Uganda to enlist Nigeria's support for first-ever Kampala Business and Investment Summit

KCCA is organising the event in partnership with the African Center for Economic Dialogue- AfCED under the theme “Unlocking Financing and Investment for a Sustainable, Inclusive and Smart Urban Eco-system”. It will be held from 20th to 21 July 2023 at the Mestil Hotel in Kampala.

Addressing the media at the Uganda Media Center yesterday, the State Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs Kabuye Kyofa said the summit will be an avenue to promote solutions in finance and investment related to climate change, rapid urbanization in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and national development goals.

Kyofa mentioned that underlying the event is a plan to market Kampala and Uganda as viable investment destinations to the attracted audience which includes partners from private and government institutions such as investors, business leaders, civil society, and small and medium enterprises from Uganda, and across the borders.

The Executive Director African Center for Economic Dialogue Julius Nsubuga Kazibwe says that apart from showcasing Uganda due to its natural resources and growing population and Urbanization, there is a chance for the government to attract investors to improve infrastructure.

KCCA and AfCED are working with other partners such as the Nigeria High Commission, Exim Bank, Uganda Free Zones Authority, and Uganda Industrial Research Institute among others to organise the summit.

Addressing his role in this partnership, Ismail Alatise, the Nigeria High Commissioner to Uganda said his role as a diplomat is to see how to push the business community in Nigeria to work with Uganda to take their economies to greater heights. In Africa, he says, we have the tendency to run to other continents yet we could benefit from intra-Africa trade.

In February 2023, Nigeria and Uganda signed a Memorandum of Understanding to allow Uganda Airlines to start direct flights to Lagos and Abuja. Alatise says this is one of the initiatives they have made with the Ugandan government believing that if Africa can adopt favourable policies, they can promote trade and investments within them without seeking external intervention from other continents.