How Technology is Transforming Business in Uganda

Jumia has become synonymous with e-commerce in Uganda and Africa as a whole.  For many of us the go to website for online shopping is Jumia. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t other options out there it simply means Jumia is doing certain things right.

What’s e-commerce?

Its trade that’s done electronically mainly on online platforms that’s facilitated by information and communication technology. 

With that kind of definition its very easy to see how intertwined our lives are with e-commerce. We begin to see that it isn’t only companies like Jumia that are involved with e-commerce. If we are to name a few; Cafe Javas, Kikuubo Online, KFC Uganda, Airtel, Stanbic Bank even Mindfire International.  And the list goes on. But to even widen things further, what about that friend of yours who uses WhatsApp business to reach her customers? This is all e-commerce 

By now the reality of technology in business begins to really take root even in the simplest of ways. But this doesn’t paint the picture in its entirety. A recent World bank report says that “while Uganda has made reasonable technological strides, the analysis notes that it still lags with a phone penetration rate of 69.2% of the population, far below the average of 84% for Africa. There are gender and geographical gaps in access; for example, 46% of female adults have access to mobile phone compared to 58% of male adults. Similarly, adults in urban areas are more likely to own mobile phones (70%) and have access to the internet (25%) compared to adults in rural areas (46%own phones and 5 percent have internet access).”

Add to the recent blocking of Facebook and the 12% tax on the internet, we begin to see that there’s a lot more that needs to be done for Uganda to be on par with the rest of the African continent.

As many businesses embrace technology and automating solutions to everyday problems the hope is the cost of internet will lower and allow smaller businesses to take advantage of the tools that technology has to offer.

Technology has rapidly evolved and as a result, it is possible to surf the web on the go; whether it is sending an email while in a taxi, editing an important presentation in a restaurant during your lunch break, video chatting with friends and family from your living room or listening to your favorite song in the gym, the latest generation of websites and apps makes all this possible just at the click of a button. 

Its clear to see that the future of business will heavily rely on information technology. Uganda still has a long way to go with much input from both the public and private sectors but any visionary. entrepreneur will make sure his business is in position to be part of the biggest change in commerce since the industrial revolution.