Uganda entrepreneur recognises Fiji at Commonwealth youth meeting

Fiji was recognised at the 9th Commonwealth Youth Ministers’ Meeting in Kampala last Thursday by young Ugandan entrepreneur, Ronald Katamba.

Katamba, winner of the 2016 Commonwealth Technology Organisation’s Young Innovation Award, visited Fiji and met the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, to receive the award.

“Fiji is very beautiful,” he said showing his excitement and said he was already looking forward to return.

Mr Katamba’s award recognised his initiatives in health, climate change, agriculture and education.

Mr Katamba, the developer of the ‘Jaguza’ Livestock App said: “My platform helps sharing information, so if a Fijian wants to share with an Australian farm expert, they can connect in real time without moving.

“The most important is the offline platform because we want people who cannot access internet to have a platform where they can actually share information.”

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Laisenia Tuitubou, was delighted after the presentation that had Fiji again on the agenda.

“This shows the impact Fiji is having on the international stage as our footprint continues to expand with more people getting to know more about Fiji and the Pacific now than ever before,” Mr Tuitubou said.

Mr Tuitubou also said Mr Katamba was impressed by Fiji and the Honourable Attorney-General who inspired him to continue to expand his horizons.”

Mr Katamba also shared his story: “I used to sleep in the computer lab to get to the computer. I did not have a computer so the only way I have access to computers free-of-charge was to sleep in the lab. My company started in that computer lab and now we are known world-wide.”

Mr Katamba runs an information technology company, AfroSoft, which deals in web and mobile app development, mentoring young innovators, training interns among many other activities.

MrTuitubou said: “Mr Katamba is an example of how one can overcome adversity and while I do not necessarily recommend sleeping in a computer lab, I acknowledge the tenacity this shows. A lesson for any young entrepreneur.”

SOURCE: DEPTFO