Device financing widens smartphone access across Ugandan regions
Through device financing, customers can make a down payment and pay for their phones in instalments, opening access to devices that have become important for earning a living, running businesses and accessing digital services.
“Growth like this doesn’t happen by accident,” said Damien Gueroult, Country Manager of Watu Uganda. “That kind of demand tells you people want a practical way to own a phone, not just a subsidy.”
For an increasing number of Ugandans, owning a smartphone no longer depends entirely on having enough money to pay for one upfront.
Through device financing, customers can make a down payment and pay for their phones in instalments, opening access to devices that have become important for earning a living, running businesses and accessing digital services.
From market traders and boda-boda riders to tailors, students and small business owners, smartphones are increasingly being used to reach customers, make payments, order stock, market businesses and stay connected.
Yet the high cost of purchasing a smartphone outright continues to keep many potential users outside the digital economy.
The scale of the challenge is reflected in data from the Uganda Communications Commission Quarter 1 2026 Market Performance Report, which shows that 24.7 million feature phones and 13.3 million basic phones remain in active use in Uganda - with limited or no access to internet-based services.
As device financing expands, providers are now seeking to close this gap while navigating challenges such as reaching customers in distant areas, building trust in a relatively unfamiliar credit system and ensuring borrowers can manage their repayment obligations.
Through its financing model, customers acquire smartphones by making an initial down payment and paying the balance through instalments over time.
The company reached a milestone of one million financed devices at an event held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel on July 20, 2026. The event also marked seven years of Watu Uganda’s operations since it entered the Ugandan market in 2019, and three years since it began financing smartphones in 2023.
The growth has been rapid. After crossing 500,000 financed devices in 2025, Watu Uganda reached one million in July 2026, doubling its cumulative portfolio in less than a year. More than 250,000 devices were financed in the first half of 2026 alone.
“Growth like this doesn’t happen by accident,” said Damien Gueroult, Country Manager of Watu Uganda. “That kind of demand tells you people want a practical way to own a phone, not just a subsidy.”
However, expanding the model across Uganda is not without challenges.
Reaching customers in distant parts of the country, particularly in northern and north-eastern Uganda, can be difficult because of long distances, limited infrastructure and the cost of maintaining a physical presence.
For financing companies, this requires investment in accessible agents, branches and customer support systems, as well as ensuring customers understand their obligations before signing up.
While giving his remarks at the event, Gueroult emphasised that women are also increasingly participating in the market. Female customers account for 42% of Watu Simu’s one million customers and represented half of all new customers as of June 2026.
For Esther Kwagalakwe, a bursar and baker from Kakiri in Wakiso district, access to a smartphone has transformed both her work and business.
Before acquiring the device, she relied on a feature phone that limited her ability to promote her cake business and access digital applications needed for her work.
Today, she uses artificial intelligence tools to support her financial reporting duties, social media to advertise her cakes and WhatsApp to manage orders and coordinate her daily life.
“Since then, my phone has become an important part of both my work and family life,” she says.
Kwagalakwe’s experience illustrates the wider potential of device financing. A smartphone can become more than a communication tool, providing access to customers, digital services and income-generating opportunities.