By Ssentamu Derrick Peterson at 0949 EAT on Wednesday 30 September 2026
KAMPALA, Uganda — The business world is increasingly moving online, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs to build companies and reach customers beyond their local markets.
For Ugandan entrepreneur Nyanzi Martin Luther, technology is changing how young people can approach business. He says a digital idea developed in Kampala, for example, can potentially reach customers thousands of kilometres away.
He points to mobile applications as one example.
“When you start an application, you must have a goal. With that goal, you must plan the audience and the content,” Nyanzi said.
He argues that entrepreneurs should not build applications simply because technology is popular. Instead, they should first identify a problem, understand the people they want to serve and develop a product around a clear goal.
Digital products can reach many users
Unlike many physical businesses, digital products can be distributed to large numbers of people without producing a separate physical item for every customer.
An application, for example, can serve many users through the same underlying software. However, developers still need to invest in servers, software updates, security, customer support and other services to keep the product running.
That ability to reach many users is central to Nyanzi’s argument.
“You invest once and you get much,” he said.
Technology companies around the world have built businesses around similar models, earning revenue through advertising, subscriptions, transactions and other digital services.
Africa’s digital opportunity
For African entrepreneurs, however, building digital businesses can come with challenges.
Nyanzi says developers may face difficulties accessing international technology services needed to build and operate applications.
These can include cloud services, application programming interfaces, payment systems and software licences provided by companies outside Africa.
International payments can also be a challenge for young developers. While mobile money is widely used in Africa, some global technology services require bank cards or other forms of international payment.
Nyanzi believes digital education should therefore go beyond teaching young people how to use existing platforms.
He says young Africans should also learn how digital products work, how applications connect to other systems, how they can generate income and how technology businesses can serve customers across borders.
Artificial intelligence adds new opportunities
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has added another dimension to the digital economy.
Generative AI tools can now assist with tasks such as writing, creating images and producing computer code. Developers can also integrate AI services into their own applications without necessarily building an entire AI system from scratch.
This has created new opportunities for businesses that provide AI-powered services, as well as developers who use existing AI systems to create new products.
For Nyanzi, this is another example of how technology can allow businesses to serve large numbers of customers through digital platforms.
Governments face new challenges
The growth of AI has also raised questions about privacy, copyright, misinformation, security and the possible misuse of the technology.
Nyanzi says governments need to protect the public while also allowing entrepreneurs and developers room to innovate.
At the same time, he says users need to understand the limitations of AI.
AI-generated information can sometimes be inaccurate or incomplete, making human judgment important when using the technology.
As AI becomes more common in workplaces and businesses, digital literacy is likely to become increasingly important.
From technology users to technology owners
Nyanzi’s broader message is that African young people should not only consume technology but also learn to build it.
Africa is already a major market for social media platforms, payment systems, messaging applications and other digital services. Nyanzi wants young entrepreneurs to explore opportunities to create platforms and services of their own.
A developer in Kampala can potentially provide a digital service to customers in other countries without opening a physical branch in each market.
However, reaching a global audience requires more than simply building an application. Entrepreneurs must attract users, earn their trust, generate revenue, maintain their products and compete with established companies.
Still, Nyanzi believes technology presents an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to rethink how businesses can be created and expanded.
“Everyone should adopt AI,” he said.
For him, the question is no longer whether technology will influence the future of business, but whether young entrepreneurs will take part in building that future.
For Africa, this could mean moving beyond being mainly a consumer of technology and creating more companies, platforms and digital services of its own.
