Uganda must position itself as a creator rather than a consumer of artificial intelligence technologies if it is to benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Monica Musenero has said.
Musenero made the remarks during the launch of the AI Research Cloud at Makerere University, a platform designed to support researchers and innovators developing artificial intelligence solutions in Uganda.
Speaking on Friday, the minister warned that Africa risks being left behind if it does not actively participate in developing the technologies shaping the global economy.
“We must not position ourselves as consumers of artificial intelligence,” Musenero said. “In previous industrial revolutions Africa largely became a consumer. This time we must become creators of advantage.”
She described the rapid rise of artificial intelligence—particularly generative AI—as a technological shift that has arrived suddenly and dramatically.
“Many people thought AI would come gently like a breeze, but it has arrived like a tsunami,” she said. “The question is whether we are going to survive it. Our answer must be to take our destiny into our own hands.”
Musenero said the Fourth Industrial Revolution presents a unique opportunity for Uganda because it is the first technological revolution that has found the country relatively prepared.
“Our nations are more stable, we have educated populations, growing infrastructure and leadership that understands the opportunity. We should not go through this revolution as spectators,” she said.
Musenero said universities will play a central role in driving Uganda’s technological transformation, noting that government has been establishing innovation centres within universities to enable students and researchers to develop technologies that can be commercialised.
“Young people must see themselves as creators and owners of technology, not just consumers,” she said.
She added that government funding for innovation will increasingly focus on projects that demonstrate real value and potential for impact.
“For me now, money follows value. If you show value, the funding will come,” Musenero said.
The newly launched AI Research Cloud is expected to provide researchers and innovators with local computing infrastructure to develop artificial intelligence models.
According to Dr. Joyce Nakatumba Nabende, a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at Makerere University and one of the project’s principal investigators, the cloud will allow innovators to store and process large datasets required for training AI systems.
“When working with artificial intelligence, data is the most important element. Data is the new gold that powers AI systems,” Nakatumba said.
She explained that developing modern AI models such as large language models requires significant computing power and storage capacity, which many local innovators previously lacked.
“The research cloud provides the space where innovators can upload their datasets and access computing resources to train their models,” she said.
The cloud was developed in partnership with the Research and Education Network for Uganda (RENU) and will allow researchers to store and process data within the country.
According to Nakatumba, previously, innovators relied on international commercial cloud services such as Amazon or Google, which can be expensive and raise concerns about data sovereignty.
“With this infrastructure located in Uganda, researchers can store and analyse their data locally, which is both cheaper and more secure, especially for sensitive sectors like health,” Nakatumba said.
Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe said the developments signal a shift in Africa’s role in global innovation.
“For far too long we have been marginalised and people even believed Africans cannot do what others do,” Nawangwe said. “But now we are seeing innovations emerging across the continent, and Uganda must become a hub for innovation in artificial intelligence and science.”
He said investments made in research infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic helped transform laboratories and laid the groundwork for current innovation efforts.
The AI Research Cloud is expected to support development of AI solutions across multiple sectors, including health, agriculture, finance and education.
Musenero expressed confidence that the country can become a regional leader in artificial intelligence if universities, government and innovators work together.
“If we build the infrastructure, develop the skills and use our own data to create value, Uganda will go far,” she said.
Mark Rujumba, Project Manager for the Pathogen Economy Labs Project, said the initiative aims to equip students and young entrepreneurs with the skills needed to develop practical AI solutions that can grow into sustainable enterprises.
The project is hosted at Makerere University and jointly run by the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) and the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS).
“What we are trying to do as a project is find ways of empowering young entrepreneurs and even students of AI to develop solutions that actually work,” Rujumba said.
“Very many people know about artificial intelligence, but how many know how to build an AI business that is profitable and scalable? That is what we are trying to address.”
Through innovation academies and mentorship programmes, participants are trained not only in the technical aspects of AI but also in entrepreneurship, helping them transform ideas into market-ready products.