East African Business Notifier

By Kaziro Kyambadde Uganda’s next phase of economic transformation will not be determined simply by how much capital the country can mobilize, but by where that capital flows, what it finances and what it ultimately enables. The Ugandan economy has given us reason for confidence. Growth has held at a strong pace, estimated at around 6.3 to 6.4 percent in both FY 2024/25 and FY 2025/26, and private-sector credit continues to expand. But growth and credit volumes alone do not tell us whether financing is reaching the businesses that will define Uganda’s next decade. Bank of Uganda data show commercial-bank shilling lending rates sitting in the high teens, reported at around 18.9 percent in April 2026, with some easing since. At that cost, financing struggles to reach investments whose returns are measured in years rather than months. The real debate is not only how much credit is available, but what it enables, and whether it can be made affordable and patient enough for investments that...

By Quintin Roberts, regional sales manager, Genetec Luxury retail has always faced unique security challenges. High-value merchandise has long made high-end boutiques, jewelry stores, and fashion houses attractive targets for theft. Today, however, security leaders are managing a broader and more complex set of risks. Unlike many other retail environments, luxury stores are designed around personal service, exclusivity, and carefully curated customer experiences. Security decisions must support those objectives rather than compete with them. Organized retail crime now involves increasingly coordinated and sophisticated attacks. Some attacks are carefully planned and target distribution centers or manufacturing facilities. Others are opportunistic, involving groups that enter a boutique, seize merchandise, and leave within minutes. At the same time, luxury brands must protect employees, maintain customer confidence, and preserve the premium experience that distinguishes their stores. Ph...

Carlos Nobre, Lee White SÃO PAULO/STIRLING—The enormous climate, water, and biodiversity benefits generated by tropical forests accrue to the entire world. But hardly any of the economic value created is captured by the countries and communities that safeguard them. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) was launched at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém to start correcting this imbalance. For too long, it has been more profitable to destroy tropical forests than to conserve them, even though they provide services essential for the survival of many countries and for the welfare of us all.  The Amazon recycles nearly half of its rainfall and exports moisture that shapes precipitation patterns across South America and beyond. The Congo Basin, with its peatlands that store roughly 30 billion tons of carbon , is one of the planet’s great carbon reservoirs, while many of the plant and animal species in Borneo are found nowhere else on Earth. Mor...

Uganda’s coffee story has long been told through the beans it grows and the markets it supplies. But at the launch of the Uganda Coffee Group at Kapeeka Industrial Park, the conversation shifted to ensuring more of the wealth created by Uganda’s coffee is earned, built, and retained in the country. KCB Bank Uganda has joined the Uganda Coffee Group as one of the partner s , supporting a private sector-led initiative designed to strengthen Uganda’s coffee value chain by connecting farmers, cooperatives, processors, manufacturers, investors and financial institutions. The launch, held at Namunkekera Industrial Park in Kapeeka, brought together stakeholders from across the coffee industry to mobilise investment and support a new approach to commercialising one of Uganda’s most important agricultural commodities. Chief fundraiser General Salim Saleh, the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation and Senior Presidential Advisor, called on stakeholders and Ugandans to support the initi...

By Dr. Aleesha Adatia Every October, the world is painted pink. The pink ribbon has done a phenomenal job of bringing breast cancer into the public consciousness. In Uganda, we see more women coming into clinics for breast examinations and mammograms during this month than any other time of the year. However, as an oncologist, I often see patients who delayed seeking medical attention because their symptoms or risk factors didn’t align with what they traditionally understood about the disease. In Uganda, breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, with approximately 3,000 new cases estimated in 2022, according to GLOBOCAN. To truly combat breast cancer, we must move beyond basic awareness and address the critical nuances of this condition that remain dangerously overlooked by many women. One of the most pervasive myths I encounter is the belief that a cancerous tumour must be painful. When women feel a lump that doesn’t hurt, they often dismiss it as a benig...