For years, Uganda’s informal economy has operated largely outside the traditional banking system. Small traders, farmers, transport operators, artisans and entrepreneurs generate income every day, but many remain outside the kind of formal financial systems that banks have traditionally designed…
For decades, East Africa’s fuel economy has been built around a simple reality, the region’s biggest markets are not necessarily located where fuel enters the continent. Kenya has been able to turn that geography into an advantage. Fuel arriving through…
Salem Cheman‘s move from Uganda Breweries Limited to dfcu Bank is an interesting one, not least because of the experience he brings into his new role. Cheman has joined dfcu as Innovation, Go-to-Market and Commercialization Senior Manager, ending an eight-year…
Uganda’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are about more than whether the country needs another financial programme. They offer a window into a broader shift across East Africa, governments still have ambitious development plans, but financing those ambitions…
Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda has put UGX 215 million behind this year’s Tusker Lite Rwenzori Marathon. Behind the cheque is a bigger business story: an event that started with 800 runners is becoming one of Uganda’s most valuable sports-tourism properties. A…
Stephen Tio Kauma‘s career is difficult to place neatly into one industry. And perhaps that is precisely the point. From professional services and manufacturing to continental finance, education and contemporary African art, the Ugandan executive has spent more than two…
Uganda’s ambition to transform its economy tenfold will require more than public spending and government programmes. It will require private capital to flow into businesses capable of driving productivity, jobs, exports and value addition. The latest results from Stanbic Uganda…
Uganda is about to find out whether having more dollars is the same thing as having a stronger currency. As the country moves closer to commercial oil production, billions of dollars could begin flowing through an economy that already depends…
Uganda wants more of the world to come to her and more of what it produces to reach the world. That ambition is increasingly visible in its plans to grow tourism, expand exports and use major international events such as…
Uganda is building up its financial reserves, but the strategy is exposing a bigger question about the country’s economic resilience, can Uganda generate enough foreign currency to make those reserves sustainable? The Bank of Uganda has begun buying locally produced…
Uganda’s next tax revolution may already be happening in the pockets of millions of citizens. Every time someone sends mobile money, buys airtime, pays for data, makes a digital payment or receives money through a mobile wallet, they leave behind…
For years, agricultural waste has been treated as the unwanted side of farming: coffee husks left around processing plants, maize cobs discarded after harvest, animal manure accumulating on farms and crop residues burned or left to decompose. But across Africa,…
Uganda’s trade with China is booming, but almost entirely in one direction. In 2025, Uganda imported $3.3 billion worth of goods from China while exporting just $118 million. That means for every dollar Uganda sold to China, it bought roughly…
The next phase of artificial intelligence (AI) will not be defined by chatbots answering questions. It will be defined by systems that can do the work. AI agents can plan tasks, use digital tools, analyse information, interact with other systems…
For years, mobile money in Africa was understood as a convenient alternative to cash: a way to send money home, pay a bill, receive money or withdraw funds without visiting a bank. That description is becoming too narrow. Airtel Money…
Tanzania’s agricultural development bank has just published numbers that are hard to ignore. The Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) has disbursed Sh1.55 trillion to 862 projects, reaching more than 2.6 million people, and Sh1.32 trillion of that, 84 percent of…
Uganda’s oil story is entering a new phase. For years, the central question was when Uganda would produce its first barrel. But following President Yoweri Museveni’s latest engagement with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, a bigger question is emerging, what…
Uganda is entering the artificial intelligence (AI) race, but the nature of that race is changing. For the past few years, the focus has largely been on AI adoption, how businesses, universities, governments and professionals can use tools such as…
For generations, Uganda’s farmers have created value from the land through food production, livestock and natural resource management. But a new opportunity is emerging that could redefine what it means to be an agricultural entrepreneur: the ability to generate income…
Across Africa, a new economic conversation is taking shape. The question is no longer whether the continent should trade more, but whether it can build the industrial capacity required to produce, compete and capture greater value from its own resources.…
The global competition for investment is changing. Capital is available, but it is becoming more selective about where it goes, what it builds and the returns it can generate. For developing economies, this means the competition is no longer simply…
Ugandan women are increasingly taking centre stage in entrepreneurship, building businesses from scratch, creating jobs and contributing to household incomes. But as more women enter business, a bigger question is emerging: can they turn entrepreneurship into lasting wealth when cultural…
For years, Africa’s carbon potential has largely been viewed through the lens of what the continent could offer the world, forests that absorb carbon, renewable energy projects that reduce emissions and natural ecosystems capable of generating carbon credits for companies…
Climate change is forcing farmers across Uganda to make increasingly difficult decisions. The rains that once followed familiar patterns have become less predictable, seasons are shifting and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. For millions of farmers who depend…
The evolution of banking from what it was, brick-and-mortar, to what we are witnessing today is all thanks to the growth in technology and innovations that have enabled digitisation in banking, so that more people are ushered into formal financial…
For decades, Uganda’s economic ambitions have been built around one central question: how do we produce more? The answer has shaped national policy conversations for years, increase agricultural productivity, expand manufacturing, attract investment, promote value addition and create industries capable…
For Uganda Airlines, the announcement of new routes to Accra and Kigali was never simply about adding two destinations to a flight schedule. It was about testing whether a revived national carrier can become a strategic engine for Uganda’s ambitions…
Uganda has no shortage of creative talent. Its musicians, filmmakers, designers, photographers, writers, animators, software developers and digital creators are increasingly producing work that resonates with audiences far beyond the country’s borders. The more important question, however, is whether Uganda…
For generations, agriculture in Uganda has been presented primarily as a production question. We have asked how to increase yields, get more young people into farming, improve access to inputs and put more land under commercial production. The assumption has…
By Publicist East Africa Editorial Note: Publicist East Africa previously recognised Dr Donald Rukare as a Captain of Industry for his contribution to sports governance and institutional leadership. His election as President of Commonwealth Sport represents a defining new chapter…
East Africa’s banking industry is entering a new phase. For years, the defining measure of ambition was expansion: opening branches, entering new markets, acquiring customers and building regional footprints. Now, as banking becomes more technology-intensive and the cost of competing…
Africa has never lacked ambition. Governments have produced long-term development plans, businesses have announced transformation strategies and regional institutions have created frameworks for trade, industrialisation, technology and investment. The ambitions are considerable. Uganda has its Tenfold Growth ambition. The African…
East Africa’s financial system has been shaped, more than any other factor, by the rise of Kenya as the region’s banking centre. For decades, Kenyan banks have operated with an ambition that extended beyond the country’s borders. As neighbouring economies…
When Uganda Airlines was revived in 2019, much of the conversation centred on restoring national pride, reconnecting Uganda to international destinations and rebuilding direct air links. Those objectives remain important. But as Uganda’s economy expands and its export ambitions grow,…
In Europe, the euro became the visible symbol of decades of economic integration. But the currency itself was not the beginning of that journey. It was the result of years of cooperation, deeper trade links, stronger institutions and the creation…
For most consumers, a bottle of beer begins on a supermarket shelf or behind the counter of a bar. In reality, it begins much earlier. It starts on farms where barley and sorghum are grown. It moves through packaging manufacturers,…
From the golden plains of the Maasai Mara to the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean coastline, Kenya has long been synonymous with wonder. For decades, its wildlife, landscapes and rich cultural heritage have drawn millions of travellers seeking some…
For decades, Nairobi has been East Africa’s commercial capital. Today, it is becoming something even more significant, the gateway through which Africa’s largest banking groups hope to shape the future of regional finance. A new contest is unfolding across Kenya’s…
For decades, a bank’s strength was measured by the size of its branch network. Marble-floored banking halls, long queues and expansive physical footprints symbolised stability and reach. Today, that definition is rapidly changing. Across Africa, the most important branch may…
Uganda’s ambition to build a US$500 billion economy by 2040 will not be determined solely by oil production, industrial parks or major infrastructure projects. It will also depend on whether millions of women running small businesses can access the capital,…
Every industrial revolution has had its defining source of energy. Britain’s factories were powered by coal. The Gulf transformed itself through oil. Norway built prosperity on hydropower. Kenya may have found its long-term competitive advantage in something far older than…
One year ago, one of Uganda’s leading homegrown commercial banks embarked on one of the most significant transformations in its history. The institution formerly known as Post Bank Uganda unveiled a new identity as Pearl Bank, signalling far more than…
Africa sits on one of the world’s largest stores of natural wealth. Its forests absorb billions of tonnes of carbon, its wetlands regulate ecosystems, its mangroves protect coastlines and its vast landscapes hold enormous potential for nature-based climate solutions. Yet…
For much of the past five years, one of the most consequential economic decisions in Uganda has not been made in Parliament or announced in a national budget. It has been made quietly inside bank boardrooms through a simple question:…
Uganda’s ambition to build a digitally inclusive economy depends on more than expanding internet coverage and rolling out digital government services. It also depends on whether ordinary Ugandans can afford the devices needed to access those opportunities. That is why…
When the Busoga Kingdom, the Gates Foundation and Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited launched the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Programme in Jinja this week, the announcement was about far more than a new financing initiative. Designed to reach more than 30,000…
When Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania secured the right to jointly host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations under the “Pamoja” (Together) bid, the headlines naturally focused on football. Yet with less than a year before the continent’s biggest sporting spectacle…
By Publicist East Africa When Euromoney named Stanbic Bank Uganda the country’s Best Investment Bank for 2026, it recognised more than another year of strong institutional performance. It acknowledged the growing role of investment banking in financing Uganda’s economic transformation.…
By Publicist East Africa Uganda’s agricultural future is increasingly being shaped by a new generation of women who are proving that agribusiness extends far beyond farming. They are building enterprises, creating markets, influencing policy, advancing technology, and transforming agricultural waste…
“To achieve growth from 50–60 billion dollars to 500 billion dollars is now extremely easy. We already have the roads and infrastructure in place; all we need is funding,” Tanna said. For more than two decades, Uganda has pursued a…
Every generation has produced countries that fundamentally rewrote the rules of economic development. Japan rebuilt itself from the devastation of war into an industrial giant. South Korea rose from poverty to become a global technology powerhouse. Singapore transformed a small…