Huawei launches mobile ICT hub in eastern Uganda to equip locals with digital skills

KAMPALA -- Chinese tech giant Huawei has launched a mobile ICT hub named DigiTruck in the rural region in eastern Uganda to equip youth, farmers and local district officers with digital skills, enabling them to engage in e-commerce.

During the project launch in Katakwi district on Tuesday, Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo said that the program would create sustainable livelihood opportunities to enable small business owners to participate in regional and national trade.

"Digital transformation is one of the key drivers of effective human capital development," she said in a press release on Wednesday.

Alupo praised Huawei for making information, communication and technology (ICT) accessible to farmers, youth, women and the elderly. She encouraged the youth to share the skills they acquire to achieve a multiplier effect and acknowledged Huawei Uganda as a strategic and important partner in Uganda's transformation.

Huawei Technologies Uganda Deputy Managing Director Gao Jian, as was quoted in the statement, said that the project is part of Huawei's TECH4ALL initiative, which aims to promote inclusion and sustainability globally.

"This truck is currently in the Teso sub-region and plans to train 600 Ugandans over a period of two months," Gao said. He encouraged beneficiaries to utilize their acquired skills for e-commerce, online marketing, selling farm produce online, and job applications.

Fouziya Mukyala Sooma, the public relations manager of Huawei Technologies Uganda, said that the program's objective is to assist digitally illiterate individuals in acquiring skills for online marketing, job hunting and other online services. "The purpose is to leave no one behind digitally, and in the long run, we will have a better Uganda."