East African Business Notifier

  As Africa records the fastest tourism growth globally, the UAE is set to inject $6 billion into the continent’s travel and hospitality sector - a move expected to create 70 000 new jobs.   The announcement was made at the recent  UAE Africa Tourism Investment Summit 2025  in Dubai, held under the patronage of  His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Organised by the  UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism  in partnership with  The Bench  as part of  Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) World 2025 , the event brought together senior government officials, investors, and industry leaders to chart investment priorities and explore opportunities across tourism, infrastructure, aviation, and digital innovation. On the sidelines, a  ministerial roundtable  led by  H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri , UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, gathered ministers from ov...

  The critical climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, underscored the urgent need to translate global ambition into tangible investment and action. This imperative resonates directly with the upcoming fourth edition of the Africa’s Green Economy Summit (AGES), scheduled for 24–27 February 2026 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town.   Africa’s transition to a climate-resilient, low-carbon future will take centre stage at the event—powered by lead partner Sanlam Investments. This year’s edition underscores a shared commitment to accelerating investment into Africa’s green and blue economies at a defining moment for global climate action. Organised by the VUKA Group under the theme “From Ambition to Action: Scaling Investment in Africa’s Green and Blue Solutions,” AGES 2026 will bring together institutional investors, development finance institutions, innovators, governments and sustainability leaders intent on unlocking climate-aligned capital for the conti...

  The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has issued an operating license to Pearl Bank Uganda Limited, which formerly operated as PostBank Uganda, paving the way for the institution to commence business under its new name and identity. The license was handed to the Bank's Managing Director, Mr. Julius Kakeeto, by the Bank of Uganda Governor, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, a symbolic phase in the Bank's rebrand journey, signifying its official crossover from PostBank to its current designation, Pearl Bank Uganda Limited. The regulatory approval to rebrand to Pearl Bank follows the Bank’s five-year transformation strategy and its earlier elevation to a Tier 1 Commercial Banking License in December 2021. Speaking about the Pearl Bank operational license, Bank of Uganda Governor, Dr. Atingi-Ego, congratulated the bank on rebranding to Pearl Bank and commended the bank for its innovativeness, remarking, “the bank has done great things in supporting financial inclusion especially through its Wendi mobile...

Mahmoud Mohieldin CAIRO – For decades, the international community has operated under the illusion that climate action and development are different pursuits, each with its own goals, institutions, and funding mechanisms. This approach has hindered progress on both agendas. The world leaders gathered in Belém, Brazil, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) must recognize this and begin transforming the fragmented, underperforming climate-finance system into an integrated framework that delivers on both climate and development objectives. As they embark on this process, it is worth considering the main takeaways from  Policy-Driven Climate and Development Finance: Strategies for Equitable Solutions , the forthcoming volume of essays that I edited. While making the global financial architecture more equitable and efficient is a long-term project, delegates at COP30 can take important steps forward. First, they must deliver a replicable and scalable model for climate...

Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe ADDIS ABABA – At the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), which took place in Addis Ababa a couple months ago, I  delivered  a warning that every G20 government should heed: Africa cannot finance its future while drowning in debt. The numbers speak for themselves: Sub-Saharan Africa requires  $143 billion  in annual climate finance, equivalent to roughly 7% of its  total GDP . But current  climate-finance flows  into the region amount to only one-quarter of that. At the same time, African countries spent  nearly $90 billion  in 2024 servicing external debt. Africa’s debt crisis is not a fringe issue; it is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving global climate goals and advancing the continent’s development. Every dollar that African countries spend on interest payments is a dollar that could have been invested in climate resilience and sustainable development, including adaptation measures and clean-energy infras...

KCB Bank Uganda Limited today announced a major achievement, securing the highly sought-after ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification.  This globally recognised standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) places KCB Bank Uganda at the forefront of financial institutions dedicated to safeguarding customer data and ensuring top-tier operational resilience. The rigorous certification process, which involved a thorough independent audit by CERTITRUST, confirmed the bank's adherence to international best practices in managing sensitive information.  This success was powered by a strategic partnership with SENTINEL AFRICA, whose expertise spearheaded the ISMS implementation and provided advanced training to the KCB team as certified Lead Implementers and Lead Auditors. Speaking at the certification handover ceremony at the KCB Bank Uganda Headquarters, Edgar Byamah, Managing Director of KCB Bank Uganda, emphasised the significance of the award. "This ISO/IEC 27001:2022 cert...