Inaugural Presidential Investor Conference kicks off today

The conference organized by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), in collaboration with the State House and Ministry of Finance, is being held at the Kololo ceremonial ground.

The president will meet face-to-face with over 2,000 Investors from across Uganda drawn from sectors including Commercial Agriculture and Value Addition; Manufacturing, Services; and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

According to the Director General of UIA, Mr. Robert Mukiza, the expected outcome of the Conference is a better environment for investment and doing business in Uganda, hence strengthening Uganda’s position as the best investment destination in Africa.

At the Conference, the President will not only interact directly with the Investors but also listen to them directly and discuss pertinent issues, as well as give direct responses, all aimed at boosting investment and doing business in Uganda.

The Conference will have presentations on access to affordable finance for investment by chief executives of financial institutions like Stanbic Bank, DFCU Bank, Opportunity Bank, Pride Microfinance, Post Bank, Centenary Bank, Housing Finance Bank, Uganda Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Uganda Development Corporation, and Diamond Trust Bank.

Key presentations will also be on UIA One-Stop Centre service-level agreements (SLAs) and investor facilitation initiatives with sister agencies like the Uganda Tourism Board, Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Uganda Registrations Services Bureau, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, power players Electricity Regulatory Authority, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited, and Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited.

Other sister agencies are National Environment Management Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Uganda Export Promotion Board, Kampala City Council Association, Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, National Information Technology Authority,

There will also be reports by private sector players like the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda, the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Uganda Manufacturers Association, ICT Association of Uganda, Uganda Tourism Association, Association of Uganda Tour Operators, other service providers, and commercial agriculture investors, amongst others.

The Presidential Investor Conference will be crowned with a national Presidential Address on radio and television stations.

In recent years, Uganda, through UIA, has won a number of key global investment accolades, and these include Investment Catalyst Award by Go Global Awards (USA), the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) Award for the best investment project (Modern Tiles) in East Africa in 2022, Best Investment Promotion Agency (AIM Global Awards), Fourth Ranked (out of 28 countries) in the Continental Financial Markets Index by Absa Group and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (2022 and 2023), and the Most Rewarding Economy in East Africa by Oxford Economics Africa’s “Africa Risk-Reward Index 2023”, amongst others.