By Ambrose Gahene
Uganda is set to host the annual Africa and Intellectual Property Symposium 2026 in Kampala from 22–23 October 2026.
The symposium will be held under the theme: “Building Africa’s Digital Single Market: The Role of Government and the Private Sector in Achieving Regional Integration.
According to organizers of the symposium, Uganda must help shape the rules and systems that will determine how Africa trades in the digital economy.
Mr. Kenneth Muhangi, Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Intellectual Property and Sustainability, KTA Advocates and convener of the conference, while addressing Journalists at the Uganda Media Centre last week, said digital trade means trade in goods and services that is ordered online or delivered digitally.
THE HOMELAND MEDIA GROUP/PHOTO
“A customer can order a physical product online and receive it by courier, while software or a professional service can be delivered over the internet. Social commerce is part of that story: businesses use platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp to find customers, take orders and sell”
“A trader may have no shopfront, yet have repeat customers, regular supplier payments and a growing business. That is why our discussion must connect what happens on a screen with payment, delivery and the finance needed to grow”, he said.
He said in their our work at KTA Advocates, the Centre for Law, Policy and Innovation Initiative CeLPII, and the Alliance for Digital Trade, E-Mobility and Couriers Association-Uganda, they meet people who have built businesses and now want to grow beyond Uganda.
“They have products, customers and ideas, but completing a transaction across a border can become the challenge. There are questions about payment, customs, delivery and which rules apply when something goes wrong. For a small enterprise, those costs can put a new market out of reach”, he added.
Mr. Muhangi said; getting to tenfold growth requires collaboration between government and the private sector.
“A digital trader’s ability to grow depends partly on their own effort, but also on infrastructure, regulation and decisions outside their control. Government support can make the difference between an opportunity that remains an idea and a business that creates employment”
“We need Ministers who listen to industry as a partner in development, and a relationship in which businesses can bring their experience and proposals to the table as partners rather than servants”, he further pointed out.
Hon. Sanjay Tanna, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives said this agenda supports the Ministry’s Strategic Plan for 2025–2030, including its focus on value addition, enterprise and cooperative development, export market access, e-commerce and the removal of trade barriers.
“Digital trade connects these priorities: it can help cooperatives find buyers, a manufacturer access regional distribution, and a creative entrepreneur earn from intellectual property across borders”, he said.
He said digital trade supports Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy and the ambition to build a US$500 billion economy by 2040.
“The strategy places expansion into regional and global markets at the centre of growth and identifies science, technology and innovation, including ICT and the creative industries, as drivers of economic transformation. Digital trade must therefore be part of how we increase the value and reach of Ugandan goods and services”, he added.
According to Minister Tanna, Uganda’s position within the East African Community (EAC) gives the country a direct stake in making integration work.
“The EAC Customs Union Protocol provides the framework for customs integration, while the Common Market Protocol provides for the movement of goods, persons, labour, services and capital, alongside rights of establishment
and residence. Our task is to make these integration commitments effective for businesses whose transactions increasingly begin online”, he added.
Minister Tana underscored the fact that; a trader should be able to understand the applicable rules, complete the necessary documentation and move an eligible consignment across a border without avoidable delays.
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