Roke Telkom awarded Shs 100 million grant for Covid-19 tracker software

Roke Telkom, a fully licensed Ugandan-based telecommunications company has been awarded a grant worth Ushs. 100 million under Phase 3 of the National Support Initiatives Program.

The grant from the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance will enable Roke Telkom to adapt and localise the Cogniware Insights system software and the entire analytics process cycle for the Ugandan market. “Our team is honored to qualify as a beneficiary with a grant award of Shs 100 million.

We are looking forward to expanding on our innovation initiatives with further localisation for deployment and use in Uganda and the region as a whole,” Michael Mukasa, the Chief Commercial Officer at Roke Telkom said.

The endorsement and recognition of the Cogniware Insights systems software by the Ministry of ICT conveys the important work that is happening behind the scenes with home-grown firms and their partners within the telecommunications sector.

Roke Telkom will partner with FSJ Solutions, a Danish company whose key focus is to bring critical skills and solutions from around the world to areas where they are in short supply.

Mauricia Kayizi, the Head of Product and Business Intelligence at Roke Telkom said they are appreciative for the support and the opportunity to advance themselves through the lens of Uganda’s health sector.

"For this project, we will be working hand-in-hand with FSJ Solutions to advance learning of local teams and promote skills transfer as a way to build capacity and knowledge on how to use the software that will play a huge role in reducing further spread of Infections both now and in the future of our country,” said Kayizi.

Of the 918 applications that were submitted, only 45 applications including Roke Telkoms’ were selected to receive the grant award.

Roke, through this grant, will help in fulfilling National Development Plan (NDP) III ICT initiatives which are a part of Uganda’s Vision 2040.

According to the NDP III Report, under the Digital transformation section, one of the objectives is to enhance the usage of ICT research, innovation, and development through promoting supporting local manufacturing and assembly of ICT devices and software.

Over the next five years, Uganda will focus on promoting the use of ICT across all sectors of the economy through; deployment of secure, integrated, and cross-sector infrastructure, developing and promoting the usage of e-services, ensuring standardisation and interoperability of systems, supporting innovation, and commercialisation of ICT products.