East African Business Notifier

  African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)  and the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) have signed a Joint Project Preparation Facility Framework Agreement to provide early project preparatory financing and technical support services to public and private sector entities. This is aimed at boosting Uganda’s industrialization and export development activities.   Under the terms of the framework agreement, Afreximbank and UDB established a joint project preparation facility to unlock investments in priority sectors, such as, energy, transport and logistics, special economic zones/industrial parks, manufacturing, agro-processing, hospitality and tourism, mining, solid minerals and service sectors. The facility will assist in de-risking projects and rapidly advance their development from concept stage to bankability by covering the preparation of feasibility studies, project development and advisory services, and related costs. The two Banks aim to mobilize up to US$ 25 million in ...

By Juliet Baggya Nsiyona Worldwide, parents invest a lot of time and effort to ensure they create an environment where their children can attain the best education. Whether it involves selecting schools with the best environment, curriculum, or teachers, many factors come into play when parents are making decisions about their child's education. From an early stage, parents take on the responsibility of guiding their children through their educational journey. Small steps, such as helping the child get ready for school, assisting with homework, and attending school events, are pivotal in fostering a culture that kickstarts a child’s journey to success through education. While parents bear the brunt of the work in shaping a child’s educational journey, teachers also play a significant role. Given how much time children spend with teachers during school days, parents need to foster a healthy relationship with their children’s teachers.  This is supported by the famous African proverb...

It is widely recognized that the transition to a zero-carbon economy requires both carrots and sticks – incentives and penalties. Less appreciated is the importance of this sequence: carrots before sticks. True, economists have long insisted that the only way to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases rapidly and at scale is to put a price on them. In a world where burning fossil fuels causes  more damage  than it adds in value to GDP, each ton of coal or barrel of oil consumed ultimately destroys collective prosperity. Calculations of these emissions’ social costs provide a guide to pricing them. Accounting for the full damages caused by each ton of CO 2  emitted, an appropriate price is  well over $200 .  But that comes out to almost $2 per gallon (or $0.50 per liter) of gasoline at the pump, which helps to explain why, for example, neither Europe’s well-functioning carbon market (with prices of around $75 per ton) nor Germany’s own carbon t...

PostBank Uganda's agricultural loan book has registered commendable growth of 70% over a four-year period, from Ushs. 107 billion in 2021 to a 70% growth rate by June 2024.  This impressive performance can be attributed to several factors, including favorable lending rates, government support, and other contributing elements. The agricultural sector boasts a rich value chain where products move from producers to final consumers, hence this requires access to affordable financing to aid participation at the various stages, making agricultural loans among the best-performing products in the banking sector, given the number of people involved at different production phases. Agricultural loans are designed to finance legal agricultural undertakings across the agriculture value chain like Production, Processing, Marketing among others, and it applies to both individual and non-individual entities. According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) about 68% of Uganda’s working population i...

  By Charles Masano Picture this: cherished local series like Sanyu , Crossroads , and Beloved  suddenly disappearing from your screens, or missing out on exhilarating sports events like the FIFA World Cup or the Euros.  This isn't just a distant nightmare; it’s a possible future if we don’t take a stand against content piracy, an escalating threat to even Uganda’s creative industries. Content piracy might seem like a harmless shortcut, like streaming a show from an unofficial site, but it has devastating consequences for Africa’s entertainment sector. Piracy is when someone illegally copies, sells or redistributes content. Many people who engage in piracy don’t realize the severe impact their actions have on the industry. When piracy thrives, producers earn less, leaving them with fewer resources to invest in new projects, cutting-edge technology, and fresh talent. This financial strain discourages investors, who lose confidence in the local creative sector due...

The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative to encourage traders in Kampala’s business hub, popularly known as Kikuubo, to transition from trading in imported products to manufacturing them locally.  The “Transitioning Kikuubo Traders to Manufacturing” initiative” is hinged on the spirit of promoting import substitution, the initiative is to enable traders who have been trading in imported products for many years to seize import substitution opportunities and incentives that come with them like zero tax rates, free industrial park land and tax holidays, amongst others.  The Director General of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Robert Mukiza, announced the initiative on Tuesday (July 30) during a meeting at UIA head office with traders from Kikuubo and officials from the Global Competitiveness Initiative (GCI) and the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID).  Mukiza said a special desk...

TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with Scatec, a Norwegian renewable energy company, to acquire 100% of its subsidiary SN Power, which holds interests in renewable hydropower projects in Africa, through a joint venture (51% SN Power) with Norfund and British International Investment (BII).  As a result of this transaction, which is subject to certain previous conditions, TotalEnergies will acquire a 28.3% stake in the Bujagali hydropower plant currently in operation in Uganda.  With a capacity of 250 MW, it covers more than 25% of the country's peak electricity demand. TotalEnergies will also acquire minority stakes in two projects under development in Rwanda (260 MW) and Malawi (360 MW).  “This acquisition of renewable hydroelectric assets and projects in Africa reflects our desire to contribute to the continent's energy transition by bringing electricity to the people of African countries. In particular, we are delighted to be able to become a player in hydro...