Uganda Airlines is approaching a defining stage in its recovery. After years of government investment, expanding its network and overcoming operational challenges, the national carrier is working towards a more difficult milestone: building an airline that can finance its operations,…
Lower tariffs can open markets. Meeting quality and safety standards determines whether Ugandan businesses can enter them, and stay there. Until 2019, a food processor in Gulu or Mbarara who needed a product tested had to send samples hundreds of…
For years, Uganda’s internet debate has focused on getting more people connected. The next debate should be about how people get connected, how much they pay and who is allowed to provide that access. That conversation has become urgent after…
The opportunity to source from Bangladesh should not be interpreted as a case for importing everything that East African businesses need. For Uganda and the wider region, the bigger objective should be to build stronger and more competitive local manufacturing…
Take a shop owner in Owino. Four times a month she withdraws Shs500,000 from her wallet to pay suppliers who only accept cash. Each withdrawal costs her a Shs7,000 agent fee, Shs2,500 in excise duty on the amount, and another…
Uganda wants Italian investors to move beyond buying its coffee, milk and minerals to processing them locally, transferring technology and manufacturing finished products for regional and international markets. The Uganda–Italy Business and Investment Forum in Rome has opened discussions around…
The Bank of Uganda did not wait for its next scheduled meeting. At a special Monetary Policy Committee sitting on Wednesday, the central bank raised the Central Bank Rate (CBR) by 225 basis points, from 9.75% to 12%. The benchmark…
Picture race week in Bugesera, sometime around 2030. Every team has flown in with its crew, its cars and tonnes of freight. Thousands of fans are landing at a brand-new airport. Every one of them needs a bed, a ride,…
When fuel prices fall, will the cost of living follow? For Ugandan households, the answer matters far beyond the petrol station. Fuel affects the cost of transporting food, moving goods, operating businesses and getting to work. When prices rise, the…
Uganda’s Treasury market is offering investors less income on new securities than it did a few months ago, even as demand for government debt remains strong. In August, the yield on the 364-day Treasury bill fell to 11% from 11.5%…
A litre of petrol can cost markedly different amounts on either side of an East African border, even though all three countries depend heavily on imported fuel. In late September, a litre of petrol in Uganda was trading at about…
Uganda plans to raise about Shs12.7 trillion in net domestic financing in FY2026 For businesses, the important question is what that borrowing will do to the cost and availability of credit. The Bank of Uganda says the domestic financial market…
For a business, the most important question about Uganda’s September–December 2026 rainfall season is not simply how much rain will fall. It is what happens to the business if a key road becomes impassable, a supplier cannot deliver, stock is…
Uganda’s growing digital economy depends on more than smartphones, apps and online payments. Every day, motorcycle riders move meals, goods and orders from restaurants, shops and businesses to customers, making them an essential link between the digital and physical economies.…
Uganda’s external position is improving, but the shilling is telling a more complicated story. In the 12 months to June 2026, Uganda recorded a US$2.39 billion balance-of-payments surplus, more than double the US$1.03 billion recorded a year earlier. International reserves…