MANAFWA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) — MTN Uganda, through the MTN Foundation, has graduated 390 young people and women who completed digital skills training in eastern Uganda, as the technology company seeks to expand access to technology beyond major urban centres.
The graduates completed a three-week programme in Manafwa and Soroti districts delivered in partnership with Maendeleo Foundation. The training covered computer operations, Microsoft applications, internet searches, online communication, responsible internet use and introductory artificial intelligence.
The graduation ceremony at Holy Family Catholic Church in Butiru, Manafwa District, was the third under the programme’s sixth phase, following earlier ceremonies in Kampala and Pader District in northern Uganda.
The initiative uses a mobile computer laboratory to deliver training in communities with limited access to digital learning facilities. More than 7,000 young people and women have received training since 2022, with completion rates exceeding 90%.
The programme comes as Uganda seeks to build a workforce capable of supporting a digital economy, with technology skills increasingly relevant to employment, business development and access to online services.
“Digital skills are essential for people to participate meaningfully in a changing economy,” said Moses Oburu, MTN Uganda’s regional business manager representing the eastern region. Bringing training closer to communities helps more Ugandans use technology for learning, work and business, he said.
The initiative aligns with the government’s Fourth National Development Plan for 2025/26 to 2029/30 and its Tenfold Growth Strategy, which targets an expansion of the economy from about $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040.
Rev.Fr. Moses Kisaka, Chairperson, Education Commision, Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo and chief guest at the ceremony, said digital skills could help young people and women access information, pursue employment and establish businesses.
Participants also took part in a skills competition to demonstrate their newly acquired knowledge. The top performers, Teddy Atim, Darius Wamatabu , Preema Mukhwana and Abraham Aburub, received laptops, tablets, smartphones and MiFi devices to support further learning and internet access.
Faith Nekesa, one of the graduates, said the training had increased her confidence in using computers and searching for information online.
MTN Uganda said graduates could continue their training through MTN ACE and MTN Skills Academy, which offer further opportunities to develop digital skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
