Genesis advises Uganda on becoming 4IR hub in East Africa

Genesis Analytics has been appointed the technical advisers to the President's National Taskforce on the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni convened the taskforce earlier this year to advise the government on a way forward for domesticating 4IR technologies in Uganda for the benefit of the country's growth and development.

Uganda aspires to become the 4IR hub of the region and already has a number of initiatives in place where these technologies are used. The AI and Data Science Lab at Makerere University is developing AI applications on a mobile phone to diagnose malaria pathogens on a blood smear, and also to identify pests and diseases affecting cassava crops. However, these initiatives are nascent and need to scale significantly for Uganda to reap the potential gains of advanced technology.

Genesis is working closely with the taskforce members and other stakeholders in Uganda to develop a forward-looking economic strategy for the country to achieve this aspiration. The process has begun to identify the key areas in the economy where 4IR technology has the potential to solve the critical development challenges the country faces.

The strategy will next conduct a diagnosis of the 4IR ecosystem in Uganda to assess the country's readiness for realising and scaling these opportunities.

Lastly, the strategy will propose action for closing any readiness gaps, including developing the country's human capital, to support the innovation ecosystem, and put in place enabling policy and regulatory frameworks.

The strategy will be completed in the first half of 2020 and it will be presented to the president and the Ugandan parliament to inform their white paper and approach to harnessing the 4IR to accelerate Uganda's benefit.