Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The ICT Ministry has launched Uganda’s National Data Strategy 2026/27–2030/31, describing the document as more than a policy paper. It is “a shared national direction for managing, protecting, sharing and using data to drive development,” the ministry said in a statement.
The strategy, developed by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance with technical support from UN Global Pulse and the United Nations Development Programme, is built on three pillars – data governance, data infrastructure and strategic data utilisation – and supported by two enablers: people and culture, and research, innovation and entrepreneurship. It aligns with Uganda Vision 2040, the Digital Uganda Vision and the Digital Transformation Roadmap, and is intended to underpin the Fourth National Development Plan’s ambition of tenfold economic growth.
“Today, we are not simply launching a document. We are setting a shared direction for how Uganda can better manage, protect, share and use data to drive national development,” said Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, Minister of State for ICT and National Guidance (Information) at the high-profile launch at the Mestil Hotel in Kampala that was attended by government officials, development partners, private-sector leaders, academia and civil society.
She stressed that data is “a strategic national asset” that, when properly governed, supports evidence-based decision-making, improves public service delivery, promotes innovation and creates opportunities for economic growth.
Implementation is estimated at UGX 1,662.6 billion over five years, with the bulk to be financed through coordinated government budgeting, supplemented by non-tax revenue from value-added data services, development-partner support and private-sector co-investment.
Speaking at the event, Permanent Secretary Dr Aminah Zawedde framed the launch as a decisive shift. “Today marks a decisive milestone where Uganda shifts from treating data as a passive administrative byproduct to wielding it as a strategic national economic asset,” she said.
She noted that the strategy emerged from extensive national consultations, including peer reviews with the Forum of Permanent Secretaries and formal validation by 131 state and non-state organisations. She linked it directly to NDP IV’s target of expanding GDP from US$50 billion to US$500 billion over 15 years, arguing that precision data use in the ATMS priority sectors – agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals/oil and gas, and science, technology and innovation – is essential for that trajectory.
The strategy sets concrete targets by 2030/31, including expanding cross-system integration from 135 to 300 government platforms via the Ug-Hub, raising the share of NDP IV indicators backed by verifiable data from 36 per cent to 80 per cent, establishing two Tier IV data centres with 10 petabytes of sovereign storage capacity, and achieving substantial efficiency gains through shared infrastructure and locally developed digital solutions.
Ssebugwawo underscored that success will depend on implementation and called on ministries, departments and agencies, local governments, the private sector, academia and civil society to take ownership.
“We must address challenges such as fragmented data systems, inconsistent standards, limited data sharing and inadequate infrastructure,” she said, while emphasising the need for data literacy, inclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities, and responsible use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
She expressed appreciation to UN Global Pulse and UNDP for their collaboration, and to all stakeholders who contributed to the strategy’s development.
Dr Zawedde echoed the call for action, noting that the strategy also lays the foundation for an upcoming National AI Strategy, since “Artificial Intelligence is only as intelligent and ethical as the data that feeds it.”
With the formal launch, government institutions are expected to begin translating the strategy’s priorities into practical measures for planning, budgeting and service delivery, under the coordination of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.
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