KAMPALA (UGNEWSLINE) — For an entrepreneur selling clothes through WhatsApp, a manufacturer seeking customers in neighbouring countries or a technology startup looking beyond Uganda’s borders, Africa’s digital economy presents a vast commercial opportunity. Yet turning an online order into a completed cross-border sale can still mean navigating incompatible payment systems, complex customs procedures, expensive deliveries and uncertain regulations.
Uganda wants to help change that, positioning closer cooperation between governments and businesses as a catalyst for a more integrated African digital marketplace capable of expanding trade, attracting investment and creating jobs.
At the centre of that ambition is the KTA Annual Africa Technology and Intellectual Property Symposium (ATIS) 2026, scheduled for October 22–23 at the Kampala Marriott Hotel, where policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, technology companies and e-commerce associations will explore how to make cross-border digital commerce work more effectively for African businesses.
Kenneth Muhangi, a co-convenor of the symposium and a partner at KTA Advocates, says Africa’s digital transformation will deliver its greatest economic benefits when governments work more closely with the private sector to address the practical obstacles preventing businesses from expanding beyond their domestic markets.
Speaking at a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, today (October 15, 2026), Muhangi said entrepreneurs were increasingly using online platforms to market products, build customer relationships and generate sales, but many continued to encounter significant barriers when attempting to serve customers in other countries.
“For a small enterprise, those costs can put a new market out of reach,” he said, referring to the expense and complexity of cross-border payments, customs clearance, delivery and regulatory compliance.
His argument reflects a broader challenge facing Africa’s digital economy: connecting consumers and sellers online is only one part of building a functioning regional market. Businesses must also be able to receive payments reliably, move goods efficiently, protect their intellectual property and operate under clear, predictable rules.
Trade Minister Sanjay Tanna, similarly called for Uganda to play a more active role in shaping the policies and systems that will govern digital commerce across the continent.
He argues that online trade will remain constrained unless businesses can reach customers beyond national borders, complete transactions with confidence and compete under rules that support fair and efficient market access.
“Uganda must help shape the rules and systems that will determine how Africa trades in the digital economy,” Tanna said in a statement ahead of the symposium. “Our businesses need to reach customers beyond our borders, receive payment reliably, deliver their products efficiently and compete in a market they can trust.”
For Uganda, the stakes extend beyond technology adoption. A more connected digital marketplace could give small and medium-sized enterprises, manufacturers, cooperatives and creative businesses access to larger customer bases without requiring them to establish a physical presence in every market they want to serve.
It could also strengthen the commercial prospects of entrepreneurs who operate primarily through social media, an increasingly important channel for businesses that lack the capital to maintain conventional retail outlets.
Muhangi said financial institutions needed to recognise the economic potential of these businesses and develop financing approaches suited to their operations.
A trader selling through WhatsApp, Instagram or TikTok, for example, may have a consistent stream of orders, established suppliers and repeat customers without having the conventional business premises or documentation traditionally associated with bank lending.
Greater cooperation between banks, digital platforms, courier companies and business associations could help lenders better understand these enterprises and assess their commercial activity, he said, creating opportunities for them to obtain financing, increase inventory and expand into regional markets.
However, access to finance will deliver limited benefits if businesses cannot move products and payments across borders at competitive costs. This is where customs modernisation, interoperable payment systems and coordinated regulation become central to Africa’s digital trade ambitions.
Muhangi pointed to Uganda’s Electronic Single Window as an example of how institutional cooperation can reduce trade costs.
The system brings together government agencies involved in trade processes and has been implemented through collaboration involving the Uganda Revenue Authority and TradeMark Africa.
According to TradeMark Africa figures cited by Muhangi, traders using the system saved $26.4 million in 2021 through reduced clearance times and paperless transactions.
The experience, he said, demonstrates the potential for coordinated reforms to produce measurable commercial benefits.
Extending similar efficiencies to digital commerce would require institutions responsible for payments, customs, transport, communications, taxation and consumer protection to work towards compatible systems rather than operating in isolation.
Uganda’s position within the East African Community gives it a direct interest in these reforms.
The bloc’s Customs Union and Common Market frameworks provide a foundation for regional economic integration, but businesses need those commitments to translate into simpler procedures and more predictable conditions for conducting transactions across member states.
At the continental level, the African Continental Free Trade Area offers an even broader framework for expanding market access. Its Protocol on Digital Trade seeks to establish common principles and rules for digital commerce, supporting cooperation among countries as they develop their digital economies.
For Uganda, aligning domestic reforms with these regional and continental initiatives could help businesses move beyond a collection of separate national markets towards a more connected commercial environment.
The government’s ambitions are also linked to its wider economic transformation agenda.
Tanna said digital trade aligns with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives’ Strategic Plan for 2025–2030, which prioritises value addition, enterprise development, export market access, e-commerce and the removal of trade barriers.
He also connected the agenda to Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy and its ambition to build a $500 billion economy by 2040, arguing that technology and innovation must contribute more directly to expanding the reach and value of the country’s goods and services.
“Digital trade must therefore be part of how we increase the value and reach of Ugandan goods and services,” he said.
Yet Muhangi believes the pace of progress will depend heavily on whether governments are prepared to engage businesses before policies are finalised and implementation decisions are made. Companies working in technology, finance and logistics, he said, often have direct experience of the infrastructure gaps, regulatory inconsistencies and operational costs that policymakers are trying to address.
“We need government to come to us, invite us into the conversation and welcome what we have to offer,” he said.
He cited internet infrastructure as one area where stronger coordination could help. The Internet Service Providers Association of Uganda, he said, was willing to contribute to efforts to address congestion involving infrastructure poles, but effective action required cooperation with government on permissions, technical standards and implementation.
Similar issues arise in financial technology, where investors may see opportunities in Uganda but need greater clarity on regulatory requirements and the conditions under which new services can operate.
Muhangi also identified carbon markets as an emerging area in which predictable rules, efficient approvals and constructive public-private engagement could help attract financing and support projects with economic and community benefits.
These examples illustrate why digital trade cannot be treated as a matter for technology companies alone. Its development depends on a wider ecosystem of infrastructure providers, financial institutions, regulators, logistics operators and businesses whose systems must work together if online transactions are to translate into real economic activity.
The forthcoming symposium is expected to bring many of these players into the same discussions.
The Bank of Uganda and payment service providers are expected to contribute perspectives on payments, while Posta Uganda, DHL Express Uganda and Jumia are expected to offer insights into delivery and logistics. The Uganda Revenue Authority and TradeMark Africa will also participate in discussions on customs and trade facilitation.
The programme is expected to feature Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, and Lacina Koné, director-general and chief executive officer of Smart Africa, connecting Uganda’s domestic experience with broader continental efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure and economic integration.
Taxation is another issue likely to attract attention, particularly as governments seek to collect revenue from growing digital economic activity without creating compliance burdens that disproportionately affect smaller businesses.
Questions surrounding value-added tax, digital services taxation, payment regulation and data governance will require careful consideration, Tanna said, cautioning that the discussions should not be interpreted as decisions already taken.
Cybersecurity, intellectual property protection and consumer rights will also be important to building confidence in online markets.
As more transactions move into digital channels, businesses and consumers need assurance that payments are secure, personal information is handled appropriately and commercial disputes can be addressed under clear rules.
For smaller enterprises, these protections are not separate from growth.
Confidence in the systems governing digital transactions can determine whether a customer is willing to buy from a seller in another country, whether a business can invest in serving a new market and whether an entrepreneur can build a sustainable brand beyond social media.
Organisers hope the symposium will produce practical recommendations, including a proposed memorandum of understanding among African e-commerce associations and a joint policy paper outlining private-sector priorities for engagement with national ministries, regional institutions and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The symposium is being convened by KTA Advocates, the Centre for Law, Policy and Innovation Initiative, the Uganda Law Society, the Alliance for Digital Trade, E-Mobility and Couriers Association-Uganda, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, alongside other partners.
Muhangi thanked Tanna and the ministry’s team, led by Permanent Secretary Lynette Bagonza, for supporting the initiative, emphasising that sustained cooperation between public institutions and industry would be essential to translating policy discussions into workable reforms.
Ultimately, Africa’s digital trade ambitions will be measured not by the number of online platforms available to businesses, but by how easily those businesses can turn digital visibility into sales, receive money from customers abroad, deliver products on time and expand without facing disproportionate regulatory and logistical costs.
For a small Ugandan enterprise, that could mean reaching customers in Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria or other African markets without the expense and uncertainty that currently complicate cross-border expansion.
For the wider economy, it could mean more competitive businesses, greater opportunities for value addition, new employment and stronger participation in regional and international commerce.
The challenge now is to ensure that the systems supporting digital trade evolve as quickly as the businesses using them. As policymakers and industry leaders prepare to meet in Kampala, the central question is whether Africa can turn its ambition for a connected digital economy into a practical marketplace in which national borders become less of a barrier to doing business.
