By Julius Businge
The Dutch government through its foreign affairs ministry announced a US$1.2mn (approx. Ush3.4bn) support to 30 Business Process Outsourcing companies of Uganda under the Netherlands Trust Fund III. While announcing the support in Kampala, the capital city ON Feb. 5, the Netherlands Ambassador to Uganda, Alphons Hennekens said the support will improve market access and enhance export capacity for the selected companies.
The embassy received 82 applications from Ugandan companies but selected only 30. James Saaka, the executive director at National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) who also represented government said the growth of the BPO industry in Uganda is and will continue to depend on incentives, favorable investment climate, infrastructure development and human capital, which he said government was ready to provide.
NTF III is a three year initiative (2014- 2017). It seeks to create and support jobs in the IT sector in Uganda and will enhance export competitiveness of the sector leading to increased export revenues for enterprises. The project will also increase capacities in business, management and export marketing skills at enterprise level in the IT sector among other benefits. The International Trade Center, NITA-U, Uganda Business Process Outsourcing Association (UBPOA) and the ICT Association of Uganda (ICTAU) are working closely to implement the project.