The untapped potential of .ug domains

The Digital Solutions Expo 2026, hosted by Refactory Academy, brought together innovators, entrepreneurs and industry leaders from Uganda’s growing tech ecosystem. Many of my conversations there came back to one topic: digital identity, and how few businesses make use of Uganda’s own country-code domain, .ug.

Why a .ug domain is worth it

• Local SEO. A .ug domain gives your site a stronger local presence, and helps it show up in Uganda-based search results.
• Local identity, global reach. It shows your brand is rooted in Uganda while staying accessible to the world.
• Names are still available. Compared with crowded global extensions, the .ug namespace still has plenty of short, meaningful names.

Protecting your brand

The other big theme was security. Many organisations are exposed to impersonation and cybersquatting. The fixes are straightforward:

• Domain privacy keeps registrant details out of public view and cuts spam and fraud.
• .ug block services stop others registering your brand name in the .ug space.
• Global block services protect your brand across many extensions worldwide.

What needs to change

Across conversations, the same gaps kept coming up. Many people didn’t know about the local SEO value of .ug. Others had never looked at domain protection. Several businesses hadn’t secured their brand across extensions. That’s a big opportunity to educate the market — and to strengthen Uganda’s presence online.