Overview:
Ugandan AI firm Tyms has been named a Select partner in the OpenAI Partner Network, gaining access to OpenAI's frontier models and enterprise tools.
KAMPALA — Tyms, a Ugandan-built artificial intelligence company that automates business operations for firms in emerging markets, has been admitted to the OpenAI Partner Network as a Select partner, giving it formal access to OpenAI’s frontier models and enterprise tools.
The company, which builds AI software and agents to run functions such as finance, sales, marketing, customer service, procurement and compliance, said the designation would allow it to help organisations build, deploy and scale AI systems. Tyms is aimed at small and medium enterprises, large corporations and government institutions operating in emerging markets, including multinationals running operations in Africa.
The OpenAI Partner Network is a global programme launched by OpenAI on 14 June 2026 and backed by a $150 million investment, through which partners build, sell and deliver AI solutions using the company’s models and products. It is structured around three tiers — Select, Advanced and Elite — with partners advancing based on sales performance, technical capability and deployment experience. Select is the network’s entry tier. OpenAI has said it aims to certify 300,000 consultants through the programme by the end of 2026, and its launch partners include global consulting and technology firms such as Accenture, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain and PwC.
The move places Tyms within a fast-growing enterprise AI channel that has become a competitive front between the major AI developers. OpenAI’s programme launched three months after rival Anthropic opened its own Claude Partner Network in March 2026, reflecting a broader industry shift toward deployment and integration rather than model capability alone.
Allan Rwakatungu, chief executive and co-founder of Tyms, said the designation would widen the company’s access to OpenAI’s technology and partner ecosystem. “This partnership gives us access to OpenAI’s frontier models and partner ecosystem, allowing us to deliver even more powerful AI agents that automate the operational work holding businesses back,” he said. Rwakatungu added that emerging markets could use AI to bypass slower stages of development the industrialised world went through, moving directly to what he described as world-class operations.
Tyms was founded by Rwakatungu, a Ugandan software engineer and entrepreneur, and Arron Cleary, an Australian angel investor who has backed several African startups. Rwakatungu began his career working on MTN’s Mobile Money platform and later founded the fintech company Xente. The company positions its platform around human oversight of AI, assigning virtual assistants to employees and customers to handle routine tasks while leaving judgment-based decisions to staff. Its work so far has included automating sales and finance reporting for telecoms and enterprise clients across the region.
The company said it planned to expand its OpenAI-powered agent offerings among enterprise and government clients across Africa and other emerging markets, invest in AI certification for its partner network, and develop new products in finance, compliance and customer service.