Kampala could soon tap into Ethiopia’s vast digital transformation experience following high-level talks between Uganda’s Ministry for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs and Ethio Telecom, one of Africa’s most profitable state-owned enterprises.
Minister Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, accompanied by her delegation Joshua Baguma, Dixon Kamukama, and Georgina Nyangoma Atwine from KCCA met with Ethio Telecom executives in Addis Ababa for a benchmarking engagement aimed at forging a city-to-city collaboration. 
Ethio Telecom, a monopoly provider of telecommunication services in Ethiopia, is widely regarded as the country’s “cash cow,” generating over USD 2.1 billion annually for the government.
Led by CEO Frehiwot Tamiru, the company has spearheaded Ethiopia’s rapid digital growth through infrastructure expansion, customer-driven innovations, and smart service delivery.
Speaking during the engagement, Ms. Tamiru underscored that Kampala stood to benefit from Ethiopia’s proven model of digital empowerment.
“As Ethiopia’s leading fully integrated telecommunications and digital solutions provider, we are keen to share our experience in delivering large-scale transformation projects,” she said, pointing to opportunities in smart city management, e-governance, digital finance, education, and smart agriculture. 
Minister Kabanda welcomed the proposal, noting that Kampala is pursuing Uganda’s broader vision of technology-driven socio-economic transformation.
Ethio Telecom praised Uganda’s commitment to citizen-centered digital growth and commended the government’s agenda on smart urban management.
Among the areas identified for possible collaboration were:
Development of intelligent urban management platforms
IoT-enabled infrastructure
Smart traffic management systems
Public safety solutions
Integrated data analysis platforms
The talks come at a time when Uganda is scaling up investments in ICT to accelerate its Vision 2040 ambitions. A partnership with Ethio Telecom could provide Kampala with tested solutions for tackling urban challenges, from traffic congestion to service delivery. 
If realized, the collaboration would not only deepen Uganda–Ethiopia bilateral ties but also position Kampala as a pioneer smart city hub in the region.
