Irene Kaggwa: The ‘precious stone’ that UCC rejected joins International Telecommunication Union in Switzerland 

Former Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Acting Executive Director, Eng. Irene Kaggwa’s exit from government is relatable to Jesus’ biblical expression of “a stone which builders rejected [eventually] became the cornerstone.”

But after the snub for the top ICT regulatory job in Uganda, Kaggwa is now trading her enviable skills and experience in the telecom industry with the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kaggwa is the Programme Manager at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for Giga, a joint ITU-UNICEF initiative that seeks to connect all schools to the Internet by 2030.

Kaggwa told the CEO Magazine that her role involves overseeing the overall Giga project implementation from the context of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), including formulation of strategies for the substantive development and execution of the program.

“Currently there are 34 member states participating in Giga but more are coming on board and are in the pipeline. Uganda is eligible and will probably jump on board too,” she said.

Kaggwa resigned in July from her UCC role of Director Engineering and Communications Infrastructure. Until her resignation, Kaggwa was largely known in the public arena for her role as the former UCC Executive Director where she served her tenure in acting capacity lasting for nearly four years since February 2020, after taking over from Godfrey Mutabazi, with long ticks and remarkable achievements to her name.

She was replaced in November, 2023, by Nyombi Thembo, a shrewd politician and an economist, and no stranger to the corporate corridors at Uganda Communications Commission headquarters in Bugolobi, an affluent Kampala suburb.

Kaggwa has vast experience in the ICT sector policy development, research, regulation and implementation in various aspects including internet development, licensing, universal access, quality of service, numbering resource management as well as promotion of research and innovation.

An engineer by profession, she holds a Master of Science in Communications Systems and Signal Processing from University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and a Master of Science in Economic Management and Policy (Business Economic Pathway) from University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom. She acquired her Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Makerere University Kampala.

Her previous roles also included serving as the Head of Research and Development Unit as well as Coordinator of the Office of the Executive Director.

Eng. Kaggwa oversaw the launch of the cutting edge 5G network technology revolution spearheaded by Uganda’s telecom sector this year, and digital innovations within the radio and television space.

Even in her last days as Acting executive director, she was at the forefront of Airtel’s listing on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), following the listing of  MTN in 2021.

The listing of the two major telecoms in the country was a requirement under the National Broadband Policy launched in 2018 requiring telecoms to list atleast their 20 percent shareholding on USE.

In the public arena, Ms Kaggwa leads an active corporate life appearing on major discussion panels.

Ms Kaggwa was at forefront of growing telecom revenues for UGX 4.26 trillion in 2020 to UGX 4.87 trillion in 2022, reduced cost of a gigabyte (GB) to UGX 5000, and the growth of internet subscriptions to 26 million among other key achievements.