Women must fight their way into digital economy, says ICT minister  

Women must stand firmly against several challenges if they are to fully realise the dividends of the current digital shift, much of which is still dominated by men, ICT State Minister Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, has said. 

Speaking during the conclusion of the 2023 edition of the Women in Fintech Hackathon in Kampala at the weekend, Ms Ssebugwawo said women must stand up to fight for their space in the financial technology (Fintech) space by believing in their ability to run and manage businesses that can transition and survive in the digital era. 

“Confidence is needed to succeed,” she told ore than 30 women teams, majority of whom are innovators and businesswomen in the Fintech space, adding: “Challenges will always be there, but your confidence will play a huge part in whether you succeed or fail.” 

The 30 teams, which participated in the 2023 Women in Fintech Hackathon, were drawn from about 100 technology-driven submissions between June and July from Kampala, Mbarara, Kabale, Kisoro, Gulu and Kenya. 

Ms Ssebugwawo said that many young innovators have had to get into other things due to lack of patience and confidence in their innovations, yet the two are key in building innovators.

Therefore, she noted, it was important that with a female population of about 50.71 percent in Uganda, women must be supported in accessing digital technology, acquiring skills and building financial products that speak to them.   

The Women in Fintech Hackathon,  organised by HiPipo and supported by Level One Project, Cyberplc Academy, Crosslake Technologies, INFITX, Ideation Corner and Mojaloop Foundation with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, provides a platform for women innovators to showcase their innovations. 

Seven teams were recognised for their outstanding innovations, winning a collective prize of $10,000 (Shs37.3m). 

An e-parking solution built by students of Mbarara University of Science and Technology, emerged the winner, walking home with Shs4m. 

The solution was lauded as a model innovation that could be key in closing revenue leakages among city, municipal, and district administrative units, many of which rely on manual processes to support revenue collection from street parking. 

Other winners included BorePay, which offers USSD payments for borehole maintenance and the  Business Banking Hub, an innovation that seeks to deepen financial inclusion, especially among women. The two won Shs2m and Shs1.5m of prize money, respectively. 

Mr Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo chief executive officer, said developing talent in the Fintech space will go a long way in solving a number of community challenges, noting that women, just like men, should be supported into  participating in the development of Uganda’s digital space and the economy at large. 

Winning innovations 

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