President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has met with U.S. technology investor Mehamood Hosein to discuss plans to position Uganda as a leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Africa through investments in computing infrastructure, energy, research and digital innovation.
The discussions, held at State House Entebbe, centered on opportunities for cooperation in AI and digital transformation, including a proposal to establish HIVE Uganda and The Global AI Village, initiatives intended to attract international private investment and develop Uganda’s capacity to produce and export AI-powered services.
Hosein, founder and chairman of Hive Global Group and founder of the Massachusetts-based Hosein Family Office, said the proposed initiative would seek to establish the infrastructure needed to make Uganda a competitive player in the emerging global AI economy.
“My vision is to help make Uganda the leading AI nation in Africa by building the critical infrastructure needed to transform the continent into a major global computing hub. We want Uganda to produce and export intelligence services to the world, just as nations export oil, minerals and manufactured goods,” Hosein said.
The proposed Global AI Village would bring together advanced AI computing centres, reliable energy infrastructure, education, research, technology development and international private investment to build a broader technology ecosystem.
According to Hosein, the initiative would go beyond establishing data centres to creating opportunities for research, digital skills development, innovation and technology-based industries, particularly for Uganda’s youthful population.
He said the project would also seek to attract global technology companies and position the country as a producer and exporter of AI-powered services in a global economy increasingly driven by artificial intelligence.
Hosein noted that reliable and competitively priced electricity would be essential to supporting large-scale AI computing infrastructure, highlighting the importance of Uganda’s energy sector in realising the proposed vision.
He added that the initiative would seek to mobilise international private capital to finance commercially sustainable infrastructure without increasing Uganda’s sovereign debt burden.
Hosein brings experience from the technology sector, having been among the early engineers at EMC Corporation, where he contributed to the development of data-storage infrastructure that supported the global information economy. EMC grew into a major technology company with more than 55,000 employees worldwide before becoming part of Dell Technologies in 2016.
He said the global economy was entering a new era in which AI infrastructure would play a central role in economic growth.
“We helped build the infrastructure that powered the information age. Today, AI infrastructure will power the intelligence age and become a major driver of global economic growth,” he said.
President Museveni welcomed Hosein and expressed interest in learning more about the opportunities emerging from the rapidly evolving AI industry.
“I welcome you to Uganda. AI is a gap. I am happy to learn from you and what you bring to the AI industry,” Museveni said.
The proposed initiative comes amid growing global interest in AI infrastructure, including computing capacity, data centres and the reliable energy needed to operate them. For Uganda, developing this sector could create opportunities to attract technology investment, strengthen digital skills and expand technology-based exports. However, realising these ambitions would depend on translating the proposal into viable investments, supported by reliable electricity, appropriate digital infrastructure, skilled workers and a sustainable business environment.
