Ugandan women network launches a book about ICT-based entrepreneuship

By Milton Aineruhanga

KAMPALA, UGANDA, 08 Maio 2007

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) launches Women's ICT-based Enterprises Handbook and a CD entitled "A Guide to Promote, Initiate and Improve Women's ICT Based Enterprises in Uganda".

In February 2006 WOUGNET hosted the "More and Better Women's ICT-based Enterprises Workshop in Uganda" which is one element of the Women's ICT-based Enterprises (WIE) project whose goal is the creation of more and better women's ICT based enterprises in Uganda that are majority-owned and/or run by women and that operate in the ICT sector. The WIE project in Uganda is part of a global Women's ICT Enterprises Project, which is coordinated by Dr. 
Richard Heeks of the University of Manchester. 


The workshop also targeted women and key stakeholders engaged in promoting women's access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) to share experience of support and operation of women's ICT based enterprises, drawing from the experience of participants. 
 

Participants were drawn from a cross section of ICT practitioners including ICT service vendors, Internet Service providers, Mobile Communication Network service providers, ICT service retailers such as women selling call services, 
village phone services sellers, system developers, multimedia consultants, proprietors of secretarial bureau, non-government organisations (NGO), National Planning Agency (NPA) academic institutions such as the department 
of Gender Makerere University and the Ministry of Gender, labour and social development and Ministry of Works, Housing and Communication 
 

As a follow up to the workshop, WOUGNET has produced a localized WIE Guide and CD. The objective is to harness ICTs for socio-economic development. WIEs can provide women with immediate benefits such as jobs, income, skills 
empowerment etc. The WIE guide and CD are a tool to enable understanding of how this happens. Both are available at the WOUGNET Secretariat. 
 

The handbook is in three languages: English and two local languages Luganda and Luo. The CD contains the WIE workshop report and photos, keynote speech by Dr Margaret Kigozi - Executive Director of Uganda Investment Authority 
(UIA), the localized support guides and radio scripts in English, Luganda and Luo, as well as free software. 
 

The WIE project in Uganda is supported by the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as well as an advisory group 
composed of Ugandan participants to an India August 2005 workshop in which the English-language version of the handbook on supporting women's ICT-based enterprises was reviewed.
 

For more information, please contact the WOUGNET Secretariat at:

Women of Uganda Network WOUGNET  
Plot 53 Kira Road, Kamwokya
Tel: 041 4532035
Fax: 041 4530474
Email: info@wougnet.org
Web: www.wougnet.org/Projects/wieug.html  

For more information about the global project, you can visit: 
http://www.womenictenterprise.org. This website also provides a link to a 
handbook on supporting women's ICT-based enterprises.

(END/2007)