Explore the insights of Simon Peter Wamahe, an IT expert and digital strategist committed to enhancing people’s lives through information technology. Simon is a beloved child of God, Remnant, husband, dad, brother, friend and nationalist!
If you’re anything like me, you probably have a couple of forgotten gadgets lying around; that Nokia button phone you once loved, a laptop with a spoiled keyboard, maybe even a box of random chargers you swear you will “use someday.”
Well, it turns out that these harmless collections are part of a much bigger national problem. I recently wrote a piece for 256 Business News titled “Uganda’s e-waste time bomb: Why awareness and recycling can’t wait” and the deeper I dug, the more urgent this issue became.
According to ITU, Uganda generated 41 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, but only a tiny amount is handled safely. The rest? It ends up in informal dumps, burned in backyards, leaking toxic materials into our soil and water. It’s one of those challenges that creeps up quietly until suddenly… it’s too big to ignore.
But here’s the good news: E-waste isn’t just a danger, it’s also a huge opportunity. If properly collected and recycled, it can create jobs, recover valuable metals, and build a more sustainable, circular economy for Uganda. We just need more awareness and more people doing the right thing.
If you’ve ever wondered what to do with your old devices or why this topic matters for our collective future, then this piece breaks it down in a simple, relatable way.
This year on September, Google turned 27 years since it officially started operating. My recollection of interaction with computers and the world wide web, take me to remember Disc Operating System- DOS, and Google, which seemed to be the door into the world wide web because you see, at that time the concept of the web is that there was lots of fun things, but to get to them, one had to initiatially search for them through Google. That meant that, if you knew how to type the URL www.google.com, you were fairly tech savvy enough. Ofcourse the more savvy folks would go to Yahoo to open their email to see who had sent them mail. Spam was rife and the so called Nigerian scam emails would always find their way to inboxes. Soon, we saw the introduction of Gmail. This was such a revolutionary way of doing email. The interface was so much more intuitive, and it had a fall back html version that would load in case your bandwidth was low. The revolution continued with the introduction of Google talk, which really didn’t pick up so much here in Uganda because most people had their instant messaging contacts on Yahoo messenger. The scenario would then be that you have your emails in Gmail, then you go to Yahoo to chat on messenger. We even had messenger dates, where you would go to an internet Cafe just to chat on messenger. You see, by that time browsing the web on the internet was a laborious task.
As a technology platform that has shaped the way millions interact with the web, it was then counter intuitive that Googles attempt at social media was a failure that was later buried. Google plus entered into the social media arena after the Facebook posed a steep challenge to the search giant. At a point it became that users would get on to Google just to search for Facebook.
This is akin to when Google launched the Chrome browser which was the death of the Internet Explorer browser. Their browser caught the attention of tech enthusiasts until it got to a point where many techies joke that whenever someone opens up a new laptop, they open Internet Explorer for one reason; to download Google Chrome.
One really transformative solution
Aaah, I won’t forget Google maps which together with Google earth would proverbial put the earth to fit into a computer. The thing about Google earth and a number of Ugandan users in its mobile version is that many would assume they knew how to work it. So, it there is a saying that if you want to get lost, completely trust a Google map. This is because the people that volunteer to register places on Google maps do it incompetent which then misleads users that want to enjoy the convenience of technology.
Google has since continued to blaze trails in the field of driverless cars. Now this is awesome, well, that is if you are not skeptical about technology that seems to have a mind of its own. You see, this is a product of un
Not long ago, my friend and I were chatting about what investments a person can easily make without taking big risks.
I quickly told him about government securities, not because I am a finance guru but because I came to appreciate them when I got involved in building Uganda’s first online Treasury Securities platform. Prior to doing so, I also did not really understand how treasury bills and bonds worked.
But as I explained to my friend that evening, government securities are safe, but they are also more accessible than most people realise.
Firstly, I shall define what these securities are: Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term investments issued by government through Bank of Uganda. They typically run for 91 days (3 months), 182 days (6 months), or 364 days (1 year), while treasury bonds, are long-term investments with maturities ranging from 2 years to 20 years. Both are backed by government, making them among the safest investment vehicles available.
Now, despite their safe nature, treasuries have remained little known by everyday Ugandans because of barriers such as the lack of awareness, and the misconception that you need lots of money to participate.
Technology is now bridging this gap by digitizing access to government securities, and has turned what was once an intimidating, physical process into something anyone with a phone or laptop can use.
I had the great privilege of contributing to this shift through my work on the Housing Finance Bank Treasury Securities Portal. The vision was simple: remove friction, make the process transparent, and open the door to a much wider pool of investors.
Through this portal, people can now invest from as little as UGX 100,000 without extra paperwork and this gives access to treasury bills and bonds with the option to also quicky open a CSD account that is required to transact in treasuries.
This seemingly small step in financial innovation, has translated into an impactfully powerful opportunity that opens the door for something that was once reserved for institutions, and makes it available to ordinary citizens.
In Uganda, when we talk about financial inclusion and digital migration, the conversation, while plausible, many times stops at opening accounts or expanding access to mobile money but it is not enough for people to only store money securely, there must also be opportunities to grow the money. This underscores the importance of investment platforms. They proliferate wealth-building tools and give everyone a chance to participate in the financial markets.
For Ugandans everywhere, this could mean starting a habit of investing in treasury bills rather than leaving savings idle or having no savings at all. For a business owner, it could mean diversifying cash reserves into safe instruments.
The Housing Finance Bank Treasury Securities Portal is just the beginning of such endeavors. The next frontier is integrating such services with mobile money systems, including such financial literacy directly into education, and enabling diaspora-based Ugandans to invest seamlessly from abroad.
Looking back at my conversation, I realise that it shall take greater awareness and accessibility to enable more people access treasury securities and other financial tools.
By making these tools more accessible via technological innovations, we are actively reshaping the culture of investment in Uganda. Financial inclusion and digital migration are no longer only about having a bank account or mobile money access it is now more about empowering citizens with the tools to build resilient financial futures.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to you. I shall be sharing thoughts and insights about IT systems and digital transformation plus my ability to digitize customer journeys, automate core processes, and build secure, data-driven platforms. Thank you for joining me in this exciting journey.
While I commit to this endeavour of sharing, I know that it takes work, determination and harnessing my passion for impactful information because technology systems are all about relaying information; whether it be news, education, entertainment or a prescription. It is all information packaged and delivered in different formats.
As you read and interact, take time to comment and share your thoughts and suggestions.
Thank you so much for your time, and look forward to this new beginning!
