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Beyond the wallet: Next chapter of digital finance in Uganda
Uganda’s digital financial services journey has reached an important inflection point. Mobile money has evolved from a convenient way to send and receive money into an essential part of how millions of Ugandans pay, save, borrow and run their businesses.
Phrase Lubega. (Courtesy)
By: Admin ., Journalist @New Vision
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OPINION
By Phrase Lubega
Uganda’s ambition to achieve 10-fold economic growth under the national development agenda provides an important context for the next phase of digital finance. Achieving this ambition will require an economy that is more productive, connected and digitally enabled. I believe digital financial services have an important role to play in enabling this transformation.
Uganda’s digital financial services journey has reached an important inflection point. Mobile money has evolved from a convenient way to send and receive money into an essential part of how millions of Ugandans pay, save, borrow and run their businesses.
The opportunity before us now is not simply to bring more people into the digital financial ecosystem. It is to create more value for those already in it.
Uganda’s first chapter of digital finance was about access. Mobile money put a financial account into the hands of millions of Ugandans and created a nationwide network through which people could send, receive and cash out money. With 14.8 million active MoMo wallets, we have a strong foundation on which to build. The more important question is what customers can do with their money once it enters the ecosystem. Can they save and build a financial history? Can that history help them access appropriate credit? Can a small business use digital transactions to manage its operations more effectively and unlock new opportunities? Can a farmer connect more efficiently to markets?
These are the questions that will shape the next chapter of digital finance.
For a small trader, digital payments can reduce the everyday challenges associated with cash, from counting and reconciliation to the risk of counterfeit notes. More importantly, consistent digital transactions can create a financial footprint that supports access to other financial services.
For a boda boda rider, a digital payment should offer more than a convenient way to receive money. It can become an entry point to services such as credit, insurance, health and investment. This is how we can make digital finance more valuable than simply replacing cash.
Technology will also play an increasingly important role. The responsible use of artificial intelligence can help us better understand customer behaviour, strengthen fraud detection, personalise services and determine appropriate levels of credit. But technology must solve a real problem and create a better outcome for the customer.
These are the questions that will shape the next chapter of digital finance.
For a small trader, digital payments can reduce the everyday challenges associated with cash, from counting and reconciliation to the risk of counterfeit notes. More importantly, consistent digital transactions can create a financial footprint that supports access to other financial services.
For a boda boda rider, a digital payment should offer more than a convenient way to receive money. It can become an entry point to services such as credit, insurance, health and investment. This is how we can make digital finance more valuable than simply replacing cash.
Technology will also play an increasingly important role. The responsible use of artificial intelligence can help us better understand customer behaviour, strengthen fraud detection, personalise services and determine appropriate levels of credit. But technology must solve a real problem and create a better outcome for the customer.
The same principle applies to credit. The goal should not simply be to make credit more available, but to make it more relevant and responsible, while encouraging timely repayment and stronger financial habits.
None of this can be achieved by one organisation alone. Uganda’s digital financial future will depend on stronger partnerships between banks, fintechs, technology companies, merchants, developers and businesses across the economy.
As Uganda pursues its 10-fold growth ambition, digital finance must evolve with the economy. We need to move from access to value, from transactions to opportunities, and from individual products to connected ecosystems. Ultimately, the future of mobile money should not be measured only by how many people use it. It should be measured by how much more people and businesses are able to achieve because they have access to it.
From closed ecosystems to an interoperable digital economy. Customers should be able to move value seamlessly between mobile wallets, banks, merchants, government and other platforms. Uganda's future therefore depends on affordable interoperability and digital public infrastructure not simply competing proprietary networks.
From cash-out to digital circulation. The real transformation occurs when money received digitally stays digital moving from salary to merchant, school, transport, utility, government payment, savings or investment without first becoming cash. Uganda's electronic-money transaction value reportedly grew from sh285.9 trillion in 2024 to sh366 trillion in 2025, demonstrating the scale already flowing through digital channels.
From financial inclusion to economic inclusion. This is the biggest shift. Digital finance should become an engine for Uganda's broader transformation supporting agriculture, SMEs, government services, PDM, e-commerce and job creation. Uganda's Digital Transformation Programme explicitly links technologies and digital platforms to productive sectors and wealth-creation programmes under NDP IV and the Tenfold Growth Strategy.
The writer is the Managing Director, MTN MoMo Uganda Ltd
None of this can be achieved by one organisation alone. Uganda’s digital financial future will depend on stronger partnerships between banks, fintechs, technology companies, merchants, developers and businesses across the economy.
As Uganda pursues its 10-fold growth ambition, digital finance must evolve with the economy. We need to move from access to value, from transactions to opportunities, and from individual products to connected ecosystems. Ultimately, the future of mobile money should not be measured only by how many people use it. It should be measured by how much more people and businesses are able to achieve because they have access to it.
From closed ecosystems to an interoperable digital economy. Customers should be able to move value seamlessly between mobile wallets, banks, merchants, government and other platforms. Uganda's future therefore depends on affordable interoperability and digital public infrastructure not simply competing proprietary networks.
From cash-out to digital circulation. The real transformation occurs when money received digitally stays digital moving from salary to merchant, school, transport, utility, government payment, savings or investment without first becoming cash. Uganda's electronic-money transaction value reportedly grew from sh285.9 trillion in 2024 to sh366 trillion in 2025, demonstrating the scale already flowing through digital channels.
From financial inclusion to economic inclusion. This is the biggest shift. Digital finance should become an engine for Uganda's broader transformation supporting agriculture, SMEs, government services, PDM, e-commerce and job creation. Uganda's Digital Transformation Programme explicitly links technologies and digital platforms to productive sectors and wealth-creation programmes under NDP IV and the Tenfold Growth Strategy.
The writer is the Managing Director, MTN MoMo Uganda Ltd