Free business email in Uganda: how to set up name@yourbusiness.co.ug

From Kampala agencies to gorilla-trekking operators in the southwest, Ugandan businesses increasingly deal with clients who check the email address before they pay. This guide gets you from a Gmail account to info@yourbusiness.co.ug for the price of the domain, with the email hosting free and no card involved.

Quick answer

Register yourbusiness.co.ug (or .ug) with a local registrar, create a free OquMail workspace, add the domain, paste four DNS records, create up to 15 mailboxes. Domain registrars in Uganda commonly accept MTN Mobile Money or Airtel Money, and the email side asks for no card, so the whole thing can be done without an international payment.

Choosing a Ugandan domain

Uganda's country code is .ug, and most businesses register under .co.ug, with .or.ug for NGOs and .ac.ug for schools. Second-level .ug names are also available for a shorter address. Registration is done through Ugandan registrars and hosting companies, and it is open to anyone without residency paperwork. A .com is also common in Uganda, especially for tourism businesses marketing to Europe and North America.

• .co.ug: the recognised business ending; open to locals and foreigners; register through a Ugandan registrar
• .ug: shorter and increasingly used by startups
• .or.ug: NGOs and community organisations, which are a large part of Uganda’s economy
• .com: good for tour operators and exporters; a Ugandan client still trusts it

Why Ugandan buyers trust a domain address

The typical small business here runs on WhatsApp, Mobile Money and a personal Gmail. That is fine until you send a quotation to a bank, an NGO, a government ministry or a foreign tourist, who all expect a company address. Tour operators in particular lose bookings to competitors whose emails simply look more established. A domain address also protects you: when a sales person leaves, bookings@ stays with the company instead of walking out in someone’s Gmail.

Step by step

1. Register yourbusiness.co.ug with a Ugandan registrar. Pay by Mobile Money or bank transfer and confirm you get access to a DNS panel.
2. Create a free workspace at oqumail.com. No card is requested.
3. Add your domain in the dashboard and copy the four DNS records.
4. In the registrar’s DNS panel add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. If the registrar does not provide DNS editing, point the nameservers at a free DNS host such as Cloudflare and add the records there.
5. Click Verify. OquMail checks live DNS and shows exactly which record still needs attention.
6. Create mailboxes: info@, bookings@, accounts@, plus one per staff member.
7. Send a test from webmail and add the mailbox to the Gmail app or Outlook on your phone with the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

Ugandan registrars mostly run cPanel-style panels where these belong in Zone Editor. Delete any placeholder MX the registrar created and make sure the SPF record is the only TXT starting with v=spf1 on the root domain.

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs

You pay a yearly domain fee to the registrar, usually via Mobile Money or bank. Email hosting is free: OquMail's free plan includes 15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, webmail, IMAP and SMTP access, delivery logs and the send API, and it never asks for a card. That removes the international payment step that makes Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 awkward for many Ugandan owners.

Pitfalls to avoid in Uganda

• Bundled hosting email with no SPF or DKIM: your quotes to foreign tourists land in spam and you never know it. Check the delivery log in OquMail after your first sends.
• Mobile networks block port 25. Set every mail app to port 587 with STARTTLS; it works on MTN, Airtel and office fibre.
• Choosing SSL on port 587 in the Gmail app. Pick STARTTLS; SSL on 587 fails silently.
• Using a personal Gmail as the reply-to on a printed brochure or a Safari Bookings listing. Update every listing once the domain works, or enquiries keep going to the wrong inbox.
• Forgetting to add the DMARC record. It takes one minute and stops your .co.ug being spoofed to your own clients.

Common questions

Is .co.ug better than .com for a tour company?

Both work. A .co.ug tells a European traveller you are actually based in Uganda, which is reassuring for a safari booking; a .com is easier to type. Many operators register both and use one for sending.

Can several people read bookings@ at once?

Yes. IMAP keeps the mailbox in sync, so two staff members can add bookings@ to their phones and both see replies and read status. Give each person their own address as well for direct mail.

Is there a catch to the free plan?

The limits are 15 mailboxes, 3 domains and 5 GB per mailbox. There is no trial period and no card, and you keep the plan for as long as you need it.