The project to enhance export competitiveness of Uganda’s IT and ITES sectors is starting to take shape as project consultant Richard Okuti comes out to explain, they are now targeting to get outsourced jobs from the government of Uganda.
Okuti spoke last week to a gathering of Uganda ICT entrepreneurs in Kampala where he said the project was going to encourage the Ugandan government to outsource jobs to local companies especially those under his project since they had started acquiring necessary skills.
Under the IT and IT export services (ITES) US$1million project sponsored by the International Trade Centre (ITC) under the Netherlands Trust Fund, the export capacities of 30 selected SMEs and start-up companies will be improved by enhancing their business and marketing capacities as well as by developing export marketing plans.
ITC developed the project with the very close collaboration of the National IT Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) and industry associations as well as close consultation with companies in the industry in Uganda.
Okuti told Channel Post MEA that when enhanced, the 30 beneficiary enterprises in Uganda will be expected to be able to start exporting their services to neighbouring countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and slowly expand their scope internationally. He said that the main indicators to be used to measure progress are the percentage increase in the value of IT & ITES exports by the beneficiary enterprises, the number of new export markets entered, and the overall number of clients acquired.
Okuti said that soon, the project office will be releasing a plan for guiding the sector and providing a development roadmap. This he said follows a series of consultations with various stakeholders on the plan formulation process.
