Based in Addis Ababa

Norman K. Muhwezi

Digital Transformation Leader

I've spent 15 years turning ambitious technology ideas into systems that work at scale, including telecom networks, digital platforms used by millions, and a $12.6M public-private partnership. I now bring that same delivery experience to AI adoption advisory work.

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Portrait of Norman K. Muhwezi

Career trajectory

  1. 2009

    Networks

    Planning and delivering telecom infrastructure at scale.

  2. 2016

    Platforms

    Building digital services that reached millions of people.

  3. 2020s

    Scale

    Bringing together funding, partners and teams to move proven ideas into wider use.

  4. Now

    AI

    Applying my delivery experience to practical AI adoption.

15+
Years across technology & transformation
12.4M+
Users reached through scaled digital platforms
$20M+
Portfolio leadership
1,000+
Telecom sites delivered / modernised

Selected Transformation Stories

Digital platform at national scale

Scaling U-Report to 8.6M users across DRC.

The partnerships, localisation and delivery choices behind U-Report's growth across the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A group of U-Report DRC volunteers in matching black "U-Report par UNICEF" T-shirts, posing and cheering together on a street during a community clean-up.

U-Report community engagement in DRC. · 1/3

  • 8.6M+ users across every province
  • 150+ community clubs, including 30+ girls-only clubs
  • Zero-rated data agreements with Orange, Vodacom, Airtel and Africell
  • Connected to UNICEF's HOPE cash-transfer verification system

Tap a step for details

01Context02Model03Delivery04Scale
01 · Context
U-Report was growing across a large, multilingual country with different local realities and partners.
02 · Model
The platform, local partnerships, language choices, communication channels and governance needed to support growth.
03 · Delivery
Working with partners, connecting the platform to programme delivery, tracking use and improving the service over time.
04 · Scale
8.6M+ users reached across the country.

Tap a step above for detail.

From pilot to operating model

Building a $12.6M partnership around recycled-plastic classrooms.

How the idea moved from an early concept to more than 300 classrooms, backed by financing, quality testing and real-time construction monitoring.

A person wearing a yellow hard hat and safety glasses uses a rubber mallet to fit a recycled-plastic building block into place during construction of the first recycled-plastic classroom in Cote d'Ivoire.

On-site construction of Cote d'Ivoire's first recycled-plastic classroom. · 1/3

  • $12.6M public-private partnership with Conceptos Plasticos
  • 1,500+ tons of recycled plastic converted into 300+ classrooms
  • 15,000+ children served
  • $212,000 in government cost reimbursement secured

Explore the delivery model

01Context02Model03Delivery04Scale
01 · Context
The classroom concept needed a clear route from early testing to dependable construction at scale.
02 · Model
I helped structure the partnership, financing arrangements and government engagement around the programme.
03 · Delivery
We put independent testing, quality checks and real-time construction monitoring in place as delivery expanded.
04 · Scale
300+ classrooms built, serving 15,000+ children, with the model shared for wider use.

Tap a step above for detail.

Infrastructure at scale

Delivering telecom infrastructure at scale.

My years at MTN built the delivery habits I still use today: careful planning, vendor coordination, service quality and close attention to performance.

Network modernisation programme

  1. 01

    Network base

    Existing 2G/3G infrastructure

  2. 02

    Modernisation

    830+ 2G/3G sites swapped

  3. 03

    Expansion

    450+ new LTE sites

  4. 04

    Migration

    TDM to IP RAN migration

  5. 05

    Performance

    Service quality, optimisation and operational performance

Evidence

1,000+

Telecom sites delivered / modernised

  • 830+

    2G/3G sites swapped

  • 450+

    New LTE sites

  • $75K+

    CAPEX savings

  • QoS #1

    UCC, 2014

Across network modernisation and rollout programmes in Uganda and Sudan.

Operating disciplines

  1. Plan

    Translate coverage and capacity needs into rollout priorities.

  2. Vendors

    Coordinate equipment, delivery teams and implementation schedules.

  3. Rollout

    Move large numbers of sites through deployment and acceptance.

  4. Migrate

    Upgrade network infrastructure while protecting service continuity.

  5. Optimise

    Track performance and improve network quality after deployment.

Tap a step for details

01Network02Rollout03Performance04Foundation
01 · Network
Large network programmes spread across many sites, teams and vendors.
02 · Rollout
Planning the rollout, coordinating vendors and keeping delivery on track.
03 · Performance
Protecting service quality while improving network performance.
04 · Foundation
The strongest results came when the technology, teams and day-to-day operating processes worked together.

Tap a step above for detail.

How I work

I start with the desired outcome, then work backward to figure out how it actually gets delivered.

  1. 01

    Start with the outcome

    I get clear on what needs to improve and how we will know it has worked.

  2. 02

    Make ownership clear

    I define who owns the work, how decisions are made and how the process will run day to day.

  3. 03

    Build for the real setting

    I design with the people, infrastructure, regulation and procurement environment in mind.

  4. 04

    Learn, improve and scale

    I track what is working, improve the model and expand it with evidence.

Experience

  1. Kampala

    2026–present

    Unified Technology Business Partners

    AI adoption advisory · digital transformation · enterprise advisory

    • Advise a Kampala-based IT and consulting firm on AI adoption strategy and digital transformation roadmaps for enterprise clients, applying platform delivery discipline built over 15 years in Africa.

  2. Kinshasa

    Mar 2023–Mar 2025

    UNICEF Democratic Republic of Congo

    8.6M-user platform · $20M+ portfolio · 20-person team

    • Directed a $20M+ portfolio and a 20-person team; served as Acting SBC Section Chief (OIC) for extended periods.
    • Built and led a misinformation-detection programme (Web Fact Checkers), using social-listening tools including Talkwalker to track and flag false information online. The programme trained 700 youth volunteers, who documented 100,000+ counter-misinformation actions and reached 3.4M+ people.
    • Scaled U-Report DRC (UNICEF's SMS-based youth polling and civic-engagement platform) to 8.6M+ users across 150 clubs in every province, including 30+ girls-only clubs, and connected it to UNICEF's cash-transfer verification system (HOPE).
    • Led vendor selection and procurement (Nyaruka/RapidPro, GoInnovation) for the DRC digital platform portfolio, then directed end-to-end delivery of FunDoo, a youth livelihoods and social-impact platform: implementation planning, five-language localisation, youth user-testing, and a 10,000-user beta launch.
    • Adapted the Ebola-response RapidPro chatbot for DRC, originally designed at Côte d'Ivoire in 2021 and since adopted as a UNICEF global template across 5+ country offices.
    • Chaired the DRC Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) Committee, securing $850,000 for community feedback systems, and secured zero-rated data agreements with Orange, Vodacom, Airtel, and Africell to sustain platform growth.

  3. Freetown

    Jul–Oct 2022

    UNICEF Sierra Leone

    School connectivity · Giga · government and ISP coordination

    • Led deployment of the Learning Passport digital education platform, training 87 Ministry of Education staff on system management.
    • Negotiated Project Giga's broadband vendor contracts for a 6% cost reduction, securing $500K in funding for school connectivity.
    • Restructured the Innovation Unit's project deployment process, raising fund utilisation from 35% to 84%.

  4. Abidjan

    Dec 2016–Mar 2023

    UNICEF Côte d'Ivoire

    Digital platforms · $12.6M PPP · multi-partner delivery

    • Built a national SMS/WhatsApp digital birth registration system with the Ministry of Justice and ONA, running sprint planning and UAT cycles and training 50+ registration agents to pilot the system for government rollout.
    • Digitized mobile money payments for 30,000+ frontline workers, overseeing requirements, MNO integration, and transition to operations.
    • Designed and launched an Ebola-response RapidPro chatbot (2021), adopted as a UNICEF global template.
    • Authored and launched the roadmap for YOMA (Youth Agency Marketplace, a skills-to-opportunity platform), working with YUX Design on platform customisation, integrating it with U-Report and co-securing $2.08M to scale it regionally with Nigeria and WCARO.
    • Established and scaled U-Report Côte d'Ivoire to 3.8M+ users, managing MNO relationships and real-time reporting.
    • Launched and ran the national CORONA chatbot on RapidPro with the Ministry of Health, consulted 3M+ times and adopted by government for national radio and TV campaigns; later added a module for COVAX (the global COVID-19 vaccine-sharing initiative).

  5. Khartoum

    May–Dec 2016

    MTN Sudan

    Network modernisation · rollout execution · vendor coordination

    • Oversaw a RAN equipment swap across 830+ 2G/3G sites (Ericsson/ZTE to Huawei) and commissioned 450+ new LTE sites, bringing total sites managed in-country to 1,000+.
    • Led the transmission network's migration from TDM to IP RAN, managing Huawei's delivery and risk mitigation to protect network availability.

  6. Kampala

    Sep 2009–Apr 2016

    MTN Uganda

    Large-scale network delivery · performance · infrastructure modernisation

    Started as a Radio Planning & Network Service Delivery Engineer before advancing to Project Manager & Senior Engineer.

    • Directed end-to-end RAN modernisation across 1,000+ sites (300+ GSM, 200+ WCDMA, 80+ LTE), managing vendor integration (Huawei) and tower companies (ATC, Eaton).
    • Negotiated vendor and subcontractor contracts for $75,000+ in annual CAPEX savings, contributing to MTN Uganda's #1 national Quality-of-Service ranking (2014).

AI in Practice

For AI work, I start with the job that needs to be done. I look at where AI can improve the workflow and add value, who owns the decision, what should stay with people, and how results will be measured. I test the approach before scaling it.

  • Current advisory work: UTBP

    Enterprise AI Adoption

    I work with a Kampala-based advisory firm on AI adoption for enterprise clients, looking at where AI fits into existing workflows and redesigning processes around it. From there, I build practical adoption roadmaps with responsible deployment built in.

  • Cornell University coursework

    AI Solution Design

    Coursework in designing AI solutions from the ground up: framing the use case, working through data and model choices, and building in the human oversight a responsible deployment needs.

About

I started my career as a telecom engineer and have spent the past 15 years leading technology programmes across Africa. My work has grown from network infrastructure into digital platforms, partnerships and large-scale programme delivery.

That mix of engineering and programme leadership still shapes how I work. I pay attention to the technology, the people using it, the partners around it and what it takes to keep the system working after launch.

Today, I bring that experience to digital transformation and AI adoption advisory work, with a focus on practical use cases, clear ownership and measurable results.

Education & Professional Development

Education

  • 2015

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    East & Southern Africa Management Institute, Tanzania

  • 2009

    BSc (Hons) Telecommunication Engineering

    Makerere University, Uganda

Professional Development

  • 2026

    AI Agent Bootcamp

  • 2025

    Designing and Building AI Solutions

    Cornell University, USA

  • 2011

    PRINCE2® Practitioner Certificate

    APMG International, UK

Capabilities

Transformation Strategy

Digital strategy · transformation roadmaps · operating models · technology investment priorities

AI Adoption

Use-case prioritisation · workflow redesign · responsible deployment · human oversight

Delivery at Scale

Programme leadership · procurement · vendor management · UAT · implementation governance · performance

Partnerships & Ecosystems

Government · telecom operators · technology partners · public-private partnerships · multi-country coordination

Platforms & toolsRapidPro · Power BI · n8n · U-Report · analytics dashboards

  • EnglishFluent
  • FrenchProfessional Working Proficiency

Contact

Open to conversations about senior roles and advisory work in digital transformation and AI adoption, drawing on 15 years delivering telecom and public-sector technology programmes at scale across Africa.

Email NormanLinkedIn

Based in Addis Ababa · open to regional, remote and relocation opportunities