Shenzhen, China: Uganda’s rising reputation as a regional technology hub received a major boost after students from Uganda Martyrs University and Mountains of the Moon University secured top honors at the 2025-2026 Huawei ICT Competition Global Finals held in Shenzhen, China.
Competing against some of the world’s brightest young technology talents, the Ugandan teams delivered an impressive performance at Huawei’s headquarters, earning second and third-place finishes in highly competitive categories of the global contest.
Held under the theme “Connection, Glory, Future,” the competition attracted more than 220,000 students and educators from over 2,000 universities across 100 countries, making it the largest Huawei ICT Competition since its inception a decade ago.
Uganda’s journey to the global stage began with a rigorous selection process involving more than 1,600 applicants from institutions of higher learning across the country. Following national and regional elimination rounds, two Ugandan teams earned places among the 131 elite teams that advanced to the finals in China.
Students from Uganda Martyrs University competed in the Computing Track, where they secured third prize after undertaking an intensive eight-hour laboratory assessment focused on advanced cloud infrastructure, next-generation computing architectures and open-source operating systems.
Meanwhile, Mountains of the Moon University’s AgriChain team excelled in the Innovation Track, earning second prize for developing an artificial intelligence-powered agricultural solution designed to address some of Uganda’s most pressing farming challenges.
The innovation leverages Huawei Cloud technologies, artificial intelligence and big data analytics to improve price transparency, reduce post-harvest losses, enhance crop disease detection and increase farmers’ access to affordable financing.
According to the project developers, the platform aims to transform Uganda’s agricultural sector by creating a transparent marketplace where farmers can access real-time market information, verify production forecasts and secure formal credit using technology-driven solutions.
The innovation comes at a time when agriculture remains the backbone of Uganda’s economy, employing approximately 68 percent of the workforce despite persistent challenges including limited market access, high post-harvest losses and inadequate financial inclusion.
The Ugandan teams’ success has been hailed as evidence of the growing impact of the Huawei ICT Academy programme, which seeks to bridge the gap between classroom learning and industry requirements through partnerships with universities and higher learning institutions.
Huawei Uganda said the achievement reflects the country’s growing pool of digital talent and the effectiveness of collaborations between academia, government and the private sector in advancing technology education.
The company also acknowledged the support of the Government of Uganda, the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Chinese Embassy in Uganda and academic institutions for helping nurture digital innovation and talent development.
The Huawei ICT Competition, launched in 2015, has become one of the world’s leading platforms for ICT talent development and is recognised by UNESCO’s Global Skills Academy as a key programme promoting digital skills and innovation.
The latest success places Uganda among the standout performers on the global technology stage and highlights the country’s growing contribution to Africa’s digital transformation agenda.
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