Uganda to give refugees free Internet

Refugees in Uganda are set to receive Internet connectivity to their camps.

This is after the Ugandan government partnered with the World Bank to launch the Universal Digital Acceleration Program. Under the five-year program, starting July 1, 2023, refugees will receive essential digital skills.

Furthermore, the program will help develop a new educational infrastructure that will teach refugees new language skills to help make them employable.

Uganda is home to many African refugees, many fleeing from neighboring countries like South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Rwanda, Eritrea and Burundi.

According to the United Nations, as of April 2023, there were over 1.5 million refugees in Uganda, with the northern Ugandan districts of Adjumani and Yumbe hosting about one-third of all refugees.

Uganda connecting the underserved

The Universal Digital Acceleration Program forms part of Vision 2040, which is a roadmap that seeks to optimize Uganda's capabilities in every sector including ICT.

Uganda's Permanent Secretary for ICT and National Guidance, Amina Zawedde expressed optimism on the program adding that refugee camps will greatly benefit from having access to the Internet.

The Universal Digital Acceleration Program will help foster digital skills of refugees in Uganda. (Image by wirestock on Freepik)

Zawedde shared these sentiments at an event last Saturday, organized by MTN Uganda, Uganda Small Scale Industries Association and Centenary Industries Limited.

Furthermore, at the event, the group collaborated to raise 15 million Ugandan shillings (US$4,000) to expand the computer lab at Refugee and Hope International, a non-profit refugee home in Kampala, Uganda.

Refugee and Hope provides entrepreneurial training, language study, and counseling for those with post-traumatic stress disorder due to their home country's crisis.

"The expanded connectivity will also strengthen digital inclusion of host of communities and refugees by improving the availability of digital infrastructure," Zawedde said.

Digital transformation expands in Africa

African countries have recently secured grants and finances for their digital transformation plans.

The East African country has been working toward connecting the country, so much so that in May 2023 the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) invited applicants for its planned sale of 5G spectrum, which it intends to complete by the middle of August.

Moreover, Uganda is not the only country the World Bank has worked with to connect the underserved. The country's Parliament approved a $140 million loan with funds earmarked for a major digital project to improve Internet connectivity in November 2022.

In April 2023, the World Bank approved a $390 million finance deal toward the first phase of the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project, with another $150 million earmarked for Senegal's digital transformation.

In September 2022, the World Bank approved a $200 million grant for Ghana's digital transformation.

The Rwandan government in January 2023 confirmed a $40 million digitization project using an AFD loan.

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*Top image source: Image by Freepik

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa