Pearl Bank calls for financing push to unlock Uganda’s mineral wealth

Pearl Bank has called for increased financing and investment in Uganda’s mineral sector, saying better access to capital could help turn thousands of small-scale miners into formal businesses and support the country’s push towards a $500 billion economy by 2040.

The call was made during the 15th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference in Kampala on September 29, 2026, held under the theme, “Beneath the Surface: Unlocking Africa’s Next Mining Powerhouse.”

Mineral development is one of the four pillars of the government’s tenfold growth strategy, alongside agro-industrialisation, tourism, and science, technology and innovation.

Pearl Bank Chief Treasury and Markets Officer Yunus Mugula said Uganda must pay attention not only to its mineral deposits but also to an estimated 500,000 artisanal and small-scale miners whose activities support livelihoods and the wider economy.

“The challenge is how we support them in formalising into licensed and bankable enterprises connected to formal markets. That transition is very critical to unlocking immense value in the sector and contributing to socio-economic transformation,” Mugula said.

He said financing must respond to the different stages of a mining operation because conventional commercial loans may not always suit businesses that are still prospecting or establishing the size and commercial viability of mineral deposits.

Early-stage operators could instead rely on seed capital, grants, risk capital and government-backed programmes before becoming eligible for conventional financing.

Once deposits are proven, miners require capital to acquire excavators, crushers and processing equipment, prepare sites, recruit workers and comply with environmental and regulatory requirements.

Mugula said equipment financing, leasing, asset-backed lending and development finance could support businesses at this stage.

Mining companies also need working capital once production starts to cover wages, transport and other operating expenses before buyers make payments.

Enterprises with established customers and export contracts could later access purchase-order financing, invoice discounting, supply-chain finance and letters of credit.

Mugula said Pearl Bank already provides financial services to artisanal and small-scale mining cooperatives and their members through its Wendi mobile wallet.

The bank also offers invoice discounting, contract financing, export and import finance, guarantees and letters of credit.

State Minister for Energy and Mineral Development Sidronius Okaasai Opolot said the government would continue prioritising the sector and urged investors to participate across the mining value chain.

He said Uganda needs investment not only in mineral extraction but also in value addition to increase the country's ability to supply regional and international markets.

Mugula argued that artisanal miners should be treated as an important part of Uganda's mineral industry rather than players operating at its margins.

“Uganda’s 500,000 artisanal and small-scale miners should therefore not be viewed as being on the margins of the mineral economy. They can become an important foundation of it,” he said.

“For Pearl Bank, whose purpose is to foster prosperity for Ugandans, the opportunity is to work with government, miners and the wider ecosystem to help promising enterprises become increasingly formal, safe, productive and bankable.”