Uganda targets 20,000 jobs for youths annually through ICT
The Ministry of ICT has said that government wants to create at least 20,000 jobs annually by promoting the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) industry.
Speaking during the launch of the annually ICT job fair, the Ministry of ICT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Aminah Zawedde said by 2030, government needs to generate $2 billion from this sector.
To this end, she says the country’s national BPO policy is a significant step in this direction.
“In pursing the development of this policy, we aspire to create employment opportunities, increase workplace efficiency, and tap into the global Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) outsourcing business,” Dr. Zawedde said.
“This sector provides employment opportunities and has contributed to the growth of economies in developing countries. In the coming years, emerging sectors like Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, and machine learning will present even more opportunities within the BPO sector.”
She noted that position Uganda can be positioned as a preferred BPO destination, leveraging ICT for the benefit of the youth and the economy.
“Promotion and operationalization of BPO is only part of the of the sector wide reforms we are undertaking to address youth unemployment in Uganda. By embracing the potential of digital technology, Uganda aims to empower individuals, businesses, and communities to participate fully in the digital economy and access essential services to improve livelihoods,” she said.
According to Prof. William Bazeyo, the chairman of the BPO Council, Uganda has an edge over other African countries in becoming a hub for Business Processing Outsourcing.
“The projected global demand for BPO services by end of this year is $1trillion and this presents opportunity for emerging markets like Uganda. Ugandan graduates are fluent in English and have a very good average hearing time which gives them a better advantage,” Prof Bazeyo says.
“We have favourable time zone as positioned that we can work with Europe , Asia and USA giving us an advantage more than other African countries. Uganda is known to have a low cost of doing business because of infrastructure and government support.”
According to Prof. Bazeyo, it is high time government put in place incentives targeting the BPO sector like economic zones where internet will be free for people in this sector but also building its own data centre where people will be sure of the safety of their data.
