Uganda has launched its National Data Strategy 2026/27–2030/31, a five-year framework aimed at breaking down fragmented government data systems, improving public service delivery, and laying the groundwork for a data-driven economy. The strategy, launched Tuesday at Mestil Hotel in Kampala under the theme “Unlocking the Power of Data for Uganda’s Transformation,” is expected to cost approximately Shs1.66 trillion over its implementation period .
The framework is built around three pillars—data governance, data infrastructure, and strategic data utilisation—supported by two enablers: people and culture, and research, innovation and entrepreneurship . It aligns with Uganda Vision 2040, the Digital Uganda Vision, and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), which targets expanding the economy from $50 billion to $500 billion over the next 15 years .
Speaking at the launch, Dr Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, emphasised that the strategy was developed locally through extensive consultations with public institutions, the private sector, civil society, and academia. “The National Data Strategy is not a theoretical publication; it is an executive operational blueprint,” she said . She noted that reliable data is essential for informed government planning, citing examples such as determining whether a community needs a Health Centre III or IV based on population data .
The strategy sets concrete targets by the 2030/31 financial year, including expanding the number of government platforms integrated through the Uganda Government Integration Hub from 135 to 300, and increasing the proportion of NDP IV indicators supported by verifiable data from the current 36 per cent to 80 per cent . It also aims to establish two Tier IV data centres with a combined sovereign storage capacity of 10 petabytes .
UNDP Resident Representative Nwanne Vwede-Obahor underscored the urgency of the initiative, revealing that only 36 per cent of NDP IV indicators currently have data. “A nation with ambition on that scale deserves data to match it,” she said, referring to Uganda’s economic growth targets . She stressed that better data is central to accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with only four years remaining until 2030 .
The funding framework allocates Shs684.9 billion to data infrastructure, Shs553 billion to data governance, Shs319 billion to research and innovation, Shs71.4 billion to strategic data utilisation, and Shs34 billion to developing people and a data-driven culture . Government is expected to provide Shs1.2 trillion, with the remainder projected from commercialisation of value-added data services, development partners, and private-sector co-investment .
However, the launch has not been without controversy. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics issued a statement the following day describing the strategy as “illegal, irregular, redundant” and an encroachment on its statutory mandate under the UBOS Act, 1998, which establishes the bureau as the principal agency for coordinating the National Statistical System . The ICT ministry had not publicly responded to UBOS’s objections at the time of reporting.
Implementation will be coordinated through a National Data Steering Committee and a National Data Office within the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance . Dr Zawedde also linked the strategy to Uganda’s preparations for artificial intelligence adoption, noting that “artificial intelligence depends on the quality of the data used to develop and operate it” .
