has altered lives and continues to do so. At the turn of the millennium, it was the millennium bug with conversations about becoming Y2K compliant. As the doors closed on 2023, the claws of Artificial Intelligence were holding onto every sector with a flesh-tearing force, they could not be wished away.
Mr Michael Niyitegeka, the executive director at Refactory says 2024 has been a mixed bag in the sense that there have been quite good achievements regarding the vibrancy of the sector. For instance, there has been more engagement, more participation, and more meetings happening in Uganda’s tech arena than in previous years.
“Some of the new ones were the Uganda Developers Summit, the National ICT Summit, the block-chain conference as well as the Google Dev Summit which will happen in December. This is about convergence where people share different experiences, while also shining a spotlight on the different initiatives Uganda is involved in. That has been good for the ecosystem,” he says.
Mr Ernest Mwebaze, the executive director at Sunbird AI says the general rise in tech has been seen at the policy level where the ICT Ministry has come up with a roadmap for digital technologies.
“We have seen the roadmap, the creation of the AI oversight team by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), and the East African AI policy. Additionally, the Personal Data Protection and Privacy Act 2019 has come out in full force to deal with data protection. Therefore, there is more strategy and direction in terms of ICT,” he says.
There has also been a more intent drive and demand for better yet cheaper internet. This has pushed the telecoms to improve the connection levels even in rural areas, even to the push of rolling out 5G, as seen with 5G routers.
“Many people have a full-fibre link at home and are using it for either gaming or television online or accessing resources. Moreover, unlike in the past where people forgot about the internet when they travelled upcountry. Today, people can still have access to the internet in rural areas and many have smartphones, with the latter speaking to people continually embracing tech,” he says.
Adding, “Unlike about two years ago, people are increasingly consuming digital content. This shows that the internet reach has grown.”
Mr Niyitegeka says they are starting to see technology take a seat in decision-making as sectors such as insurance now appreciate that technology is important. “It is no longer like in the past where it was touch and go. For instance, the insurance sector now has regulations where every insurance company is required by law to have a technology and innovation committee at the board level. That is coupled with having an IT expert on the board,” he says.
Adding, “This means that every organisation is becoming a technology company. The pushing factor is that they are no longer entirely dependent on vendors and can respond at the speed of change to the extent possible.”
With this move organisations are building internal capacity and Mr Niyitegeka says it also means that the demand for talent in certain functions is also going up, ensuring alignment so that there is talent with the capacity to take on those roles.
The fintech space has also grown quite big, more so regarding services for mobile payment. Mr Mwebaze says this growth has been ongoing where mobile money and agent banking have taken shape. Additionally, banks are creating different applications to ease the clients’ interaction with their accounts and make payments.
“With the Fintech space, people can borrow online, and make payments allowing them to consume more services. That also means that the economy is booming as transaction volumes increase. Moreover, access to financial services has also trickled down to rural areas and foreign transactions have become less costly,” he says.
With data getting a weightier value, artificial intelligence continues to make big waves, changing many operations. Today, almost everyone has heard about ChatGPT, a generative AI and many are using it to get lots of information and reduce the time used to do certain processes.
“With these developments, people are generally more productive but processes have also been disrupted,” he says.
In the innovation world, Mr Mwebaze says there has been a lot of start-up buzz to the point of attracting the venture capital summit organised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
“Initiatives such as these, and incubation hubs are meant to nurture ideas, galvanise startups, and even nurture them to attract capital that has been lacking for so long,” he says.
Investment in human capital development has increased, which ties into opportunities for Ugandans to work out of this market. “We are seeing entities such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mastercard Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency investing in human capital development and enterprise development leaning to more tech driven talent,” Mr Niyitegeka says.
There has also been a growth of organisations such as Data Science Africa where groups of people from various tech professions galvanise to make an impact in the ICT world.
“These organisations are making a great impact in the education space, such as offering scholarships but also in research equipping the younger generations to make impact in the tech sector,” Mr Mwebaze says.
With more exposure to Uganda’s tech talent, Uganda is increasingly becoming a tech market with different entities, even as far as Japan are seeking talent from Uganda. “Many of the highly technical economies have an aging population hence drawing them to countries like Uganda. However, this also brings in various dynamics such as language, and work ethic differences that need to get worked on for Uganda’s talent to thrive,” Mr Niyitegeka says.
What is still missing?
While there is the digital transformation roadmap, Mr Niyitegeka says, there seems to be scanty direction on how the different entities involved in this digital space work together. He hopes that there will be more direction under the National Development Plan (NDP) IV.
“While the private sector has made several strides in the tech sector, the government will always influence the tempo at which various sectors move. Therefore, in as much as some government agencies are sharpening their grip on tech, a wholesome government drive is still lacking. However, a unified front will help in reducing the brain drain that continues to plague the country,” he says.
There are several things happening in government but visibility is not good at all and therefore, the people who need the resources in these entities cannot access them. “That leads to development and growth fatigue because resources, though available, are holed in an inaccessible location. The hope is that government will boldly step out on the various tech developments within its agencies,” he says
What should we expect going forward?
AI is going to be revolutionary with people working to improve its abilities and many more consuming it. Mr Mwebaze says that growth will be augmented with a big move in the data science arena such as analytics and governance.
“There is a big move in urbanising cities and data is a crucial aspect. Even in the tourism and industrial sector, players are using data to make decisions,” he says.
As jobs become scarce, Mr Mwebaze says there will be more people innovating to solve problems. This will be seen in politics where campaigns will be done online and in the education sector where teaching will become more learner-led.
Cybercrime
Cybercrime cost Uganda more than billions last year. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, an average organisation loses about 5 percent of its annual revenue to fraud. Taking a look at Uganda’s FY2024/25 budget of Shs72.1 trillion, about Shs3.65 trillion is lost to fraud. Mr Mugisa adds that about 70 percent of all fraud involves cyber thus Shs2.5 trillion is lost due to cybercrime.
“This year, we discovered that Shs65b was lost due to cybercrime directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, most cybercrime victims never report, making the problem huge due to the reputational risk management,” he says.
Unlike times when cybercrime was done by rogue hackers in dark rooms, today, it is sophisticated networks targeting individuals, businesses, and even national institutions.
Mr Mustafa says Uganda’s response is fragmented at best, and reactive at worst yet if we do not act decisively now, Uganda and Africa are at risk of becoming a haven for cybercriminals and a case study of missed opportunities.
“We need immediate investment in cybersecurity education, robust laws, and coordinated enforcement. Because in the digital world, ignorance isn’t bliss- it’s a liability,” he says.
