60% of courier service providers are operating without license - UCC

This was on during the UCC and postal and courier sector engagement, on Tuesday at the UCC headquarters in Bugolobi. The engagement was aimed at addressing emerging regulatory issues in the sector. The reveal was done by the director of industry affairs and content at the Uganda Communication Commission Julianne Mweherie.

Mweherie mentioned that there has been growth in the number of licensed courier service providers between 2020 and 2022.

“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,” she said.

However, she said they are working so hard to eliminate illegal courier businesses that makeup 60 percent of the stakeholders in the industry. She expressed disappointment that only 40 percent of the businesses are recognised as national businesses.

“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.”

The communications commission hopes that the emergency courier services will be a major driver of e-commerce in the country.

At the event, the director of corporate affairs at Uganda Communications Commission, Mr. Fred Otunnu Okot, said couriers have a big role in driving the social-economic transformation in the country.

"Postal and courier services have undergone an 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," he said.

Players in the sector have been urged to get licenses to catch up with the growing demand for e-commerce and courier services in the country.