Uganda’s ambition to build a digitally inclusive economy depends on more than expanding internet coverage and rolling out digital government services. It also depends on whether ordinary Ugandans can afford the devices needed to access those opportunities.
That is why Watu Uganda‘s announcement that it has financed one million smartphones through its Watu Simu programme is significant beyond the company’s own growth. It highlights how consumer financing is increasingly becoming a pathway to digital inclusion for entrepreneurs, students and households that would otherwise struggle to purchase smartphones outright.
Launched in July 2023, Watu Simu allows customers to acquire smartphones through an initial deposit followed by manageable repayments. In just three years, the programme has reached one million financed devices, with more than 250,000 smartphones financed in the first half of 2026 alone.
For many Ugandans, smartphones have become productive assets rather than luxury items. They enable traders to communicate with customers, boda boda riders to receive digital payments and navigation services, and small business owners to market their products online.
Damien Gueroult, Country Manager of Watu Uganda, says the rapid uptake reflects growing demand for practical financing solutions rather than traditional subsidies.
“Growth like this doesn’t happen by accident. That kind of demand tells you people want a practical way to own a phone, not just a subsidy. It’s why we’ve kept investing in our dealer network, now over 300 partners nationally, so customers can access Watu Simu wherever they are.”he said
The company’s expanding footprint now includes 29 branches, more than 10,000 agents, 880 employees and over 300 dealer partners across Uganda, making smartphone financing increasingly accessible in urban and rural communities alike.
The impact is perhaps most visible among small entrepreneurs.
Suzan, a market trader in Kampala, says financing her smartphone allowed her to own a modern device without waiting to save the full purchase price. She says the phone now helps her stay connected with customers, suppliers and family while enabling her to repay the balance from her daily earnings.
In western Uganda, Adrine, a tailor in Rukungiri, says spreading payments over nine months made smartphone ownership affordable and has since encouraged her to recommend the programme to others.
The milestone also illustrates how different productive assets increasingly complement each other. According to Watu, more than 6,000 customers who financed motorcycles through the company have also gone on to finance smartphones, using both assets to support their businesses and generate income.
Women are also becoming a larger part of this growth. Female customers now account for 42 percent of Watu Simu’s one million customers and represent half of all new customers as of June 2026, suggesting that flexible financing may be helping narrow barriers to digital participation.
Looking ahead, Watu believes demand for financed smartphones will continue to grow.
“We’re just getting started,” says Mykyta Batenko, Head of Watu Simu, Uganda.
“We’re focused on reaching the next one million Watu Simu customers, and doing it faster than the first. Uganda remains one of our most important markets, and this milestone gives us a strong base to build from.”
As Uganda continues pursuing its digital transformation agenda, initiatives that expand access to smartphones could play an increasingly important role. While connectivity infrastructure and digital services are essential, meaningful participation in the digital economy ultimately depends on whether citizens can afford the devices that connect them.
Watu’s one-million-device milestone therefore represents more than corporate growth. It offers a glimpse into how innovative financing models could help bring more Ugandans into the digital economy, one smartphone at a time.
