GSMA recently launched the Uganda Digital Economy Report, a comprehensive look at the progress, and persistent challenges, shaping Uganda’s digital future. The findings were both encouraging and sobering.
On one hand, 87% of Uganda’s population is now covered by mobile broadband. On the other, only 29% are actually using mobile internet, revealing a 58% usage gap. The infrastructure exists. But access, real, meaningful access remains out of reach for millions.
This gap isn’t just a missed connection. It’s a missed opportunity.
Uganda has set a bold goal: 10-fold economic growth over the coming decade. This ambition, captured in our national strategies and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), is anchored in two engines, industrialization and digital transformation. But we must be honest with ourselves: that growth will remain theoretical unless access to the digital economy becomes affordable, inclusive, and widespread.
Because here’s the truth: without a smartphone, innovation is just potential. If a student can’t afford a device, online learning is out of reach. If a farmer doesn’t have a smartphone, agri-tech remains theoretical. If a mother in a rural area can’t get her hands on a reliable handset, even the most life-changing digital solutions can’t reach her.
The GSMA Uganda Digital Economy Report makes it clear: device affordability is a major barrier. The median price of a smartphone in Uganda is over UGX 200,000, yet many households, especially in rural areas earn less than UGX 100,000 per month. It’s no surprise that 30% of Ugandans cite handset cost as the primary reason they don’t use mobile internet.
Uganda’s mobile internet usage rate stands at just 29%, meaning 58% of people who have coverage are not using it. To put that in perspective: Kenya’s usage rate is 39%, Ghana’s is 47%, and Nigeria’s is 44%. Uganda isn’t just lagging in access, it’s further behind in actual adoption, with more than half the population effectively left out of the digital economy, despite coverage.
These gaps aren’t cosmetic, they are structural barriers that will hold back our entire economy. If we’re serious about multiplying GDP tenfold, we must be equally serious about multiplying access.
Without widespread, affordable smartphones, we are stalling the engines of our growth strategy. A digital economy built on exclusion cannot deliver inclusive development. Handsets must be treated as economic infrastructure, as vital as roads, water, and electricity.
As an industry, we are doing our part, investing in last-mile infrastructure, expanding rural coverage, and supporting digital skills training. But coverage without devices is like building a road no one can drive on.
To build a truly inclusive digital economy, Uganda must act on three fronts:
1. Affordability must be addressed. We need urgent tax reforms on smartphones and digital devices. Local assembly and financing models can help bring down prices. The GSMA estimates that reducing smartphone prices to UGX 105,000 ($30) would enable 1.6 billion people globally to connect, including millions here in Uganda.
2. Digital skills must go mainstream. Access is only meaningful when people know how to use their devices. Digital literacy should be a national priority, especially for women and rural youth. Without skills, even the most affordable smartphone remains underused.
3. Local content must matter. Ugandans need apps, platforms, and content in their languages, for their realities. We must support local developers, creators, and entrepreneurs to make the smartphone experience reflect Uganda.
4. Electrification must be prioritized. Reliable, affordable electricity is essential for running digital infrastructure and charging devices. Extending the grid and supporting off-grid, renewable energy solutions will reduce operational costs and ensure sustainability, especially in rural areas where infrastructure deployment is most needed.
If we want a 10x economy, we must close the usage gap and drive digital inclusion everywhere, for everyone. Not just in cities. Not just for the educated. But for farmers, traders, teachers, and youth across Uganda.
This came through clearly during my recent fireside chat with PSST, Ramathan Ggoobi. We agreed: digital connectivity isn’t just a pillar of Uganda’s 10-fold strategy, it’s a catalyst. Without meaningful access, millions will be left out of the future we’re building.
Government must cut the taxes that keep smartphones out of reach. Regulators must enforce policies that reward real usage, not just network expansion. Industry must go beyond coverage and drive adoption through useful, relevant innovation. And civil society must stop celebrating surface-level progress and start demanding inclusion that reaches every mile, and every last person.
Let’s not confuse coverage with progress. Let’s put devices in people’s hands and unlock the full power of Uganda’s digital economy.