- MTN Uganda, in partnership with Burn Radio Ltd, has backed the expansion of the World Robot Olympiad Uganda National Championship, providing students from under-resourced schools a rare entry point into one of the country’s fastest-growing STEM platforms.
- Held at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa, the 2025 edition of the Olympiad attracted 20 schools and over 200 students, who presented robotics solutions under the theme “The Future of Robots.”
- The competition is Uganda’s qualifying round for the WRO Global Finals in Singapore, scheduled for November, where the country will participate for the first time since joining the global programme in 2023.
- The initiative aligns with MTN Uganda’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to accelerate the country’s digital transformation through investment in education, entrepreneurship, and digital infrastructure.
Kampala, Uganda- 8th August 2025. MTN Uganda, in partnership with Burn Radio Ltd, has backed the expansion of the World Robot Olympiad Uganda National Championship, providing students from under-resourced schools a rare entry point into one of the country’s fastest-growing STEM platforms.
Held at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa, the 2025 edition of the Olympiad attracted 20 schools and over 200 students, who presented robotics solutions under the theme “The Future of Robots.”
The competition is Uganda’s qualifying round for the WRO Global Finals in Singapore, scheduled for November, where the country will participate for the first time since joining the global programme two years ago.
Through a joint initiative dubbed the Bridging the Digital Divide Program, MTN Uganda and Burn Radio identified 10 schools from districts including Bugiri, Gulu, Kalangala, Luweero, Wakiso, and Kampala. Students and teachers were trained in robotics, coding, and artificial intelligence tools. Eight of these schools competed in this year’s national championship for the first time.
“Many of these schools had never had access to this kind of opportunity,” said Nelson Munyanda, Manager, MTN Uganda Foundation. “We’ve equipped students and teachers not only with tools but with confidence and exposure. This is inclusion in action.”
Some of the participating schools included Kasanga Seed Secondary School, Nakasero Primary School and Kitante Primary School from Kampala, St Andrew Kaggwa’s SS and Horizon PEAS High School from Luwero, PEAS Town View High School (Bugiri), Bishop Nsubuga Memorial School (Kalangala) and Onwards and Upwards PEAS High School ( Wakiso).
The initiative aligns with MTN Uganda’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to accelerate the country’s digital transformation through investment in education, entrepreneurship, and digital infrastructure. It complements ongoing programmes such as the MTN Skills Academy, MTN ACE, and school-based ICT labs.
The championship comes amid broader efforts by the Ugandan government to meet its Vision 2040 goals, which include transforming the economy into a knowledge-based and innovation-driven system. The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, along with partners such as Google, UNECA, and Camden Education Trust, supported this year’s event.
“This isn’t just about robotics. It’s about preparing a digital-ready workforce,” said Munyanda. “We’re seeing how quickly students adapt when given access. The implications for Uganda’s innovation pipeline are enormous.”
Ambrose Ruyooka, Assistant Commissioner for Research and Development at the Ministry of ICT, commended MTN for supporting the initiative, noting that it is well aligned with Uganda’s national development agenda.
“The Ministry of ICT is proud to be associated with this initiative and applauds the organisers, including the MTN Foundation, for convening such a timely and impactful event. It resonates strongly with the vision and goals outlined in Uganda Vision 2040,” he said.
“Seeing children from both primary and secondary schools creating solutions to real-world challenges is not only inspiring but also a clear sign that we are making progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Uganda’s digital skills gap has, for some time, remained a challenge. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, less than 10% of students in rural areas have access to computers or basic ICT training. MTN Uganda’s intervention, while modest in scale, could set a precedent for public-private sector collaboration in youth-focused tech education.
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About MTN Uganda Foundation
The MTN Uganda Foundation is a not-for-profit legal entity that was inaugurated in July 2007 as a vehicle through which MTN Uganda implements its corporate social investments (CSI). The Foundation strives to improve the quality of life in communities where MTN Uganda operates in a sustainable way. Its purpose is to bring about meaningful, measurable, and sustainable change that helps disadvantaged and rural communities to become self-sufficient. With a focus on innovative technology, we aim to uplift communities towards independence in this bold new digital world. The Foundation invests resources for social redress, thus economic empowerment, education, health, and humanitarian response. The Foundation implements projects that are highly enabled by ICT solutions.
About MTN Uganda
MTN Uganda is a leading telecoms company in Uganda with a primary objective of carrying on the business of a national operator of a telecommunications network pursuant to the National Telecommunications Operator (NTO) licence granted by the Uganda Telecommunications Commission (UCC). Among our offerings are network services, digital and financial technology services, interconnect and roaming, sale of mobile devices, and MTN Mobile Money (conducted through subsidiary MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited). MTN has a presence in all 134 districts of Uganda. Services are delivered through a network of over 202,000 MoMo agents, 382,000 MoMo merchants, 200 service stores and 13 main distributors. For the full year period ended June 30, 2024, MTN Uganda had 20.7 million subscribers, 12.5 million MoMo users, and 8.8 million active data users. Visit us at www.mtn.co.ug or follow us on www.youtube.com/mtnug and www.twitter.com/mtnug for assistance.
About the MTN Group
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our 240 million customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code “MTN.” We are pursuing our Ambition 2021 strategy, focusing on growth in data, fintech, and digital businesses.
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