Cloud computing has experienced substantial growth in the past decade, and it is projected that the global public consumption of cloud services shall persistently soar to annual unprecedented levels. This growth has prompted significant investments by cloud providers in infrastructure and service portfolios, highlighting the increasing relevance, reliance and adoption of cloud solutions. However, research on cloud adoption reveals notable disparities between developed and developing economies, emphasizing the importance of understanding contextual trends, barriers and opportunities. In this study, we focus on higher education institutions in Uganda and conduct surveys from readiness, implementation and usage dimensions. Our findings indicate that 88% of the institutions are in the early stages of cloud adoption, representing infancy in this context. Additionally, the results provide key inputs in our novel attempt to define a cloud adoption assessment tool for higher education institutions in low resource settings. Finally, and based on our research, we offer recommendations to improve assessment scores and foster increased cloud adoption within these settings.