E-Booster Uganda: towards an inclusive digital economy in Uganda through provision of ICT services to the underserved and unserved communities

e-Booster Uganda 2023 was a project of the Uganda Communications Commission implemented by Makerere University Business School between April 2023 and November 2023.We conducted interviews as well as a survey on Information and Communications Technology solutions from various sectors. A review of reports and academic publications related to access to communication services in Uganda was made with a focus on the nature of challenges and solutions that have been made by different actors. Findings reveal that Uganda has a wide digital divide based on geographical location, particularly between the rural and urban areas where there is a 70% difference in favour of the urban communities and businesses with only 9% of Ugandans living in rural areas having access to the Internet. It was also found that 60% of the urban population are poor and live in slums, hence causing more need for inclusion in the programme. It is concluded that increased access to and the usage of ICT services is critical for the attainment of National Development Plans including but not limited to the Parish Development Model where the underserved and unserved can be easily reached through ICTs and in supporting the monitoring of government programmes through promotion and information sharing to those communities and sectors.