According to data from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), 60% of courier vendors operating in Uganda are doing so illegally. This occurred during a collaboration between UCC and the postal and courier industry aimed at resolving new regulatory concerns in the industry.
Although the number of licensed courier service providers in Uganda has increased over the past two years, Ms. Julianne Mweherie, director of industry affairs and content for the Uganda Communications Commission, stated that there are still illegal courier service providers in the nation, which they are actively attempting to eliminate.
“The number of licensed courier service providers has increased from 17 to now 40 companies, we would like to see everybody in the industry come and get licenses from us and people should only use the licensed courier service operators,” the director noted.
Nonetheless, Ms. Mweherie expressed dismay that only 40% of courier businesses are controlled by domestic operators (national enterprises).
“We promote competition because we want a lot of people to come in this space of the courier business, it creates employment and increases internet penetration,” she added.
UCC anticipates that the country’s e-commerce would be mostly driven by the emergency courier services subsector, as they can deliver goods to the customer’s door post.
The director of corporate affairs of the Uganda Communications Commission, Mr. Fred Otunnu Okot, stated during the postal and courier stakeholder engagement on Tuesday, 2023, at UCC headquarters in Bugolobi that posts and couriers play a significant role in driving the social and economic transformation of the nation.
He stated, “postal and courier services have undergone evolution over the years, with advances in technology. Through innovations and digital transformation, we have seen continuous growth in e-commerce that can only be driven by courier companies to complete the supply chain.”
The UCC manager of postal services, Ms. Agatha k. Mbabazize, asserted that postal services are the driving force behind e-commerce due to changes in customer preferences, wants, and choices, emphasizing that customers place online orders and have their packages delivered by mail and courier.
