The new deal forms part of Liquid Telecom’s African Innovation initiative which is helping African innovation hubs to develop emerging technologies, such as cloud
Liquid Telecom Uganda has joined forces with The Innovation Village, a hub and co-working space in Kampala, to offer high-speed internet and cloud-based services to Ugandan start-ups.
The Innovation Village launched in 2015 and has already provided support to more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, covering fields as diverse as fintech, edtech, media, climate and agribusiness. Last year, the hub worked with 820 innovators, with 40 per cent of them being young women, helping to connect many with local partners and investors.
The partnership with The Innovation Village will involve technology developmental programmes, including Liquid’s ongoing Go Cloud initiative, which is supported by Microsoft and aims to raise awareness, adoption and usage of Azure Cloud across Africa.
“Uganda is home to one of Africa’s youngest and most exciting start-up ecosystems,” said Hans Haerdtle, CEO, Liquid Telecom Uganda. “Through this new partnership with The Innovation Village, we are delighted to be able to support young entrepreneurs across the country, who will be instrumental in developing solutions to some of society’s largest problems.”
In October 2017, Liquid Telecom announced that it is supporting start-ups entering insight2impact’s (i2i) DataHack4FI innovation competition, which aims to harness the power of data science to develop new evidence-based solutions to improve financial inclusion.
“In Liquid Telecom, we have found what we have always been looking for - a partner with entrepreneurial spirt and a deep appreciation of innovation that can help local start-ups truly connect to the regional marketplace,” said CK Japheth, CEO and co-founder, The Innovation Village. “This partnership with Liquid Telecom will help put Uganda on the regional and global innovation map, which starts with a vibrant start-up ecosystem driven by partnerships and access to a regional footprint. It opens the door for more partners and investors for the Ugandan entrepreneur.”
