KAMPALA: The Minister of State for ICT, Ms Joyce Ssebugwawo, has inaugurated the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) and Innovation Council that is tasked with formulating strategies for creating jobs for the youth through ICT outsourcing.
The first of its kind in Uganda, the council will work with the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance to prescribe regulatory frameworks/reforms and projects relevant to the growth of the BPO and Innovation industry.
The council will also identify, support and scale up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovations.
Led by the globally celebrated ICT expert, Professor William Bazeyo, the council includes distinguished ICT professionals from academia, public and private sectors.
The State Minister of ICT, Ms Ssebugwawo tasked the council to work towards given the unemployed youth some hope.
“Our economy significantly slowed down on account of Covid-19, now is the time to contribute to its rebuilding by creating opportunities for our youth. This will be a challenging task for the council, I nonetheless have confidence that they will deliver this national calling,” she said.
The permanent secretary at the Ministry of ICT, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, congratulated the various council members upon their appointment.
“The appointment of this BPO and Innovation council is a deliberate effort to contribute towards the collective effort to digitalize the economy as a vehicle to achieve social and economic development,” she said.
“It’s a strong response to the growing need for strengthening the coordination, inclusiveness and, ultimately, the effectiveness of BPO & Innovation development,” she added.
The members of the BPO and Innovation Council are Prof William Bazeyo (chairperson) and Dr. Rebecca Isabella Kiconco (vice chairperson), who works as a faculty member at the faculty of Commerce at Makerere University Business School in Uganda.
The other members are Rajeev Agarwal, a business consultant; Eva K. Mugerwa, a lawyer and member of the United Nations Joint Population Programme; Rowena Turinawe, the Business Transformation Manager at the National Information Technology Authority Uganda, and Fred Otunnu, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the Uganda Communications Commission.
Others are, Angela Ndagano, a communications specialist at the at the National Information Technology Authority Uganda, Richard Okuti, who currently works with CBI: Center for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries; Richard Zulu, the chairperson of Startup Uganda; Charles Odongtho, a communications consultant; and Dr. Diana Nandagire Ntamu, the Director of the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Incubation Centre at Makerere University Business School (MUBS).
xxax
