Women in Design Uganda to Launch Verified Industry Portal

Women in Design Uganda is preparing to introduce a digital platform that will connect clients with verified interior designers, suppliers, manufacturers and other professionals in the construction industry. The initiative aims to address challenges such as fraud, unreliable suppliers and the availability of low-quality products in the sector.

The platform, called Women in Design (WID), will be officially launched at the second Women in Design Summit on November 14, 2026, at Onomo Hotel in Kampala, Uganda.

The summit, themed “Designing the Future, Building the Legacy,” is expected to bring together more than 150 participants from the construction and interior design sectors. The event will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to explore business opportunities, share industry knowledge and build professional networks.

Key Highlights:

• Women in Design Uganda will launch a portal connecting clients with verified industry professionals
• The platform aims to prevent fraud and improve service quality through professional verification
• The initiative promotes women's visibility, business opportunities and industry partnerships

The online resource, www.womenindesign.community, will be a directory and search engine where individuals, businesses and procurement officers can find designers and suppliers according to their experience, specialization and work.

Women in Design President Christine Masiika explained that WID had been created because of challenges that have long plagued construction and interior design professionals and clients.

Women in the industry had been working largely alone, finding it difficult to find a reliable supplier or get good quality materials or build a professional relationship with manufacturers and other players in the industry, Christine said.

“Women in Design was born out of challenges that women in the industry were facing, including working in isolation, not knowing reliable suppliers and dealing with suppliers who provided substandard products or delivered poor-quality work on project sites,” Christine said.

“One of the gaps we have identified over the years is that the market is highly segmented. Suppliers do not know the designers, and designers do not know the manufacturers. We therefore set out to develop a technology solution that brings all these players together,” she said.

“Someone who specializes in designing commercial buildings may not necessarily be the right person for a residential project. The portal will therefore help clients identify designers based on their areas of specialization and the work they have done,” she said.

To safeguard the platform's credibility, Christine said individuals and companies seeking to be listed would undergo a vetting process based on their professional experience, completed projects and recommendations from previous clients.

She emphasized that the initiative was not intended to restrict entry into the interior design profession but to help consumers distinguish credible service providers from unreliable operators.

“We are not gatekeepers of the term interior designer, but there are standards and ethical ways in which the profession should be practiced. We want the portal to help the public identify credible professionals and suppliers whose work can be trusted,” Christine said.

The project should aim to help remedy concerns about fraud as clients increasingly lose funds when using untrustworthy contractors, suppliers or service providers and/or buying inferior materials.

In addition to the digital project, Christine urged the government to increase the product standardization, certification and quality assurance process in the construction and interior design sector.

She observed that the policy of Buy Uganda Build Uganda needs to be backed by robust quality control systems to guarantee that products produced locally are of acceptable standards and provide value to the consumers.

“The government needs to pay serious attention to standardization and the certification of people operating in this industry. How do we know that a chair we are buying will last six years? Where is the guarantee? We need standards that protect consumers and promote quality,” she said.

Christine also discussed the growing role of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, in the design industry, noting that although digital tools could improve efficiency, they could not entirely replace human creativity and the practical experience of interacting with physical spaces and materials.

The summit will also provide a platform for women in the construction and interior design industry to showcase their work, improve their visibility, explore business opportunities and establish partnerships.

Lisa Andera of ABC Group Uganda, the main sponsor of the summit, said the partnership with Women in Design was intended to increase awareness of the company's products and strengthen relationships with professionals in the design industry.