East African Business Notifier

Tech Giants Huawei Technologies DigiTruck project in Teso Sub-region has equipped over 1000 youth, women, Jua-kalis, local district officers with digital skills to enable them engage in e-commerce and market their produce. This has been since October 2023 when the project was launched in the region and successfully completed in January 2024.  All the 11 districts in the Teso sub-region have been covered with a total of 1,139 beneficiaries equipped with ICT skills ready to help them improve their own lives.  In Teso sub-region, Soroti University is one of the Huawei ICT Academies in Uganda more so in the Huawei ICT competitions. Soroti university students excelled in the national finals and will proceed the to regional finals in South Africa.  The Huawei DigiTruck, Huawei ICT Academy and Huawei ICT Competitions are all part of the Huawei ICT Talent Development program. The Uganda Digi Truck project is aligned with the country’s 2040 vision, National Development Plan, and E...

  Airtel Uganda, the first 5G network in collaboration with the Innovative technology brand TECNO Mobile Uganda, and StarTimes, launched the SPARK 20 Pro+, an exciting addition to its popular SPARK 20 Series. This was during a launch held at the Next Media Park officiated by the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi. This partnership aims to extend affordable smartphone devices to Ugandans and also close the digital divide. The revolutionary smartphone series is the newest of the ever-emerging brands in the market aimed at meeting high consumer demands as owning a smartphone is no longer a luxury but a necessity. The guest of honor, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi emphasized the importance of owning a smartphone in this digital era and highlighted the government's efforts to ensure all Ugandans are connected. He said, “As government and as a Ministry, we do support all the efforts that you the companies in the area of technology are doing. We support the innovation and...

Unveiled during the World Economic Forum,  new research commissioned by DP World and led by Economist Impact  forecasts a booming African trade landscape in 2024, with  senior executives predicting a surge in intra-African trade, fueled by new trade pacts and tech investments.   However, African firms remain cautious as inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and political instability threaten to impact growth. Over 26% of the executives surveyed identified heightened inflation and economic uncertainty as the primary limitations on expanding imports, a 7% increase on the previous year. Additionally, nearly 20% pointed to political instability in crucial source markets as their primary constraint, up 4% year-on-year.    The latest  Trade in Transition  study captured the perspectives of African trade experts and senior executives during a period of unprecedented transformation, as heightened global geopolitical risk, climate change and signifi...

Pesapal, a leader in building payments and business tools for Africa, has released a new feature that allows customers to add a tip directly on its POS devices.   This new feature will be available on all Pesapal Sabi POS terminals and aims to make tipping easier and more convenient as cashless transactions continue to grow across East Africa.   Speaking on the announcement, Maureen Namoma, Country Manager, Pesapal Uganda Limited acknowledged the influence of a culture of appreciation within the service industry and highlighted how the introduction of the Pesapal Sabi POS machine would contribute to enhancing transparency and efficiency across the sector.   "We are dedicated to fostering a culture that recognizes and appreciates outstanding services provided by staff across various companies. This approach not only uplifts their motivation but also significantly contributes to their overall job satisfaction," said Maureen Namoma.   By utilizing the Pesapal Sabi POS m...

Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company, the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), has successfully raised $294 million of additional debt facilities, achieving over half of the Fund's target to raise $500 m illion by 2025. The finance facilities demonstrate the Fund's ability to mobilise private sector debt in one of the largest capital raises in recent years, led by a blended finance debt fund advancing infrastructure development across Africa. Backed by prominent financial institutions, the package unlocks fresh capital to advance EAIF's strategic, operational, and financial capabilities - enabling its investment portfolio to expand and meet rising opportunities in frontier and developing economies. The Fund will invest across various infrastructure assets, including those aligned with the energy transition, low-carbon economies, and energy-efficient smart cities. As a PIDG company, EAIF fulfils the Group's key strategic priorities, focusing o...

The top leadership of Development Finance Institutions in Africa have convened in Uganda from the 23 rd  to 24 th  of January 2024 to learn from the experience Uganda Development Bank (UDBL) in embracing the rigorous Sustainability Standards. The benchmarking visit organized under the auspicious of the African Association of Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) in cooperation with the European Organisation for Sustainable Development and hosted by UDB, is hinged on embracing the Sustainability Standards to achieve world-class corporate governance to create social, economic, environmental impact, and tackle climate change. According to Cyril Okoye, the Secretary General of AADFI, the 2-Day Executive Visit by the leadership of the African financial sector is an opportunity for Uganda to demonstrate to the world its contribution to the global sustainable development agenda. “UDB is showcasing how it is complying with the Sustainability Standards latest version to ensure it pl...

Delivering true sustainability that improves the quality of lives of all Ugandans, boosts economic activities that raise the income levels of the communities/society considerably, protects the environment, and helps mitigate and adapt to climate change is a gigantic challenge. It requires the entire financial sector to join hands and work together to ensure that needed capital is mobilized and used for creating a sustainable economy that is climate-friendly and provides decent job opportunities, especially to young Ugandans entering the labor market in massive numbers. In a first its kind, the Ugandan Development Bank, PostBank, Housing Finance Bank, and Pride Microfinance are coming together to discuss the implementation of holistic Sustainability Standards in their respective institution. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s financial industry where true and holistic sustainability is set to be ingrained in these institutions.  Subsequently, this cooperation...

Uganda's first 5G Telcom, Airtel Uganda has appointed Joweria Nabakka as the new Customer Experience Director in a strategic move that promises to redefine customer experience and innovation. Prior to her current role, she served in different capacities at Airtel including, the Head of Revenue Planning and Geo Marketing at WARID Telecom which role she also held at Airtel Tanzania for 2 years before returning to Uganda to take over the Data and Devices Portfolio in product development she has held since 2016 to date. Ms. Nabakka has spearheaded the selection of the final product portfolio for Airtel Uganda during the WARID/ Airtel merger in 2013. Since her return to Uganda, she has ensured the smooth launch of the end-to-end portfolio, and customer USSD journeys, in addition to being instrumental in the launch of products like FREAKY FRIDAY, DOUBLE DATA, and DATA MY PAKALAST, This, along with her continued contribution to Airtel’s growth saw her being transferred to Airtel Tanzania ...

British International Investment (BII), the UK  development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, has committed a senior loan of €14 million to COFINA Côte d’Ivoire, a specialist meso-finance lender, to support the growth of Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and advance gender finance.  The commitment will enable COFINA to provide additional loans in the next three years to MSMEs in Cote d’Ivoire.  COFINA is well placed to provide meso-finance, which means providing financing to the “missing middle” – SMEs too small to be serviced by banks and too large for microfinance providers.  As the economic engine of Francophone West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire’s SMEs represent over 20 per cent of GDP and employ around 23 per cent of the working population.  However, according to the latest available World Bank Enterprise Survey  data, nearly three quarters of firms surveyed in Côte d'Ivoire identified access to finance as a major constraint for ...

It’s estimated that 2 in 10 new startups should survive and thrive, but over 75% of the startups never see their second birthday.  Equity investors (including friends and family members) help some of these startups with equity, as they stagger. Fewer than 10% are able to show enough promise to actually receive the funding/ capital from  private equity sources, or even financial institutions. If you are an entrepreneurial manager who has reached this milestone, it’s a major achievement;  your idea has progressed from an interesting concept to a promising commercial opportunity.  You’ve probably demonstrated your product’s potential with a subset of customers, a market segment and now other funders are willing to place a bet on you. The challenge becomes how to sell your product and create a sustainable revenue stream, so that you can further develop your product offerings, build your infrastructure, repay your funders, and pay yourself. Unfortunately, many s...

As we step into the new year, it's imperative to reflect on the lessons learned from the past month, a period marked by joyous celebrations but also overshadowed by the grim reality of road accidents in Uganda.  The festive season of December 2023, much like previous years, witnessed a surge in road traffic incidents, a recurring challenge that has become a sombre hallmark of this time of year. The statistics from the Traffic and Road Safety Directorate are sobering. In just the 48 hours of December 25th and 26th, 33 precious lives were lost, and 156 people sustained serious injuries.  This tragic toll serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for enhanced road safety measures and accessible healthcare services, particularly during peak seasons of travel and celebration. The aftermath of these accidents often leaves families not only in mourning but also facing daunting healthcare costs.  This challenge is further compounded by the rising cost of living, which continu...

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company, has committed a US$ 30 million senior secured loan facility to AXIAN Energy, as part of the company's expansion plan to deliver more than 460 Megawatt (MW) of utility-scale renewable energy generation capacity across Africa over the next decade.  Established in 2001 initially through its subsidiary Jovena, AXIAN Energy, became a leader in oil and gas distribution and since 2017 has embarked on a strategic plan to reposition itself and expand its activities in the renewable energy sector.  EAIF's investment bolsters AXIAN's ambition to grow its green energy divisions and diversify the Group’s activities with the acquisition, development, and execution of greenfield utility-scale solar projects in geographies including Senegal, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sao Tome & Principe, Cabo Verde, Gabon, Rwanda, and beyond.  With its Project Development Facility, EAIF ...