Business community in Busoga urged to harness investment opportunities

Ojangole made the remarks during the Busoga Investment Forum being held at Jinja Civil Service College.

The forum was organised by UDB to explore key issues confronting Busoga and provide practical solutions to promote the region's inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic transformation.

"We are here today to gain a better understanding of the needs of the region, engage the various stakeholders, discuss access to affordable capital, and offer financial advice to ensure the sustainability of businesses. Ultimately, we seek to impact the community in terms of job creation, contribution to tax revenue, GDP (output value), and forex exchange," Ojangole told the business community.

The occasion, which was officiated by Busoga Kyabazinga, His Majesty William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, gathered around 600 business celebrities, political and business leaders from the Busoga region, and representatives from several government organisations.

The Busoga Investment Forum is also intended to discover and prioritise investment and entrepreneurship prospects, among other challenges.

Busoga is home to 4.3 million people who live in 11 districts: Bugiri, Bugweri, Buyende, Iganga, Jinja, Kaliro, Kamuli, Luuka, Mayuge, Namayingo, and Namutumba.

Some of the major economic activities in the region include agriculture, tourism, industry, and mining, all of which are viable investment options in the region.

According to UDB, the region is a promising investment destination with diversified opportunities for firms of all kinds, catalytic to poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth in the sub-region, thanks to favourable government policies and infrastructure linkages.

His Majesty William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV lauded UDB for playing a pivotal role in facilitating Uganda's development and for implementing solutions to address the challenges confronting Busoga; he expressed optimism that the Busoga Investment Forum would lead to even more constructive solutions to the challenges confronting Busoga, describing the Bank as one of the institutions delivering Uganda’s Vision 2040.

"We thank UDB for its invaluable assistance in directing our people towards activities that will benefit our region. Busoga is rich in resources that our people can use to improve their standard of living," he said.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga Alitwala, who also attended the Forum, stated, "We want to develop a value chain in sugar cane by producing juice, paper, and medicine to create employment for our people, especially those without skills, if you can support us.

She added: "We also need support in the tourism industry to help us benefit from the River Nile, like in Egypt, where it’s the highest income earner. We need to improve the transportation by water from Jinja to Entebbe to enhance tourism."

UDB investment forums serve as a venue for promoting trade and investment, examining investment opportunities, and engaging stakeholders in long-term investment strategies that will help the region realise its full potential.

UDB is hosting the symposium in collaboration with the corporate sector and government ministries, departments, and agencies.

"In line with our mandate of accelerating socioeconomic development in Uganda, we remain committed to undertaking interventions to support a vibrant private sector and implementing solutions that promote our country's national development priorities," Ojangole added.