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Government of Uganda in collaboration with Huawei Technologies, has launched the Huawei Digitruck project in the Teso sub-region of Eastern Uganda. The initiative aims to provide free digital skills training to over 10,000 recipients within three years, focusing on promoting digital literacy and enabling local trade.

Government has in partnership with Chinese tech giants Huawei Technologies launched an ICT Hub in Teso sub-region in Eastern Uganda.

The Huawei Digi truck project, which was started this year, aims to give more than 10,000 recipients free digital skills training over the course of three years.

Vice President Jessica Alupo said during the launch that the Digi truck project would give small business owners in the informal sector options for sustainable livelihoods by enabling them to engage in local and international trade.

“It gives me great joy to initiate this initiative because digital transformation is one of the main forces behind efficient human capital development,” she said.

The scheme will be executed in stages, beginning with the districts of Katakwi, Amuria, and Kaperabyong.

Later, the initiative will travel across the remaining Teso subregional districts.

The Vice President praised Huawei for demystifying ICT by making it accessible to everyone, including farmers, young people, women, children, the elderly, and others.

She also urged the youngsters to keep discipline during the course and to be extremely generous with their newly gained abilities to create a multiplier effect. She also requested Huawei to open an ICT resource center in Katakwi to support the program’s continuity and sustainability.

According to Alupo, the government views Huawei Uganda as a crucial and vital ally in the modernization of Uganda.

“We also thank Huawei for constructing smart infrastructure in this area, including supporting education through ICT,” she added.

She also requested that Huawei provide parish leaders with the technological expertise and training necessary for PDM success.

The Uganda Digi Truck initiative, which is being run in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Gender, and Social Development and a global social enterprise called Close the Gap, is in line with Uganda’s 2040 vision, National Development Plan, and Education Digital Agenda Strategy.

The focus of these initiatives, according to Katakwi RDC Maj. Godfrey Katamba, is on promoting digital foundation skills, digital communications and information, digital transactions, using the internet for problem-solving, online safety, civic responsibility, and data privacy, which will encourage the digitalization of the country’s informal sector (Jua-Kali) businesses for increased productivity and job growth.

To bridge the access and knowledge gap in digital literacy and ensure that no one is left behind, the Digi Truck initiative is coordinated with development and training partners worldwide.

Digi Trucks are mobile classrooms that are installed on trucks and were repurposed from abandoned shipping containers. Their mobility allows them to be driven to isolated and underprivileged communities that lack training facilities and, in certain circumstances, a power source because they are entirely solar-powered.

Each 40-hour course teaches students soft skills like creating a résumé, looking for employment online, and running an online business in addition to digital literacy skills like using computers, office programs, and the Internet.

Each Digi Truck is connected through 4G, can hold 20 students in a single class, and is furnished with a Huawei Idea Hub smart screen, 21.

“The two countries enjoy profound traditional friendship. In recent years, our political mutual trust continues to be consolidated, the practical cooperation in all fields yielding fruitful achievements. China wishes to cooperate with Uganda continuously to promote the comprehensive cooperative partnership in scoring new achievements, “Jian said.

“The Digi Truck Project that Huawei started in Uganda is one of the examples of Chinese companies in Uganda performing due social responsibilities.

He encouraged beneficiaries to use the skills acquired during the Digi Truck training to indulge in e-commerce, sell their farm produce online and to get jobs.