The proposed $200m (sh732b) Information Communication Technology (ICT) Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Park in Entebbe is expected to rake in at least sh219.6trillion ($60b), a sum almost twice the current size of the economy, experts have said.

Uganda’s economy is currently estimated at $33b (sh121trillion), growing initially at about 7%. Although it contracted in 2020 due to Covid-19, to 2.7% growth, predictions indicate it will pick up to 4.3% in 2021, and touch 5.6% growth in 2022.

Doubling the economy, they said, would be possible through accelerated growth of ICT- based Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and startups in the park, over a thirty years period, hence greatly boosting social-economic growth.

The National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) executive director, Dr Hatwib Mugasa said the park would come with a lot of incentives for both investors and entrepreneurs, making it the destination of choice in the region.

He said the Entebbe Park, sitting on an 18-acre piece of land, would also employ about 20,000 people directly with more than 40,000 others employed indirectly.

“The social-economic benefit of ICT Park to the country is big. Consolidated business after 30 years, for instance, is expected to hit $60b,” he said, during a market sounding conference for the development of the BPO Park on Thursday.

According to Mugasa, the Park will house an innovation hub and incubation centre for startups and a data centre to provide in-house services and cloud services for the solutions that are being developed.

It will also have a global centre where multinationals will come in-house and demonstrate their products to innovation and startup companies.

He said the tech regulator would also build other similar regional ICT parks, to facilitate research and local solutions for indigenous problems, using ICT.

“In the initial phase, we shall put up a park on 18 acres at Entebbe, but gradually increase this to about 100 acres across different regions in the country,” he said.

The permanent secretary, ministry of ICT, Vincent Bagiire welcomed the move, saying this would make Uganda an IT hub in the region, hence improving its competitiveness.

“To achieve this, government is seeking a PPP and all the agencies including the ministry of finance and UIA are supportive of the idea,” he said.

John Rujoki Musinguzi, the URA commissioner general said the park would be gazetted as a special economic zone to attract multinationals, hence facilitating technology and skills transfer to local entrepreneurs.

He said it would also offer a linkage between research and industry, resulting in innovations that give solutions to local problems, as well as bring additional revenue to the country through the various activities.

“It will also have a special zone dedicated to new technology, such as artificial intelligence, robotics and others to see how they are suited for Ugandan local consumption,” Musinguzi said.

Joseph Kiggundu, the executive director of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) said the park will contribute towards the provision of specialised services which is a big contribution to this economy.

He said it would also help in improving the business competitive business ranking and the African investment index.

He added that Uganda has been fast-tracking the issue of automation and this is the best time to build a BPO park, to increase competitiveness.

ICT remains a top player in Uganda’s economic growth, hosting some of the largest taxpayers in the country and providing thousands of jobs.

According to Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Investment in the sector has averaged $180b (sh680trillion) per year, which has created an impact on job creation, with more than 1.5 million employed both directly and indirectly.

Already, efforts are ongoing to integrate ICT in government service delivery, in order to provide quality services to citizens, tame corruption and improve the national competitiveness

The ICT Sector is one of the core sectors identified in the National Development Plan II as one of the Job creation sectors, apart from creating new business opportunities and increased household incomes.

It is one of the core sectors identified in the National Development Plan II as one of the Job creation sectors.