Local content should go beyond compliance and be embedded in companies’ core business activities
As Africa’s mining leaders converge in Cape Town for African Mining Week 2025, a powerful message is resonating with particular urgency in Kampala: local content policies are set to be the cornerstone of transformative socio-economic growth. For a resource-rich nation like Uganda, on the point of a mining boom, the insights from experts like Ileana Ferber provide a critical blueprint for ensuring the sector benefits all Ugandans.
Ferber, Chief Executive Officer of Colibri Business Development, emphasised that local content must be more than a box-ticking compliance exercise. Instead, it should be embedded into the very DNA of a mining company’s operations. This philosophy aligns perfectly with Uganda’s ambitions, where the discovery of vast mineral deposits, from gold and rare earth elements to potential oil reserves, presents a historic opportunity to build a resilient, diversified economy.
“The ultimate goal is to integrate local content into global sustainability and environment, social and governance (ESG) agendas to enhance local value creation and strengthen the resilience of resource-rich economies,” Ferber stated. For Uganda, this means moving beyond simply collecting royalties and ensuring that the wealth generated from the ground fuels lasting capacity building, skills transfer, and enterprise development within local communities.
A key pillar highlighted by Ferber is supplier development. In the Ugandan context, this translates to proactively building the capacity of local businesses to become competitive suppliers and service providers to international mining giants. This could range from local firms providing logistics, security, and catering, to more advanced services in engineering, environmental management, and ICT.
This approach is vital for economic diversification. By fostering innovation and building capabilities in these emerging sectors, Uganda can reduce its historical reliance on agriculture and create a broader, more resilient economic base that survives the volatile cycles of global commodity prices.
The path to effective local content is not without its hurdles, a challenge Uganda is acutely aware of. Ferber pointed to a “lack of government capacity on how to formulate local content regulations effectively and correctly.” This is a crucial consideration for Ugandan policymakers currently refining the Mining and Minerals Act and its associated regulations.
Furthermore, Ferber warned of the tension that can arise from “high expectations from local stakeholders, combined with increasingly prescriptive contractual requirements.” In regions like Karamoja, where mining activities are expanding, managing community and business expectations from the outset will be crucial to ensuring social license to operate and long-term stability.
Despite the challenges, the benefits of a well-crafted local content strategy are profound. For international companies investing in Uganda, embracing local content leads to improved stakeholder relations, cost savings from reduced import dependencies, lower technical risks, and greater operational transparency.
For Uganda, the rewards are even greater: enhanced national competitiveness, meaningful socio-economic development, and most importantly geopolitical stability. When local communities see and share in the tangible benefits of mining, it fosters an environment conducive to long-term investment.
A positive trend noted by Ferber is the growing harmonisation of local content frameworks across Africa. For landlocked Uganda, this is a strategic imperative. By aligning with regional standards, Uganda can position itself as a key player in regional value chains, potentially supplying goods and services to mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and beyond. This shift also encourages the introduction of local content requirements in downstream industries, such as mineral processing and refining, keeping more value within Ugandan borders.
As Ileana Ferber concluded, “There is no perfect one-size-fits-all local content policy in Africa.” Uganda’s journey will be its own. The nation has a unique chance to learn from the successes and failures of its continental neighbours, crafting a dynamic policy that evolves as a “benchmark for ongoing improvement.” The discussions at African Mining Week 2025 make it clear that for Uganda, the true measure of mining success will not be the tonnes of ore extracted, but the lasting prosperity and resilience built within its own borders.