Assessing the digital trade rules in Rwanda and Uganda

Digital trade is reshaping economies worldwide, yet significant gaps remain in understanding the factors influencing its development within specific national contexts, particularly in Uganda and Rwanda. Despite a limited academic focus on digital trade policies in these countries, both have launched ambitious digital transformation initiatives. Rwanda’s Ministry of ICT recently implemented a three-year digital transformation programme aimed at leveraging the digital economy to drive growth and support export-led development, in alignment with its National Strategy for Transformation (NST2). Likewise, Uganda’s Digital Transformation Roadmap underscores the importance of effective regulations to foster a robust e-commerce sector, ensuring consumer protection and fair competition. This project seeks to bridge the gap between academic insights and institutional developments by providing expertise that can enhance digital trade policy-making processes and the implementation of existing digital transformation plans.
By gathering insights from stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, the study seeks to provide actionable recommendations that support effective policies and foster an inclusive and dynamic economic environment. Ultimately, this research will contribute to the operationalisation of Rwanda’s and Uganda’s digital transformation agendas, facilitating the growth of digital trade and its benefits for local economies.