National Information Technology Authority – Uganda (NITA-Uganda) hosted a successful eGovernment Excellence Expo on 20th – 21st June 2019  at the Garden city Rooftop under the theme “Bold Digital Government: Unlocking Service Delivery”

 The event that attracted more than 50 exhibitors, was officially opened by the Minister of Finance; Hon. Matia Kasaija. It presented a remarkable platform where public entities had an opportunity to engage with clients and share their service delivery experience as well as their advancement in leveraging technology. 

RAN innovations (Safe Bangle, Akello Banker, M-Omulimisa) had a great privilege to showcase their products and services as well as engage with stakeholders and other Exhibitors who were ranging from Government entities, development partners, the academia, utility companies and private sector players among others. 

NITA-Uganda is cognisant that Service delivery is a key factor in nation building activities with in all sectors in the country. This places a renewed emphasis on all stakeholders to understand what service delivery really means. The theme was coined to focus on the ability of all actors within the Ugandan Government to understand what service delivery means and what their role in delivering services mean to each individual citizen of the country.The eGovernment Excellence awards program was thus established to create awareness of eGovernment services across the citizenry and within the different spheres of Public sector. 

The Minister applauded NITA and its partners for organizing the event emphasizing that this expos is an opportunity to show Ugandans how technology is improving lives through efficient service delivery.

The event created a good platform for innovators to connect to potential and useful partners, gain visibility among other entities government and the private sector

About the Innovation Projects Showcased:

  1. Akello Banker: A data-driven mobile tech platform, that was launched in 2016 and received grant funding support from ResilientAfrica Network to conduct need-finding assessment which informed the design and development of a client-centered Platform. Based on the needfinding results, the product was reshaped to fit the needs of the users. A number of Pivots were made from issuing direct cash to farmers and small scale traders to offering Products and services on credit, and from working with SACCOS only as distribution partners to Integrating Merchants (Seed sellers, Tractor owners and rural medical facilities) as distribution partners. To date, the project has presence in 32 locations serving over 50,000 low income Earners with tractor hire credit, improved seed credit and medical services credit, by leveraging data & mobile Tech to offer structured re-payments compatible to the user needs. Akellobanker platform integrates mobile money and the use of USSD to facilitate instant access, disbursements and repayments. Moreover, the data historical collected is used to generate unique Credit Identities, which track user credit behaviour and assign appropriate credit scores. We believe that everyone has a financial history, except for the fact that it is not documented. The documentation processes form part of the customer journey towards making access to credit simple and easy.

  1. Safe Bangle: This is a wearable technology developed for women and girls to privately report violence to at least 5 trusted people registered on their profile. On pressing the panic button, it sends texts messages to trusted friends and family requesting for help, clearly indicating the victim’s physical location in addition to recording an audio of the violence situation at hand  for use as evidence. It is highly confidential, quick, user friendly and an affordable means of reporting.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQQsulYJw-U&index=3&list=PL-j0GgDO9bs5fCECcpMpye88wDYHfwUiO

 

 

  • M-Omulimisa: This is a mobile and web-based platform that enables farmers to exchange information with extension officers in their local languages for free. The platform integrates human mediation and text messaging to create a mobile and web-based consultation space. The system leverages the ubiquitous presence of mobile phones to improve farmers’ access to extension services as well as their (extension services) efficiency and effectiveness. Farmers can use their phones to ask questions in languages that they understand, and receive feedback from extension officers via text messages. Some of the key partnerships include nonprofit organizations providing conventional agricultural extension services such as World Vision Uganda, Sasakawa Global 2000 and District Local Governments. They leverage their well-established networks with farmers and extension officers to mobilize and train farmers. 

more photos from the exhibition;