The hub builds on Spotlight on Africa’s long-standing presence in the region, including its women’s and paediatric hospitals, and is designed to equip young people with market-relevant digital skills while supporting community-driven innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance has formalised a partnership with Spotlight on Africa and Algorithmic Partners through a Memorandum of Understanding, marking a practical next step in Uganda’s digital transformation agenda.
At the centre of the agreement is the establishment of an ICT Innovation Hub in Mbale. The hub builds on Spotlight on Africa’s long-standing presence in the region, including its women’s and paediatric hospitals, and is designed to equip young people with market-relevant digital skills while supporting community-driven innovation and entrepreneurship.
Speaking at the signing, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, emphasised the shift from intent to execution. She noted that the partnership reflects the role of private sector leadership in advancing digital transformation, strengthening regional growth, expanding ICT skills, and supporting women’s empowerment, all with a clear focus on delivery and results.
The Mbale hub will offer training across a broad skills pipeline, from basic digital literacy to advanced competencies such as coding, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. A core intervention under the MOU is the deployment of a blockchain-based digital certification system developed with Algorithmic Partners. The system is designed to reduce document fraud and enable secure, tamper-proof verification of qualifications.
According to Tomos Rees, Director at Algorithmic Partners, the certification platform directly addresses trust gaps in skills recognition. It strengthens confidence among training institutions, employers, and graduates while improving transparency and efficiency across the system.
Spotlight on Africa has operated in Uganda for over two decades, focusing on education, health, clean water, and economic empowerment. Its ICT programmes have already trained more than 800 graduates, 570 of whom are women, with over 60% securing employment through the skills they acquired. The organisation plans to establish five ICT centres over the next five years, with Mbale serving as a central anchor.
Beyond skills training, the partnership aims to expand access and equity. It supports extending digital public services to rural and underserved communities where connectivity and access gaps persist. In practical terms, this means more efficient and transparent service delivery, reduced fraud, stronger local innovation ecosystems, new opportunities for SMEs and young entrepreneurs, and deeper digital inclusion.
The initiative aligns with Uganda’s digital transformation roadmap, which prioritises digital infrastructure, services, cybersecurity and data protection, digital skills, and innovation. Programmes such as the DigiTrack mobile computer lab have already trained more than 11,000 people nationwide in the last two quarters of this financial year, including youth with special needs, by taking digital skills directly to communities.
It also complements Uganda’s Business Process Outsourcing strategy, which aims to connect young, English-speaking professionals to global markets. Through initiatives such as Uganda–Japan Connect, facilitated by Japan International Cooperation Agency, Ugandan firms have already secured contracts and created employment through international partnerships.
The partnership drew strong international support. H.E Lisa Chesney, British High Commissioner to Uganda, described the collaboration as a model of co-creation that combines Uganda’s youthful talent with UK expertise to generate sustainable economic impact.
H.E Nimisha Jayant Madhvani, Uganda’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, echoed this view, underscoring the importance of government, private sector, and civil society working together to deliver inclusive digital growth.
What this partnership ultimately represents is a move away from abstract ambition toward measurable outcomes. By addressing trust, reach, and equity, it reinforces Uganda’s commitment to building a skills-driven digital economy where technology delivers real value to citizens, not just promises on paper.
