Uganda is stepping up efforts to promote local manufacturing of mobile phones and computers as part of a strategy to lower device costs and accelerate digital adoption, authorities said.
Minister of ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsi said affordable devices are critical to expanding access to digital services, education and mobile-based transactions.
“If the prices of phones, computers and internet are reduced, people will be able to transact using their phones, study online and access services more easily. That is what the government is working to achieve,” Baryomunsi said at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi, according to local media reports.
The push comes as device affordability remains one of the main barriers to internet adoption across Africa, according to industry body GSMA. Despite the emergence of low-cost smartphones in recent years, GSMA says internet-enabled devices are still out of reach for many consumers.
The association recently launched a coalition with African telecom operators to support the development of 4G smartphones priced between US$30 and US$40, aimed at expanding mobile internet usage on the continent.
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Uganda is looking to emulate regional peers that have already moved into local device assembly. In neighboring Kenya, a public-private partnership led to the launch of a low-cost smartphone assembly plant in October 2023. By January, authorities said around five million devices had been assembled locally and sold at prices ranging from US$46.5 to US$62.2.
However, an October 2025 GSMA report found that adoption of locally assembled smartphones remains modest despite their lower prices. Consumers often perceive locally made devices as inferior in quality or less desirable compared with established international brands such as Infinix, Itel, Redmi and Vivo, which also compete aggressively in the low-cost segment.
According to GSMA, these findings highlight the need for local manufacturing initiatives to be supported by strong brand-building efforts, quality assurance and consumer trust strategies if they are to compete effectively with global manufacturers.
Beyond device affordability, GSMA notes that several other factors influence digital adoption, including network coverage, the cost of internet access, digital skills, availability of relevant local content, quality of user experience, and concerns around security and social norms.
Official data underscore Uganda’s digital access gap. According to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the country recorded about 45.7 million active mobile subscriptions as of the end of September 2025, compared with only 17 million active internet subscriptions, in a country with a population of around 50 million.
The regulator cautions that these figures may overstate actual user numbers, as each SIM card is counted as a separate subscription and many individuals own multiple SIMs. Smartphone connections stood at about 19 million during the same period.
Ugandan authorities say expanding local production of affordable devices is intended to help bridge this gap by making smartphones and computers more accessible to households and small businesses, supporting the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.
