By Karim Were
KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s national standards agency and the International Electrotechnical Commission agreed on Friday to deepen cooperation on international standards and conformity assessment, seeking to improve the safety, quality and reliability of electrical and electronic products sold in the country.
The commitment between the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and the IEC was made during a breakfast meeting at Four Points by Sheraton in Kampala that brought together IEC Secretary-General and Chief Executive Philippe Metzger, UNBS officials, government representatives, members of Uganda’s IEC National Committee, academics, industry representatives and other stakeholders.
The meeting was the public culmination of a three-day IEC delegation visit to Uganda from Sept. 16 to 18. The programme included engagements at UNBS headquarters at Standards House in Bweyogerere and a tour of the bureau’s laboratories.
The discussions focused on strengthening Uganda’s participation in international standardisation and conformity assessment and on how those systems can support manufacturing, technological development, energy, trade and the country’s broader industrialisation agenda.
Uganda has been an IEC Associate Member since 2020. According to the information presented at the meeting, UNBS has adopted more than 288 IEC standards covering areas including electrical appliances, cables, electric mobility, solar photovoltaic systems, lighting and renewable-energy technologies.
The cooperation comes as Uganda seeks to expand electricity generation, improve access to power and develop industries that can compete in regional and international markets.
Standards as economic infrastructure
Mr. Metzger told participants that standards should not be viewed simply as technical rules governing products.
He described them as part of the infrastructure required for modern economies to attract investment, expand manufacturing, increase exports and participate in global value chains.
“Standards are economic infrastructure. They help businesses access markets. They reduce costs and uncertainty. They accelerate innovation. They build investor confidence and create the trust that allows economies to grow,” Mr. Metzger said.
His argument places technical standardisation within a much wider economic context.
For manufacturers, standards can provide common specifications for products and systems, making it easier for goods to be tested and accepted in different markets. For consumers, conformity assessment can provide greater assurance that products meet specified safety and performance requirements.
For governments, international standards can also support regulatory systems and facilitate trade by reducing differences between domestic requirements and those used in international markets.
Mr. Metzger said Uganda’s participation in the IEC provides an opportunity for the country not only to adopt international standards but also to contribute to the processes through which those standards are developed.
“International standards are a foundation for trust, innovation and sustainable economic growth,” he said.
“Uganda’s active participation in IEC work provides an opportunity to help shape global standards while ensuring they respond to the needs of its industries.”
He added that the engagement could strengthen manufacturing, improve competitiveness, facilitate trade and support Uganda’s industrial transformation.
Implications for manufacturing and trade
The emphasis on standards comes at a time when Uganda is seeking to increase domestic manufacturing and reduce some of the barriers facing businesses that want to participate in regional and global markets.
Manufacturers of electrical and electronic goods operate in an environment where safety and compatibility are particularly important.
Products ranging from household electrical appliances and cables to solar equipment and emerging electric-mobility technologies must operate reliably and safely if they are to protect consumers and support wider economic activity.
Internationally recognised standards can help manufacturers understand the technical requirements expected in different markets.
For Uganda, greater participation in IEC processes could therefore have implications beyond the domestic market.
Companies that manufacture products in accordance with internationally recognised specifications may be better positioned to pursue export opportunities, although compliance with standards alone does not guarantee market access.
Exporters must also meet the regulatory and conformity-assessment requirements of individual destination markets.
The cooperation between UNBS and the IEC is consequently relevant to Uganda’s efforts to strengthen its position in regional and international trade.
Energy at the centre of the discussion
Energy was another major theme during the meeting.
Mr. Metzger highlighted the importance of reliable electricity to almost every part of a modern economy, including manufacturing, health care, education, communications and transport.
He argued that standards can contribute to safety, reliability and interoperability across electricity generation, transmission and distribution systems.
This is particularly relevant as Uganda seeks to expand its electricity infrastructure.
According to figures cited during the meeting, the country is working to increase electricity generation capacity from about 2 gigawatts to 8.3 gigawatts and raise electricity access to 85 percent of the population by 2030.
Those targets will require investment in generation, transmission, distribution and technologies that can connect more consumers to reliable electricity supplies.
The development of the energy system is also increasingly linked to renewable technologies and new forms of electricity storage.
Mr. Metzger identified renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grids, off-grid technologies and energy storage as areas in which international standards could support Uganda’s development objectives.
For a country expanding both grid and off-grid electricity systems, common technical standards can help ensure that equipment operates safely and that different components can work together effectively.
Opportunities in renewable energy
Uganda’s energy transition is creating demand for technologies such as solar photovoltaic systems, batteries and other renewable-energy equipment.
The adoption by UNBS of IEC standards in solar photovoltaic technology is therefore significant for a sector increasingly important to electricity access, particularly in areas where extending conventional grid infrastructure can be difficult or expensive.
Standards can provide technical benchmarks for equipment performance and safety.
They can also help create clearer expectations for manufacturers, importers, installers and consumers.
The broader objective is to ensure that growth in the renewable-energy market does not come at the expense of safety or reliability.
As technologies evolve, standards must also evolve.
This is one reason the involvement of national experts in international standard-setting can be important. Technical requirements developed without adequate consideration of local conditions may not always address the practical needs of individual markets.
Uganda’s role in international standard-setting
Uganda’s status as an IEC Associate Member gives the country a formal channel for engagement with the international electrotechnical standards system.
Mr. Metzger encouraged Uganda to make fuller use of its membership and of the IEC’s international network, which he said encompasses nearly 170 countries and thousands of technical experts.
He also emphasised the member-driven nature of the organisation, describing the IEC as “a totally member-based organisation.”
The implication is that Uganda’s role need not be limited to adopting standards developed elsewhere.
Through its national committee and technical experts, Uganda can contribute knowledge from its own industrial and technological environment to international discussions.
Such participation can be particularly relevant in sectors where developing countries face conditions that differ from those in more industrialised markets.
Government support
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives also participated in the discussions.
Mr. Denise Ayinebona, Commissioner of Industry and Technology at the ministry, spoke on behalf of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister Sanjay Tana.
The ministry’s participation underscored the connection between technical standardisation and government policy on industrial development.
The discussions placed standards within Uganda’s broader economic ambitions, including efforts to develop manufacturing capacity, increase trade and promote technological innovation.
Government agencies, standards bodies, manufacturers and technical experts each have different responsibilities within that system.
While standards agencies establish and administer technical requirements, businesses must be able to understand and meet those requirements, and consumers need effective enforcement to ensure that products placed on the market comply with applicable rules.
Supporting Uganda’s industrial transformation
Mr. Metzger highlighted several sectors that could benefit from stronger engagement with international standards, including agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral-based industrialisation, science, technology and innovation.
The breadth of those sectors illustrates how electrical and electronic standards increasingly extend beyond traditional manufacturing.
Agricultural processing facilities require reliable electrical equipment. Hotels and tourism facilities depend on safe electrical installations and increasingly use digital and automated technologies.
Mining and mineral-processing operations require sophisticated electrical and control systems.
Healthcare facilities rely on electrical equipment and electronic technologies, while communications infrastructure depends heavily on reliable power and interoperable systems.
As Uganda seeks to diversify its economy, the quality and reliability of these systems become increasingly important.
Conformity assessment and consumer protection
The cooperation also highlights the role of conformity assessment.
Standards establish technical requirements, but conformity assessment helps determine whether a product, process or system meets those requirements.
For electrical products, effective testing and inspection can be particularly important because defects can pose risks to consumers and property.
UNBS laboratories therefore form an important part of the country’s standards infrastructure.
The IEC delegation’s visit to the UNBS laboratories provided an opportunity to examine the facilities and discuss the technical systems supporting Uganda’s standards work.
The long-term effectiveness of the standards system, however, will depend not only on adopting standards but also on enforcement, testing capacity, industry compliance and consumer awareness.
The importance of industry participation
Industry involvement is another important component of the standards process.
Businesses are among the primary users of technical standards, while manufacturers and technology companies also possess practical knowledge about production processes, equipment and emerging technologies.
Their participation can help standards bodies identify technical challenges and ensure that requirements are realistic and relevant.
Academia can similarly contribute research and technical expertise.
The presence of industry representatives, academics and other stakeholders at the Kampala meeting reflected the broad range of interests involved in the standards system.
Effective cooperation among these groups can help Uganda keep pace with technological developments while maintaining appropriate safety and quality requirements.
Looking beyond adoption
The adoption of more than 288 IEC standards represents an important foundation, but standards alone do not automatically produce safer products or stronger industries.
Implementation remains critical.
Manufacturers and importers need access to information about applicable standards. Laboratories need adequate technical capacity. Inspectors require appropriate expertise, while consumers need mechanisms for reporting unsafe or substandard products.
Businesses also need predictable regulatory processes so that compliance does not become an unnecessary obstacle to investment and innovation.
The challenge for Uganda will therefore be to translate international standards into effective systems that work across the supply chain.
This is particularly important as new technologies such as electric vehicles, smart-grid systems, energy-storage solutions and advanced renewable-energy equipment enter the market.
A wider economic role
The UNBS-IEC engagement illustrates how standards policy is increasingly intertwined with economic policy.
In a globalised trading environment, products rarely remain within one country’s borders.
Components may be manufactured in several countries before being assembled and sold elsewhere. Electrical equipment may need to operate alongside technologies produced under different national systems.
International standards can provide a common technical language that reduces some of these barriers.
For Uganda, closer participation in that system could support its ambitions to attract investment, expand manufacturing and develop export-oriented industries.
But the economic benefits will depend on how effectively the country connects standardisation with industrial policy, skills development, infrastructure investment and private-sector growth.
Conclusion
The renewed commitment between UNBS and the IEC places technical standards at the centre of Uganda’s ambitions for industrial and technological development.
The September 16–18 visit and the Kampala meeting brought together international standards experts, government officials, businesses, academics and national technical specialists to consider how Uganda can make greater use of the IEC system.
For consumers, the immediate relevance lies in the safety and reliability of electrical and electronic products. For businesses, the stakes include market access, competitiveness and investor confidence.
For government, the standards system forms part of the infrastructure needed to support an economy increasingly dependent on electricity, technology and international trade.
Uganda’s adoption of more than 288 IEC standards provides a foundation. The next challenge will be ensuring that those standards are effectively implemented, continuously updated and integrated into the country’s broader industrial strategy.
If that connection is strengthened, standards can serve not merely as technical requirements but as a practical tool for improving product quality, supporting innovation and helping Ugandan businesses compete in increasingly interconnected markets.
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