East African Business Notifier

The Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja has this morning flagged off the Ugandan participants to attend the 2024 Huawei Leadership, Employability, Advancement Possibility (LEAP) digital talent training in Shenzhen China.  Speaking at the flag off ce remony, the Prime Minister encouraged the participants to take advantage of the opportunity represent Uganda with the highest levels of patriotism, emerge victorious and contribute positively to the labor force. “Thank you, Huawei Technologies Uganda, for this initiative and your commitment to the technological advancement of Uganda over the years.” said the Prime Minister. As Huawei's flagship corporate social responsibility program, Leadership Employability Advancement Possibility (LEAP) program has been held consecutively since its first launch in 2016 in Uganda. Up to date, a total of 50 Ugandans have benefited from this program through physical trainings held in China, and another 162 beneficiaries have joined the program virt

  The Uganda Development Bank (UDB) has convened a high-level meeting with key stakeholders on the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) to foster partnerships aimed at mitigating climate change in Africa and integrating climate considerations into development finance. Led by the Bank’s Managing Director  Patricia Ojangole , the Climate Finance Breakfast Roundtable brought together a diverse group of participants from the sustainability and finance sectors, including government officials, financial institutions, and international organizations operating in Africa and other developing regions. During the high-level meeting, the panel underscored the urgent necessity of directing more financial resources towards climate-friendly projects. Speakers shared practical examples and strategies for financing green projects and highlighted opportunities for cooperation and co-investment. Ojangole emphasized that while developing nations like Uganda are on the frontlines of cli

  BY PAUL TENTENA As countries push for ambitious climate goals at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) in the Azerbaijan capital, Baku, Uganda has revealed strategic plans of gradual decarbonising through an ambitious mix that is congruent to national, regional, and continental realities of energy poverty. This year’s UN climate powwow, which opened on Monday, November 11, is themed ‘'In Solidarity for a Green World’. Speaking at a fireside event on investing in Energy, Resilience and Nature in Africa, Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa highlighted Uganda’s strategic goal of becoming a regional energy supplier, supported by Uganda’s leadership in the establishment of the East African Power Pool. "As we work to increase energy access domestically, we will also leverage the power pool to export our excess electricity to neighbouring countries," Ms Nankabirwa said. The announcement builds on recent advances in Uganda's energy taxonomy, includi

Solar power has been the star of the clean-energy transition, delivering major benefits for the climate, the cost of living, and energy security. With an average annual growth rate of almost  30%  over the last decade, the market for solar power has undergone a rapid transformation.  What was once a heavily subsidized renewable-energy technology is now a readily available mainstream solution – whether one needs to power skyscrapers in large cities or deliver electricity to small businesses in rural areas. Solar has become an increasingly attractive option for electricity producers and consumers alike. In 2023, additions to the world’s renewable power capacity  grew by 50% , and most of that was solar PV.  With  supportive policies  already in place in more than 130 countries, solar power looks set to continue playing its starring role for the rest of this decade. Compared with the previous five years, solar PV deployment through 2030 is expected to more than double in major economies s

Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God give him strength and success, the inaugural edition of the ZLECAF Business Forum, held on November 5, 2024, was presided over by Omar Hejira, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, in collaboration with the Moroccan Confederation of Exporters (ASMEX).  The event, which included participation from over 12 African nations, brought together high-ranking officials such as the Minister of Trade of Chad, Mr. Mene Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of ZLECAF, ambassadors from various African countries, governmental organizations, and private sector representatives. The opening ceremony was marked by a keynote speech from Omar Hejira, who emphasized that “Morocco has made African cooperation a cornerstone of its foreign policy. His Majesty, may God assist him, articulated this vision powerfully during the 28th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.  This forum today is a realization of that Royal vision, strengthening the cooperation

Phaneroo Ministries International, led by visionary Apostle Grace Lubega, is set to host the third edition of the annual Global Inter-University Conference (GIC) on Saturday, November 9th, at the Phaneroo Grounds in Naguru. This year’s event promises an unforgettable experience with the highly anticipated worship session led by Nigerian gospel minister Dunsin Oyekan. Oyekan, renowned for his soul-stirring worship and uplifting songs like Fragrance to Fire, City of God, Open Up, Worthy of My Praise, More Than a Song, The Blood and the Name, and Yah , among others, will minister to university students from Uganda and beyond. The event is free, and a large turnout is expected as students gather for a spiritually enriching experience. In addition to the worship session, organizers shared that the conference will feature a comprehensive career fair aimed at helping students connect with professionals from various industries. “This fair will offer guidance on career development and introduce

The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, in partnership with Huawei Technologies Uganda, is pleased to announce the National ICT Job Fair 2024, set to take place on 21 st  and 22 nd  November, 2024  at the National ICT Innovation Hub , Nakawa in Kampala. This annual event, now in its third edition, aims to bridge the gap between Uganda’s rapidly growing ICT sector and its talented youth, providing a platform for networking, skills development, and job opportunities. This year’s job fair is focused on the need to empower the next generation with the necessary digital skills, fostering an environment where innovation thrives and career opportunities in technology expand.  With the theme “Shaping Uganda’s Digital Future: Bridging Skills, Innovation and Opportunity”  the event will feature leading ICT companies, start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, all with one goal in mind: to connect Uganda’s young professionals with transformative job opportunities in the technol

In 2011, the   Busan Partnership agreement   recommended a shift toward increased national ownership of the development agenda as part of the international drive for more effective development policies.  The agreement was a welcome recognition that lower-income countries were more likely to improve resource allocation and achieve sustainable growth when they set their own development priorities. But more than a decade later, the prevailing top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to development interventions remains stubbornly intact. This is particularly true for climate finance, which tends to be largely earmarked for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, including in countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis.  For example,  58%  of the $83.3 billion in climate finance that the Global North delivered to developing countries in 2020 went toward such mitigation initiatives. In fact, the most pressing challenge facing low-income countries is to bol

Whenever the world’s financial and political leaders convene – whether at the G20 summit, the United Nations General Assembly, or the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings – the most urgent development challenges are nearly always on the agenda.  Increasingly, the solution these leaders propose to such problems, from poverty alleviation and public-health crises to climate change and the energy transition, is more financing. They are not wrong. Addressing each of these challenges requires more than a trillion dollars. For example, Latin America and the Caribbean need  $2.2 trillion  to invest in sustainable infrastructure, while emerging markets worldwide require  $1.5 trillion  per year for such projects. And much of this financing will come from multilateral development banks (MDBs), which have already started to use their balance sheets more aggressively. But equally important is MDBs’ innovative deployment of instruments – including capital-market mechanisms, st

Many countries have experienced extreme weather in one form or another this year: the summer, marked by intense wildfires, was the   hottest on record , while the return of   El Niño   has led to catastrophic flooding and other disasters. Such shocks underscore the urgent need for multilateral efforts to address climate change and achieve sustainable development. In the last few months of 2024, world leaders will gather for a series of summits – including the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group  Annual Meetings  in Washington, DC, the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku – where they could make progress on these fronts. These meetings are particularly important for African countries, which remain vulnerable to the effects of global warming amid a deepening sovereign-debt crisis. Of the 20 countries that are most vulnerable to climate change,  17 are in Africa . In addition to adverse weather and rising temperatures, Afr