Entebbe International Airport recorded its first significant traffic slowdown in recent years during the first half of 2026, with international passenger numbers falling by 10.8pc as a combination of geopolitical tensions, health concerns and airline operational disruptions weighed on Uganda’s aviation sector.

Data from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) shows that the country’s main gateway handled 1,010,961 international passengers between January and June 2026, down from 1,133,366 during the same period in 2025.

The decline represents the most notable reversal in passenger growth since the industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to UCAA Manager for Public Affairs Vianney Luggya Mpungu, the downturn reflects a convergence of extraordinary external shocks rather than weakening demand for Uganda as a destination.

“June traffic recorded a lower figure than the same month last year. Half year isn’t any better due to the closure of parts of the Middle East airspace in March and the subsequent events,” Luggya said.

The closure of sections of Middle East airspace following heightened regional tensions forced airlines to reroute flights, disrupted global schedules and increased operating costs, effects that cascaded across African aviation networks heavily dependent on Gulf carriers for onward connections.

For Uganda, the situation was compounded by the Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and the limited spillover into Uganda in May this year.

Although Uganda quickly contained the outbreak, the health scare prompted several countries to tighten travel measures. Dutch carrier KLM temporarily suspended flights to Entebbe, while Uganda closed its border crossings with the DRC to contain the disease, disrupting cross-border passenger movements and forcing Uganda Airlines to suspend its Entebbe-Kinshasa operations.

The crisis also affected travel beyond the region after the United Arab Emirates cancelled visas for Ugandan travellers, reducing demand on one of Entebbe’s busiest long-haul corridors.

Uganda Airlines faced additional challenges when its Airbus A330 fleet was grounded during the first quarter of 2026, disrupting services and reducing feeder traffic from its London route, one of the airport’s fastest-growing international markets.

But the combined effects extended beyond passenger numbers. International cargo imports fell 15.8pc to 9,079 tonnes, while exports declined 26.5pc to 16,797 tonnes, reflecting softer regional trade flows and disruptions to international logistics.

Commercial aircraft movements and domestic travel, however, provided some of the few bright spots in the first-half performance. Commercial aircraft movements increased from 15,922 in the first six months of 2025 to 17,669 over the same period this year, representing growth of almost 11pc. Domestic passenger traffic rose by 28.7pc, from 11,251 to 14,476 passengers, while transit traffic grew by 11.4pc to 51,677 passengers. The increase in transit volumes may reflect airlines and travellers routing through Entebbe as disruptions across parts of the Middle East prompted adjustments to traditional travel corridors, including traffic between South Asia and Europe.

June’s monthly performance illustrates the challenges facing the airport. During the month, Entebbe handled 67,601 arriving and 63,645 departing international passengers, alongside 1,419 tonnes of imports and 2,721 tonnes of exports.

Industry observers expect traffic to recover during the second half of the year as Middle East airspace restrictions ease, international airline schedules stabilise and confidence in regional travel continues to improve following the end of Ebola-related restrictions.

Even so, the first-half figures underscore how vulnerable African aviation remains to external shocks originating far beyond the continent’s borders, from geopolitical conflicts to public health emergencies, and the extent to which such events can ripple through tourism, trade and national airline operations.

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Africa has overtaken every other region in the world as the leading hotspot for iGaming fraud, with fraud rates now standing 66 percent above the global average, underscoring the growing cybersecurity and identity verification challenges facing one of the world’s fastest-growing online gaming markets.

The findings are contained in the Sumsub iGaming Fraud Report 2026, which analysed more than three million fraud attempts and millions of identity verification checks conducted between 2024 and the first quarter of 2026.

According to the report, Africa’s iGaming fraud rate reached 2.54 percent in the first quarter of 2026, significantly exceeding fraud levels recorded in Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. After easing during 2025, fraudulent activity rebounded sharply this year, making Africa the largest contributor to the global rise in online gaming fraud.

For East Africa, however, the picture is mixed.

While Kenya and Uganda registered declining fraud trends towards the end of 2025, suggesting that anti-fraud measures may be gaining traction, fraud levels remain relatively high. Malawi emerged as one of Africa’s highest-risk markets, recording a fraud rate of 4.7 percent, the fourth highest on the continent.

The regional differences indicate that fraud risks are evolving differently across African markets, requiring operators to tailor fraud prevention strategies to local conditions rather than relying on continent-wide approaches.

Globally, the report found that fraud rates increased by nearly 18 percent year-on-year, while suspicious financial transactions surged more than fourfold. The average value of suspicious transactions also climbed to more than USD6,500, reflecting the growing sophistication and financial scale of organised fraud networks.

“Africa’s rapid digital adoption, growing online gaming sector and expanding access to financial services have created enormous opportunities for operators, but they have also attracted increasingly sophisticated fraud actors,” says Jarryd Jensen, Regional Director for Southern Africa at Sumsub.

Perhaps the report’s most significant finding is the changing nature of identity fraud across Africa.

Unlike Europe, where forged identity documents remain a major threat, 97 percent of fraud detected on the continent is intercepted during facial biometric, or liveness, verification. This indicates that fraudsters are increasingly using genuine stolen identities rather than counterfeit documents to open gaming accounts.

The trend points to a growing reliance on identity theft, with criminals exploiting personal information obtained through data breaches, phishing attacks and other illicit channels before attempting to bypass digital verification systems.

The report also highlights the increasing role of artificial intelligence in enabling fraud at scale.

According to Sumsub’s iGaming Product Evangelist Kris Galloway, fraudsters are increasingly deploying AI-generated faces, manipulated identity documents, synthetic identities and automated application processes to overwhelm verification systems.

“AI dramatically lowers the cost and effort required to commit fraud at scale, and professional fraud groups are already taking advantage of it,” he said.

Among African countries, Côte d’Ivoire recorded the continent’s highest fraud rate at 7.8 percent, followed by Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. South Africa recorded one of the sharpest deteriorations, with fraud levels more than tripling during the second half of 2025.

The report further found that fraudulent activity across Africa is most likely to occur between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (GMT+2), a pattern that differs from fraud cycles observed in Europe, Asia and North America.

Sumsub argues that traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance is no longer sufficient to protect operators.

Instead, gaming companies are being urged to adopt integrated fraud management systems combining biometric identity verification, behavioural analytics, device intelligence and continuous transaction monitoring throughout the customer lifecycle.

As Africa’s digital economy expands and online gaming continues to attract millions of new users, the report suggests that trust, cybersecurity and identity protection are rapidly becoming competitive advantages as much as regulatory obligations.

For East African operators, particularly in Kenya and Uganda, the improving fraud trend offers cautious optimism, but the persistence of elevated fraud levels indicates that investment in advanced fraud detection technologies will remain essential as digital gaming markets continue to mature.

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The global aviation industry is betting on artificial intelligence, biometrics and digital infrastructure—not new airports alone—to accommodate an expected 10 billion air passengers annually by 2050, according to SITA’s latest Impact Report.

Released in Geneva, the SITA Impact Report 2025 argues that the future growth of air transport will depend on software-driven innovation capable of expanding airport capacity, accelerating border clearance, improving operational efficiency and reducing carbon emissions without requiring a proportional increase in physical infrastructure.

The report comes as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that annual passenger traffic will double over the coming decades, reaching eight billion within the next 20 to 25 years before climbing towards 10 billion by mid-century.

SITA Chief Executive Officer David Lavorel said the industry’s biggest challenge is finding ways to move twice as many travellers without doubling airports, aircraft fleets or border personnel.

“Airports are scaling capacity within the buildings they already have, avoiding the cost and timelines of new construction. Governments are clearing borders before passengers ever reach a queue or an officer’s booth, while AI is moving from pilot projects into day-to-day airline operations,” he said.

Among the report’s findings is the growing adoption of biometric border management. In Aruba, digital travel credentials and biometric verification have reduced passenger border processing times to as little as eight seconds, while more than 271 million travellers annually now undergo AI-supported risk assessments before arrival, most completed in under four seconds.

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping airline operations. SITA’s OptiFlight platform analysed 2.9 million flights during 2025 for 59 airline customers, using machine learning to recommend more fuel-efficient flight profiles. The system helped airlines save more than 127,700 tonnes of fuel and prevented approximately 403,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Major airports are also deploying AI to improve operational efficiency. Toronto Pearson and Abu Dhabi International Airport are using intelligent airport management systems to reduce aircraft turnaround times, while Thai Airways has cut baggage rebooking times from three minutes to just one second through AI-powered automation integrated into SITA WorldTracer.

The report also highlights technology’s growing role in strengthening operational resilience.

During a 2025 trial at France’s Reims Air Traffic Control Centre, shared real-time weather intelligence reduced weather-related delays by up to 65 percent, saving an estimated 105,000 delay minutes over just three weeks of disrupted operations.

Meanwhile, SITA said more than 460 flights continued operating during last year’s global CrowdStrike IT outage through its airport departure control systems, while airline and airport operations supporting the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage recorded zero downtime and no major operational incidents.

Passenger experience is also improving through advances in baggage tracking. Airlines participating in SITA’s collaboration with Apple, recently expanded to include Google, recorded a 90 percent reduction in permanently lost luggage for passengers using Apple AirTags linked to the WorldTracer baggage management platform.

The report points to Europe as an example of the industry’s digital-first approach, with Frankfurt Airport’s new Terminal 3—designed to handle up to 19 million passengers annually in its initial phase—built around shared digital infrastructure rather than traditional standalone airline systems.

Beyond operational performance, SITA reported revenue growth of seven percent to US$1.71 billion in 2025, marking its fourth consecutive year of sustained expansion. The company also reduced its own greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 percent during the year, bringing total emissions reductions to 32 percent compared with 2019 levels while sourcing 90 percent of its global office electricity from renewable energy.

The findings reinforce a growing consensus across the aviation industry that digital transformation will become as important as airport expansion in meeting future demand, enabling airlines and governments to increase capacity while improving efficiency, resilience and sustainability.

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Uganda’s telecommunications market could be on the cusp of a new competitive battle after Savanna Uganda announced its entry into mobile telecommunications, betting that bundling unlimited mobile services with home and business fibre broadband can disrupt the country’s traditional telecom model.

The company, which has established itself as one of Uganda’s leading fibre broadband providers, is moving beyond fixed internet into mobile voice and data services, becoming one of the country’s newest mobile network operators (MNO) and signalling an ambitious shift from a niche internet provider to a fully integrated telecom company.

The strategy introduces a business model that has remained relatively uncommon in Uganda’s market. Rather than treating fixed broadband and mobile services as separate products, Savanna plans to combine them under a single customer account, allowing subscribers to add unlimited voice and mobile data SIM cards to existing fibre internet packages for an incremental fee.

The move represents more than a product launch. It is an attempt to reshape how Ugandans purchase connectivity by encouraging households and businesses to view broadband and mobile communications as one integrated service.

For years, Uganda’s telecommunications sector has largely been dominated by operators competing primarily on prepaid mobile voice and data bundles, while fixed broadband has remained a separate market serving a smaller customer base. Savanna is wagering that convergence—the integration of fixed and mobile connectivity—will become the next frontier of competition.

Chief Executive Officer Alex Wanyoike described the launch as a defining moment for both the company and Uganda’s digital economy.

“Today marks a transformative moment for Savanna Fibre Uganda and for the people and businesses we serve. We are proud to extend our robust fibre-driven customer model into mobile, delivering truly unlimited voice and data at an affordable incremental price,” Wanyoike said.

Mobile SIM Card agents and customers during the launch.

He added that integrating mobile SIM cards with home and office fibre subscriptions would create a seamless and scalable connectivity experience while accelerating Uganda’s digital adoption.

The company will initially roll out the service across Kampala and the Greater Kampala metropolitan area before expanding into other regions of the country.

Beyond Uganda, Savanna has already signalled regional ambitions, identifying South Africa among the markets where it hopes to replicate its integrated telecommunications model.

The expansion comes at a time when demand for always-on connectivity continues to grow, fuelled by remote work, online education, digital financial services, cloud computing and streaming entertainment. Businesses are also increasingly seeking reliable, high-capacity internet connections that can seamlessly extend beyond office premises through mobile access.

Industry analysts say the convergence of fibre and mobile services has become a defining trend in mature telecommunications markets, where operators seek to increase customer loyalty by offering bundled services while reducing subscriber churn. If successful, Savanna’s model could place pressure on established operators to rethink pricing structures and product offerings.

The launch also reflects broader changes in Uganda’s digital economy, where consumers are demanding greater simplicity, predictable billing and higher-value connectivity rather than fragmented subscriptions across multiple providers.

By leveraging its existing fibre infrastructure, Savanna enters the mobile market with an established customer base that could provide a foundation for growth without having to build demand from scratch.

The company believes combining unlimited mobile services with its fibre network will strengthen its competitive position while expanding digital inclusion for households, entrepreneurs and businesses.

Whether the strategy fundamentally reshapes Uganda’s telecom landscape remains to be seen. However, Savanna’s entry introduces a fresh competitive dynamic into a market where innovation has increasingly shifted from network expansion to service integration and customer experience.

If the model gains traction, Uganda’s telecom industry may be entering a new phase where the battle is no longer simply about who offers the cheapest data bundle, but who delivers the most complete digital ecosystem.

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MTN Uganda has paid UGX 54.3 billion to the Uganda Communications Commission under the sector’s statutory levy regime, implying annual revenues of more than UGX 2.7 trillion. The contribution will help finance connectivity and digital inclusion projects in underserved communities across Uganda.

MTN Uganda has paid UGX 54.3 billion (approximately US$14.7 million) to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) as its statutory industry levy for 2025, a contribution that not only reinforces the telecom operator’s dominant market position but also highlights the growing scale of Uganda’s digital economy.

The payment, equivalent to 2 percent of the company’s gross annual revenues as required under Uganda’s communications regulations, implies that MTN Uganda generated approximately UGX 2.71 trillion (US$734 million) in revenue during the 2025 financial year.

The levy is one of the telecommunications sector’s most important funding mechanisms, providing resources for extending connectivity and digital services to communities that remain commercially unattractive to private investors.

Under the Uganda Communications Act, licensed telecommunications operators contribute 2 percent of their gross annual revenues to UCC. Half of the funds are remitted to the government’s Consolidated Fund, while the remaining portion is retained by the regulator and channelled through the Uganda Communications Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF).

The fund supports projects aimed at expanding communications infrastructure, broadband connectivity and digital access in underserved parts of the country.

Officials described MTN Uganda’s latest contribution as a significant boost to efforts aimed at expanding Uganda’s digital footprint and ensuring broader participation in the digital economy.

The contribution comes at a time when Uganda is increasingly positioning digital transformation as a central pillar of economic growth, public service delivery and financial inclusion.

Over the past decade, mobile network operators have invested heavily in expanding telecommunications infrastructure, helping increase voice and data coverage across much of the country. However, significant connectivity gaps remain, particularly in remote and hard-to-reach communities where network deployment costs remain high and commercial returns uncertain.

For MTN Uganda Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Mulinge, the next phase of the country’s digital journey is less about basic connectivity and more about meaningful participation.

“Our challenge is no longer whether Uganda is connected. It is whether more Ugandans can participate in the activities the digital economy creates,” Mulinge said.

Her remarks reflect a growing policy debate around digital inclusion, affordability and access to devices, areas that many analysts consider critical to unlocking the full benefits of connectivity.

Civil society organisations and digital rights advocates have previously argued that taxes on digital devices and communications services continue to slow adoption, particularly among lower-income households, despite increasing network availability.

Through UCUSAF, UCC has over the years financed a range of initiatives aimed at narrowing the country’s digital divide. These include broadband expansion projects, ICT laboratories in schools, community information centres and telecommunications infrastructure deployed in rural areas.

The fund has also supported programmes focused on digital literacy, internet access and the adoption of communications technologies among underserved and marginalised communities.

UCC Executive Director Nyombi Thembo said the regulator views contributions from operators such as MTN Uganda as an important partnership in advancing national development goals.

“We thank MTN for viewing this responsibility not as a burden but as a shared investment in Uganda’s future,” Thembo said.

The size of MTN Uganda’s contribution also serves as a useful indicator of the company’s continued dominance in the telecommunications sector. As the country’s largest telecom operator by subscriber numbers and one of its biggest corporate taxpayers, MTN has continued to invest heavily in network expansion, mobile financial services and broadband infrastructure.

The company has consistently positioned itself as a key enabler of Uganda’s digital transformation agenda through investments in technology platforms, connectivity solutions and financial inclusion services.

Industry analysts note that universal service funds are becoming increasingly important as regulators and governments seek sustainable ways to extend digital services beyond commercially viable markets.

As demand for internet access, mobile money services and digital platforms continues to grow, such funding mechanisms are expected to play a critical role in ensuring that the benefits of Uganda’s digital economy reach communities that might otherwise be left behind.

For policymakers, regulators and operators alike, the challenge is increasingly shifting from building networks to ensuring that citizens have the skills, devices and affordable access required to participate fully in a rapidly digitising economy.

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Uganda’s drive towards integrated digital mobility took another step forward on Monday with the launch of a cashless school transport solution that allows students to pay bus fares using smart wristbands while giving parents real-time visibility over their daily journeys.

The initiative, dubbed Cashless School Days, was launched at Kololo Secondary School through a partnership involving Kiira Motors Corporation’s public transport subsidiary EBus Xpress, MTN Uganda, HelloBooth by Sparklab and other technology partners.

The programme introduces wearable wristbands that enable students to board and disembark buses without handling cash. Parents can load transport funds through MTN Mobile Money and receive notifications confirming when their children begin and complete each trip.

Paul Isaac Musasizi, the founding Chief Executive Officer of Kiira Motors Corporation, described the initiative as an example of “how innovation can be deployed to address everyday challenges faced by families.”

According to Musasizi, the partners were united by a common objective of using technology to make student mobility safer, simpler and more connected while giving parents greater oversight of school transport.

The system allows parents to load transport fares through a mobile phone using flexible payment options that can be tailored to daily, weekly, monthly or termly transport requirements.

Students simply tap their wristbands when boarding and again when alighting from the bus, creating a digital record of each journey.

The launch reflects a growing convergence between Uganda’s mobility, fintech and digital services sectors as operators seek to move more transactions into cashless ecosystems.

To encourage adoption, participating students will receive a 50 percent fare subsidy during the introductory phase. A journey that would ordinarily cost UGX2,000 will cost UGX1,000.

Musasizi noted that the initiative extends digital payment habits already familiar to many parents who routinely use Mobile Money platforms to pay school fees and other household expenses.

By integrating payments with transport services, he said, the programme introduces greater convenience, transparency and control into daily family routines.

“Cashless School Days is a step forward in how we think about mobility for families. It is about safety, convenience and giving parents better control, while continuing to drive cashless adoption in everyday life.”

The school transport solution builds on MTN Uganda’s broader collaboration with EBus Xpress, through which commuters can already purchase bus tickets electronically using mobile phones.

Beyond the immediate convenience of cashless fare collection, the programme addresses growing concerns around student safety, cash handling and accountability in school transport operations.

Industry observers say such solutions could become increasingly important as Uganda’s urban population expands and schools, transport operators and parents seek more efficient ways to manage student mobility.

The initiative also aligns with broader national efforts to accelerate digital financial inclusion and promote smart mobility solutions capable of supporting Uganda’s rapidly growing urban centres.

For Kiira Motors, whose ambitions extend beyond vehicle manufacturing into integrated mobility services, the project offers a glimpse of how technology, payments and transport can be combined to create more connected transport ecosystems.

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Uganda expects to receive the completed first phase of Kabalega International Airport by the end of July, marking a major milestone in the country’s ambitious aviation infrastructure programme.

Speaking at the 53rd Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) Board Air Services Licensing Committee meeting in Kampala on Friday, Acting Director General Olive Birungi Lumonya said Phase I of the airport project in Hoima is now 98 percent complete and on track for handover by July 31.

The licensing committee was meeting to consider 15 applications for air service licence applications, comprising five renewals and ten new applications, as Uganda seeks to expand aviation services alongside major investments in airport infrastructure.

“Government is also making significant progress on the development of Kabalega International Airport. Phase I of the project is now 98 percent complete and is expected to be finalised by 31st July 2026,” Lumonya said.

She added that government has already moved to fast-track parts of the second phase in preparation for Uganda’s hosting of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

“In preparation for Uganda’s hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027, Government has decided to accelerate part of the Phase II works, particularly the construction of the passenger terminal building. The contractor is expected to assume site on 1st July 2026, with completion scheduled for March 2027 to ensure readiness for the tournament,” she said.

The update comes as Uganda intensifies investments in aviation infrastructure aimed at boosting tourism, trade and regional connectivity. Construction of the airport, which forms part of the Kabaale Industrial Park and the head of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), started in 2019, with an envisaged 36 months construction period. But progress was interrupted by the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic in early 2020, occasioning prolonged delays and cost overruns.

Lumonya revealed that government has embarked on an ambitious programme to upgrade six priority airports across the country, including Kidepo, Arua, Gulu, Kasese, Kisoro and Pakuba.

“I am pleased to report that on 5th June 2026, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda officially commissioned the construction of Kidepo International Airport in Karenga District. This landmark project, valued at over USD 72 million and funded by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the United Arab Emirates, represents a significant milestone in Uganda’s aviation development agenda,” she said.

According to Lumonya, the new airport will be developed to international standards and is expected to transform the Karamoja sub-region.

“Upon completion, Kidepo International Airport will feature a 3.6-kilometre runway, a modern passenger terminal building covering 7,408 square metres, a cargo terminal of 74,200 square metres, and other supporting infrastructure,” she said.

“The project is expected to greatly enhance tourism, trade, investment, and socio-economic development within the Karamoja sub-region and the country at large.”

She also revealed that project preparation for the redevelopment of Arua, Gulu and Kasese airports has been completed and government is mobilising financing for implementation, while Kisoro and Pakuba remain at the project preparation stage.

The Acting Director General said the expansion and modernisation of Entebbe International Airport continues as part of broader efforts to position Uganda as a regional aviation hub.

“In April 2026, Entebbe International Airport handled a total of 189,130 international passengers, comprising 94,320 arrivals and 94,810 departures. This performance reflects the continued recovery and expansion of air travel demand and underscores Uganda’s growing connectivity to regional and international markets,” she said.

Cargo traffic also recorded growth, with exports reaching 3,389 metric tonnes and imports 1,434 metric tonnes during the month.

The Authority also reported progress on other infrastructure projects, including the completion of runway, taxiway and apron upgrades at Jinja Airport and the near completion of terminal modernisation works at Pakuba Airport.

“At Pakuba Airport, modernisation of the terminal building has reached 97 percent completion and is progressing satisfactorily,” Lumonya said.

Beyond infrastructure, UCAA is also reviewing regulations governing air service licensing, competition and consumer protection.

“The revised Civil Aviation Regulations are designed to strengthen Uganda’s aviation sector by ensuring that competent and financially sound operators participate in the market, promoting safety, reliability, and sustainability,” she said.

“They also seek to foster fair competition by creating a level playing field that encourages innovation, efficiency, and investment, while enhancing consumer protection through stronger safeguards for passenger rights, including provisions relating to flight delays, cancellations, baggage handling, refunds, and fare transparency.”

Addressing the same meeting, UCAA Board Chairperson Justice Dr. Steven Kavuma said continued demand for operating licences reflects growing confidence in Uganda’s aviation industry.

“The continued interest by operators in obtaining Air Service Licences is a strong indicator of confidence in Uganda’s aviation sector and its future prospects,” Kavuma said.

He noted that Uganda currently has 25 licensed air operators providing passenger, cargo, flight training, aerial work and private aviation services.

Kavuma said Uganda has significantly expanded its international aviation relationships, signing air services agreements with 64 countries.

“To date, Uganda has concluded Air Services Agreements with sixty-four countries, creating a framework that facilitates international connectivity, trade, tourism, and investment,” he said.

“As a result of these agreements, twenty international airlines currently operate scheduled services to and from Entebbe International Airport, linking Uganda to major destinations across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.”

The UCAA Board Chair also highlighted the growing international reach of Uganda Airlines, describing the national carrier as a strategic asset.

“We are also encouraged by the continued growth of Uganda Airlines, which remains a strategic national asset in advancing Uganda’s connectivity objectives. The airline currently serves fifteen international destinations and has been designated under various bilateral air services arrangements to operate to twenty-three destinations,” he said.

Kavuma urged operators to pursue greater collaboration through commercial partnerships and codeshare arrangements to strengthen Uganda’s position within the global aviation network.

“As the aviation industry continues to evolve, success will increasingly depend on collaboration, innovation, and strategic partnerships. The Authority therefore encourages licensed operators to explore opportunities for cooperation, including codeshare arrangements, interline agreements, and other commercial partnerships that can enhance connectivity, improve operational efficiencies, and increase passenger and cargo traffic,” he said.

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After another year of fast-paced innovation, media managers, experts and academics posed a few tough questions at this year’s Nordic AI in Media Summit (NAMS), hosted at the JP/Politikens former printing press. Both the ink-stained walls and the lyrics of Video Killed the Radio Star served as reminders that the news industry has survived previous rounds of technological changes. But Canadian AI expert Nikita Roy warned the audiences that survival is not a given: “Awareness is not immunity.”

The fourth edition of the summit, hosted in Copenhagen by the Nordic AI Journalism Network, shifted the focus from tools and experiments to some of the more fundamental issues AI is surfacing for the news industry. What will the news economy look like? What (and who) will be automated? What will journalism mean in the age of AI? Speakers and attendees agreed the jury is out for all of these questions. Or at least, no one has definitive answers for them yet.

NAMS is led by Olle Zachrison, head of news AI for BBC News, Kasper Lindskow and Sara Inkeri Vardar from JP/Politikens Media Group, and Agnes Stenbom Swedling from Schibsted, who until recently was a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute.

The summit included keynote lectures by experts such as Ezra Eeman from NPO, Nikita Roy from Newsroom Robots and our senior research associate Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, now at the University of Copenhagen. There were also presentations of AI projects and tools from many organisations, and breakout sessions targeting specific issues, with most of the latter held under Chatham House rules.

If you couldn’t be in Copenhagen this week, here are five key takeaways from the summit, ranging from broad questions on how AI will change the future of journalism to more practical takeaways from newsrooms navigating these changes. You will soon be able to catch up with the conference programme in full here.

1. It’s time for a radical reimagining of the news economy

The impact of AI will bring a fundamental restructuring of both the supply and demand side of the news economy, said Shuwei Fang, a Shorenstein Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. As she explained in this powerful essay we published in March, she predicts four paradigm shifts: scarcity to abundance, a human audience to a machine audience, attention to intention, and artefacts to liquid content.

She believes these shifts will result in significant changes for the news ecosystem. For example, news production could shift from a “stock model,” where a news product is first produced and subsequently consumed by users, to a “flow model” where content is crafted at the moment of consumption specifically for a particular user.

Another shift could be news going from a B2C product to B2A2C (business to agent to consumer). Here, the “A” layer includes multiple agents with different needs in their own right, depending on their purpose.

The ecosystem emerging can produce answers to extremely niche, detailed questions addressing individuals’ needs, Fang said. While this presents opportunities, the distance that AI creates between audiences and news organisations could alienate publishers from important information about what audiences need from them.

Fang also predicted that the market for news could start to bifurcate between luxury and commodity, with extremes at either end and a hollowed-out middle. The luxury end would be defined by intangible qualities like brand identity and trust, with offerings like member communities and shared live experiences. The commodity end will be defined by infrastructure and integration.

There would be AI and human presence across both ends of the spectrum. The middle, where most news organisations sit today, would be dangerous ground, Fang said.

Despite the risks inherent to the scenarios she painted, Fang is not a pessimist. “The market for knowledge could get much bigger,” she said, with possible expansion both on the supply and demand side. Opportunities include lower production costs and the possibility to use AI to reach underserved audiences.

However, the value brought by AI may not be evenly distributed, and power could concentrate in a handful of players. For news organisations thinking about how to position themselves for the future, Fang heeded a warning: “Be suspicious of solutions that require the least amount of change.”

2. It’s also time to rethink what journalism is

If the news industry is to reorient itself in light of AI, it will need to redefine itself. “People don’t want news, as in facts, but they might want sensemaking,” said Florent Daudens, CEO and co-founder of Mizal AI, a startup offering production agents for media companies. This is why Substack is growing even as other forms of media struggle, he said.

Facts might not be a great bet in a news ecosystem increasingly mediated by AI either, Daudens said, as tech companies could get them by striking a deal with a single newswire.

This thought was echoed by Fang: there’s so much free information online such as research and press releases that AI companies could draw from, and that, for some, may be indistinguishable from journalism by news organisations.

Nikita Roy suggested we are at a turning point that, if missed, could spell disaster for the news industry. “We are in our Nokia and Kodak moment, where we are looking at a new product but thinking with the metrics of an old product,” she warned. Instead of worrying about how to recover lost web traffic and otherwise defend the status quo, we need to leave behind old assumptions.

AI is disrupting something more fundamental, Roy said: how information moves, how value is captured, what it means to be a media company.

This is a bigger shift than the one from print to digital, as then the role of the publisher remained largely the same. To Roy, publishers may be approaching this from a loss perspective, feeling their losses but not considering what they could gain.

Echoing Fang, she also asked those present to consider the people they could reach that it had not been possible to serve before. “We mistake the container for journalism,” she said, referring to an article, a podcast episode or a newsletter issue. And then she asked a fundamental question: “If you knew nothing about websites, but you knew people still needed verified information to navigate their lives, what would you build?”

A slide from Nikita Roy’s presentation. Image courtesy of NAMS.

3. Agents might be the future

Agents took centre stage at this year’s summit. In a future when many people navigate the web with their own personal agent, as David Caswell outlined in an essay we published last year, publishers’ relationships with audiences would be mediated through this middle layer.

Florent Daudens described how agents would surf the web on behalf of the humans they serve, visiting websites, extracting and repackaging information according to their person’s wants and needs. They may even be authorised to pay for news, in a sort of micropayment system as suggested by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a recent conversation with the Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson.

For news publishers, this would mean learning how to embed instructions for agents on their websites, instructing them on how to use their content, and working out how to serve information to agents in a way that would preserve the organisation’s tone and identity.

Key to this is keeping your data in order, which isn’t something many news organisations have prioritised until now. “Very few news organisations structure their data properly, and that’s a huge problem,” said consultant Madhav Chinnappa, until recently a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute.

Roy described how this kind of future might work. In this new world, “you no longer need to be found, you need to be worth monitoring,” she said. Publishers would find themselves creating for two audiences: humans and agents. The latter wouldn’t only be the personal agents Daudens suggested, but also platform agents, newsroom agents, and even adversarial agents.

“By the time agents are reliable enough, it will be too late. We can’t wait and see. We need to experiment now, as much as we can,” Roy warned.

This might still seem far-fetched to some, but agents have already improved substantially over the last year, with the biggest impact on coding.

Agents also began playing a role in newsroom AI tools. Norwegian local media network Polaris Media Vest uses agentic as well as vibe coding for a range of journalistic tools and widgets, some of which non-coding reporters built, said Kaja Distad, head of editorial development.

In Schibsted, video experts taught an agent to work like them to develop a tool now used to convert any content from its subsidiary VG into a social-ready video. Football World Cup-focused chatbots developed by Swedish tabloid rivals Aftonbladet and Expressen both use agentic workflows. Danish publisher Bonnier’s new internal tool Flows allows journalists to set up their own agentic systems, combining research, extraction and planning, decision and writing. This tool is used, for example, to monitor, summarise and notify them of a story they may want to cover. In some ways, agents are already here.

4. Large legacy newsrooms send out nimble explorers

Characterised both as speedboats sailing ahead of a large ship and as light drones compared to heavy tanks, legacy newsrooms shared how they are using relatively small and fast-moving AI experiments to test out new ideas while protecting their core brand.

The military analogy was shared by Amalie Kestler, editor-in-chief of Politiken, the Danish newspaper in whose former printing press the meeting was held. Newsrooms can be run like tanks, heavy and slow with a centralised hierarchy, she explained. Or they can be run like drones, light and quick. The tank model has its place, but in some cases newsrooms should opt for the drone approach.

For Politiken, AI experimentation has expanded beyond data journalism and its multiuse tool Magna into the quick-paced vibe coding, leading to interactive widgets to encourage audiences to engage with news stories.

An eye-catching example was the “death machine”, which asks users to input information about their lifestyle and uses statistics to predict when they will die. At the same time, Politiken is also highlighting the human aspects to its journalism with video podcasts and live debates.

Gard Steiro, editor-in-chief and CEO of Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), built upon past NAMS presentations to make the case for moving on from experimentation to scaling. For him, this also means doubling down on the human touch that AI cannot replace in journalism. “There are people out there who need to be met at eye level and tell their stories, and rest assured that Sam Altman doesn’t give a damn about them,” he said.

Steiro also sees a great need for change to make the most of the opportunities afforded by AI. “If we don’t make an effort to change, the untapped potential will be so great that any startup will overtake us,” he said.

Legacy newsrooms are slow like large ships, so VG is sending out speedboats to test the waters. These include VG X, a new app-based news service that replaces articles with summarised information updated around the clock and managed almost entirely by AI, using a clustering algorithm to group together VG articles and videos into stories. As there is no CMS, editors can request changes directly in the product, akin to talking to it.

Another of these speedboats is VG Lab, an internal tool to quickly test ideas and get an assessment of whether VG could execute it, whether there’s a market for it, how much it would cost, and what similar offerings exist around the world. This is led by two people and a team of agents, and led to the creation of Norway’s fastest growing app last autumn, Steiro said.

Gard Steiro’s presentation. Image courtesy of NAMS.

5. What do audiences want?

An underlying motif pervaded the summit: the idea that AI could be used by publishers to get a better idea of what their audiences want and need through a new ability to ask direct questions.

Daudens mentioned this as an advantage of personal agents: by looking at what agents are seeking out from websites, publishers may figure out areas that require further reporting. Also by analysing how audiences use AI chatbots and the kinds of questions they ask, news organisations can know what kinds of stories they want more of.

In a panel discussion moderated by our researcher Felix Simon, the conversation turned to the importance of building relationships with the audience. “We can create as much journalism as we want, but if people don’t want to be sources, or don’t want to read us, there’s no point,” said Stine Thorsgaard Kjær, head of innovation and development at TV2 Østjylland.

There is a potential problem for journalists who use AI. In a closing keynote, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen asked a key question posed by the Reuters Institute’s survey data: audiences tend to be sceptical of AI in journalism.

It could be that journalists who want to use AI and be explicit about their use aren’t making a good case for this to the public, he suggested. If we want to both use AI and foster trust, there are many factors that contribute to trust that have very little if anything to do with technology. As our Trust in News Project found, it’s about brand, presentation, language, bias, factual accuracy.

“It remains really important that you, as a professional community of practice, continue to judge your own work by your own standards” when it comes to AI use, Nielsen said. But that’s only one leg of value and trust, and probably not the most important one. The second, he added, is a public test: the need to convince members of the public, “what is in it for us?”

Marina Adami writes articles on the future of journalism worldwide and occasionally works with the Reuters Institute’s research team. 

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Global payments company PayPal is betting big on Africa’s digital economy after expanding access to its digital dollar stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), to users across 70 global markets, a move expected to reshape how African businesses receive and move money internationally.

The expansion, announced from San Jose, California on May 26, positions Africa among the company’s strategic growth frontiers as demand rises for faster, cheaper and more reliable cross-border payment systems.

For Ugandan businesses, freelancers and online entrepreneurs, the development could ease one of the longest-standing frustrations in digital commerce: getting paid on time.

From software developers and remote workers to coffee exporters, online traders and creative professionals, many Ugandans operating in global markets have traditionally faced delayed settlements, high bank charges and costly currency conversion fees when receiving international payments.

The introduction of PYUSD now allows users to buy, hold, send and receive digital dollars directly through PayPal accounts, significantly reducing settlement times that often stretch from several days to weeks under conventional banking systems.

The company says the rollout is designed to modernise an international payments system that many businesses increasingly view as outdated and inefficient in an era of real-time digital commerce.

According to May Zabaneh, the current global financial infrastructure no longer reflects the speed at which modern businesses operate.

“Consumers and businesses around the world are looking for faster, more seamless ways to transact globally and the current system still charges too much, takes too long, and settles on timelines that were designed for a different era,” Zabaneh said during the announcement.

She added that expanding PYUSD access would help consumers access funds faster while lowering the cost of transferring money across borders.

Africa featured prominently in PayPal’s expansion strategy, with company executives describing the continent as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital commerce markets.

Otto Williams said the rollout is intended to support businesses driving growth across African economies.

“Bringing PYUSD to Africa is about delivering tangible value to the people and businesses driving growth in these dynamic markets,” Williams said.

“Consumers gain a flexible, stable way to move funds faster, while businesses can streamline cross-border payments, improve settlement times, and unlock new opportunities for growth.”

The move comes as Uganda’s digital economy continues to expand rapidly, driven by rising internet penetration, mobile money adoption and a growing number of young people working remotely for international clients.

Industry analysts say stablecoins are becoming increasingly attractive because they combine the speed and flexibility of blockchain technology with the stability of traditional currencies such as the US dollar.

Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, PYUSD is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, Treasury securities and cash equivalents. The stablecoin is issued by Paxos Trust Company under U.S. financial regulations.

For Uganda’s growing freelance workforce, the development could provide quicker access to overseas earnings at a time when digital labour exports are becoming an increasingly important source of income for young professionals.

Technology startups, tourism operators, agribusiness exporters and e-commerce traders are also expected to benefit from lower transaction costs and faster international settlements.

Financial technology experts believe the rollout reflects growing international confidence in Africa’s digital payments future as global firms increasingly position themselves around the continent’s expanding online economy.

The expansion also highlights the broader shift underway in global finance, where digital assets and blockchain-based payment systems are gradually moving from speculative investments into mainstream commercial infrastructure.

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Uganda has exported its first consignment of chilled cut meat to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, marking a new step in the country’s efforts to expand value-added agricultural exports to Middle Eastern markets.

The 2,500-kilogram shipment departed Entebbe International Airport aboard a direct Flynas flight in the early hours of May 26 and arrived in Riyadh ahead of this year’s Eid al-Adha celebrations, a peak consumption period for meat products across the Gulf region.

The export was facilitated by Jet Fresh Cargo in partnership with Nakasongola-based Pearl Meat Industries.

Industry players say the shipment is significant because it moves Uganda beyond exporting full animal carcasses toward higher-value processed meat products packaged to international retail standards.

Unlike previous exports, the latest consignment consisted of portioned chilled meat packed in cartons.

“This is the first time we are exporting Ugandan meat packed in cartons,” said Wail Dagash, Managing Director of Jet Fresh Cargo.

“It may appear like a small adjustment, but it is a significant step in the right direction for value addition and demonstrates the adaptability of Pearl Meat Industries in responding to the requirements of the Middle Eastern market,” he added.

The development comes slightly over a year since Flynas launched direct passenger flights between Entebbe and Saudi Arabia, creating faster cargo connections for Ugandan exporters targeting Gulf markets. Each flight can offer up to 3.5 tons of cargo capacity, which translates into 10.5 tons of freight to Saudi Arabia weekly.

According to Jet Fresh Cargo, the direct Entebbe-Riyadh route has significantly reduced transit times for perishable exports.

Previously, shipments to Saudi Arabia often passed through multiple transit airports, extending delivery times to as much as 15 hours. The direct route now cuts the journey to roughly four hours.

Dagash said the shorter transit period is particularly important for chilled meat exports, which typically have a shelf life of about 14 days.

“Every hour counts because reduced transit time means extended shelf life and better product quality upon arrival,” he said.

Uganda’s livestock sector has increasingly been seeking access to higher-value export markets as the country attempts to diversify export earnings beyond traditional commodities.

The Middle East remains one of the largest importers of halal meat globally, creating opportunities for East African suppliers with certified processing facilities and efficient cold chain logistics. Pearl Meat Industries has secured all relevant Halal certifications and  indemnities for its for meat exports into Saudi Arabia.

Jet Fresh Cargo says it has already handled more than 500,000 kilograms of Ugandan fresh produce exports to Saudi Arabia since the launch of the direct Flynas route.

The exports include fruits, vegetables, fish fillets and other perishable products sourced from Ugandan producers.

Industry stakeholders say improved air connectivity is gradually strengthening Uganda’s competitiveness in time-sensitive agricultural exports where freshness and delivery speed are critical.

The latest shipment also highlights growing investment in cold chain logistics and agro-processing infrastructure needed to support Uganda’s export diversification agenda.

Jet Fresh Cargo has positioned itself as a logistics provider for Uganda’s perishables export sector, handling chilled meat, fish and fresh produce shipments to regional and international markets.

The company is also the exclusive air cargo logistics provider for Pearl Meat Industries.

Exporters say expanding value-added meat exports could increase earnings for livestock farmers and processors while helping Uganda move away from dependence on low-value raw commodity exports.

However, analysts note that sustained growth in the sector will depend on Uganda’s ability to maintain international sanitary standards, improve processing capacity and strengthen refrigerated transport infrastructure.

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