Hoima: Emyooga beneficiaries embrace hygiene, value addition to reap from Afcon

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has urged Hoima residents to keep their city clean as it prepares to host matches during the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. 

The residents were urged on Saturday to keep their businesses tidied up, provide better products and offer new services to serve the visitors expected for the tournament.

“Hoima is a key economic hub for this region; it is also a city designated to host AFCON 2027. It is important to keep the city clean and well organised as we prepare to welcome visitors from across Uganda, Africa and the world.” said Nabbanja.

The Prime Minister spoke on September 26, 2026, as she led the third National Cleaning Day exercise in Hoima. The exercise began at Hoima Central Market and drew residents.

Different groups participated in the cleaning including traders and beneficiaries of Emyooga, a government programme supported by the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC).

In her message, Nabbanja asked residents to take responsibility for the rubbish they produce. She urged them to stop dumping waste on roadsides, in drainage channels, wetlands and open spaces. She also called for waste to be sorted at source, with plastic, metal, paper and food kept separate.

Speaking at the event, Tadeo Atuhura, MSC’s head of communications, said the agency had joined the exercise because health and business growth go together.

“As an institution, we are very focused on creating wealth, but you cannot create wealth when you are unhealthy,” Atuhura said. “We are carrying the message that we need to create wealth in a healthy environment.”

He said Emyooga beneficiaries who run restaurants, fishing businesses, welding workshops and other enterprises need clean workspaces to serve their customers well. MSC staff and beneficiaries across the country took part in the cleaning exercise, he added.

Members of the Hoima West Women Entrepreneurs Emyooga Sacco are looking beyond the clean-up. Their chairperson, Florance, said the group plans to expand its range of products and services before the tournament.

The Sacco started in 2020 with Shs30 million in seed capital. It has since received Shs70 million in total, Florance said. More than 180 of its 250 members have accessed funds, and many work in agriculture.

Some members now turn their produce and other inputs into goods for sale, including groundnut paste, nutritional porridge flour, liquid soap and cosmetics. Their products already reach Hoima Central Market and other outlets. Florence expects demand to rise as the city receives more visitors.

“We are soon hosting Afcon 2027, and because of the oil operations, the population in Hoima is increasing day and night,” she said. “As a Sacco, we have a workplan in which we want to tap all those opportunities.”

The group also hopes to buy a washing machine and offer laundry services to people visiting Hoima for the games. That plan remains at the preparation stage, but Florance said the Sacco sees room to grow alongside its existing products.

Charity Arinda, a Sacco member, said she borrowed Shs1.9 million this year and used it to open a retail shop. She said she has kept up with repayments and hopes to invest in agriculture next.