Uganda tech innovation ranks high
- Published on 16 July 2012
-
East African nation, Uganda, has placed second in a list of African countries with advanced technological and innovation capabilities.
The study conducted by the Martin Prosperity Institute in the US says Uganda is a leader in technology innovation on the continent, with the West African country coming second to South Africa and followed by Madagascar.
Ruhakana Rugunda, minister of information and communications technology in Uganda attributes the country's current standing to the adoption of information technology in higher learning institutions across the country.
“Government’s policy towards ICT is good. Accessing internet is at low cost. The ministry is trying increase more infrastructure in this sector,” said Rugunda.
He noted that despite the surge in the number of foreign investors eyeing the country's ICT sector, more efforts are needed in bridging the gap in access to the internet.
“Our challenge now is to ensure that every region in this country access internet at a low cost,” said Rugunda.
Other African countries were not ranked for lack of data to measure the relative standing on technology, innovation, human capital and other measures of economic competitiveness.
The study measured the performance of countries in terms of research and development investment, scientific and engineering research and how they affect economic progress.
