Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) set up under the Investment Code 1991 is a statutory agency mandated to initiate and support measures that enhance investment in Uganda and advise Government on appropriate policies conducive for investment promotion and growth. The changing investment environment and Government priorities have necessitated the modification of UIA’s mandate.
Uganda Investment Authority is a semi-autonomous government agency which drives national economic growth and development in partnership with the private sector. As an Investment Promotion Agency, UIA mainly: markets investment opportunities; promotes packaged investment projects; ensures local and foreign investors have access to information, especially about the business environment so as to make more informed business decisions; and offers business support, advisory and advocacy services.
To unleash, promote, attract and retain value adding domestic and foreign investments through robust marketing, nurturing and aftercare services.
Objectives of UIA
- Attract value adding investment that brings technology, skills & jobs;
- Contribute to the image of Uganda as a leading African Investment destination;
- Provide serviced sites, buildings & competitive infrastructure to meet the needs of growing Ugandan based businesses
- Stimulate & lead key stakeholders in creating a competitive business environment;
- Setup and develop Industrial and Business Parks; and
- Offer support to SMEs.
Industrial Parks Development Strategy
The Presidential Opinion concerning Zonal Industrialization of Uganda.
In his letter written on 8th February 2007, the President highlighted that in Point No.5 of the NRM 10-point programme stated: “Building an integrated, independent and self-sustaining economy”. Before, the country was still exporting 4 million bags of coffee unprocessed coffee, 200,00 bales of unprocessed cotton, still importing processed juice from South Africa and 10 million metric tonnes of bananas just being consumed and 40% of this would just rot away. 80,000 litres of milk were being poured away on a daily basis.
The president therefore proposed to the Planning Commission of the Ministry of Finance to do the following:
- Initially develop an Industrial Park for each of these towns: Arua, Lira, Gulu, Soroti, Moroto, Mbale, Tororo,
Iganga, Jinja, Masaka, Luwero-Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Kabale, Kasese, Fort-Portal, Hoima, Rakai and Mubende. They were to get an area of say 500 acres of land and make access roads (tarmac), provide electricity and water and parcel the land into plots of about 5 acres of land for each anticipated factory. These factories have to be compatible – where food factories should not be mixed with clothing factories. The 500 acres of land is better divided into three or more groups per town: An Industrial Park for foods, another for wear e.g, clothing and foot wear, another for engineering and electronics, e.g. steel rolling assembling, computers, etc. - He proposed a regional distribution of industries basing on the resources available within these regions shown in table 1 below:
- Many of the industries that were proposed by the President are all natural resource based. There are, in addition those industries based on human skills such as engineering industries (metal fabrication, machine parts making, electronics, etc.) and the potentially big, outsourcing industry using the internet. These factories would be built by the private sector solicited, encouraged and assisted by the Government – Ministry of Finance and Uganda Investment Authority. (UIA).
| District | Industries to be built | |
| 1. | Arua | Honey, fruits, coffee processing, textiles and later on, fish processing after fish farming is encouraged in the Nile Valley. |
| 2. | Lira | Textiles; cassava processing; oil seeds processing, including the moya oil; fruit processing after the development of fish farming of the area in the numerous swamps of the area |
| 3. | Gulu | Fruit processing, rice hurling, oil seeds processing and sugar processing. |
| 4. | Soroti | Fruit processing, dairy processing, leather processing, fish processing after fish farming is promoted in the area in the numerous swamps of the area. |
| 5. | Moroto | Cement manufacturing; green marble polishing, aloe-vera and herbal medicine processing, gum-Arabica processing, dairy products, fruit processing especially grapes and leather processing industry. |
| 6. | Mbale | Grain milling especially wheat, fruit processing, dairy industry and coffee processing. |
| 7. | Tororo | Cement manufacturing, fertilizer manufacturing, steel manufacturing from the iron ore deposits in the area, gold processing in the Busia area, fish processing in the Lumino area, fruit growing since the land fragmentation. |
| 8. | Iganga | Fruit processing, dairy processing, fish processing and farming using the Busoga swamps for fish farming. |
| 9. | Jinja | To develop the Industrial Park in the land availed by the town council for general industries which are already in the area like the one for steel rolling, grain milling, vegetable oil industries, leather processing, etc. |
| 10. | Masaka | Fruit processing, fish farming and processing in the Lweera area, pork processing, tea processing, beef industry. |
| 11. | Luwero | Nakaseke area – Tomato processing, fruit processing, dairy coolers, fish farming and processing, poultry farming, dairy farming and processing. |
| 12. | Nakasongola | Textiles, military industries, fish farming and dairy industries. |
| 13. | Mbarara | Dairy industry, beef industry, leather industry, banana processing, wood industry (industrial forestry on the bare hills); fruit processing, silk processing and farming, honey processing, etc. |
| 14. | Bushenyi | Silk processing and farming, tea-processing (in Kyamuhunga and Buhweju), wood industry, banana processing (in Nyaruzinga), fish farming and processing instead of draining swamps for crop and cattle farming which undermines the environment. |
| 15. | Kabale | Fish farming and processing, dairy farming and processing, flower growing and exporting, temperate fruits processing, pyrethrum processing, outsourcing of labour, etc, through internet. |
| 16. | Kasese | Fruits processing, cement production, cobalt, copper, dairy industry, tourism, fish processing. |
| 17. | Fortportal | Dairy processing, tea processing, fruit processing, wood industries, cocoa processing (Bundibugyo area), vanilla processing, grain-milling (Kamwenge), etc. |
| 18. | Rakai | Sugar, fish farming and processing near L. Victoria; fruit growing and processing, honey, silk growing and processing and dairy farming and processing, etc. |
| 19. | Mubende | Tea growing and processing, coffee growing and processing, dairy farming and processing, grain milling (in Kasambya area if the land per family is big enough for maize), fruit processing, beans, onions, etc. |
| 20. | Hoima | Petroleum refinery; tobacco factories; sugar processing, fish processing on L. Albert, rice hurling, etc. |
| 21. | Kampala | There are already a number of industrial zones in Kampala such as Bugolobi, Ntinda, Nakawa, Luzira, Nalukolongo, Kawempe and Namanve. Industrial estates such as Nsimbe Estates, Seeta, Bweyogerere should be developed. UIA was mandated to continue to buy land at good prices from private land owners in order to build a land bank for the purpose of industrial development. These factories, in addition to processing, should be light engineering types. – Metal fabrication, machine making, electronics, garbage processing, etc. |
Role of Industrial Development by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA)
Uganda Investment Authority was given a mandate to establish twenty-two (22) Industrial and Business Parks (IBP’s) throughout the Country to mainly create jobs and add value to locally available raw materials.
Out of these, Uganda Investment Authority has managed to establish the following industrial parks:
| Name | Location (District) | Acreage | Status | |
| 1. | Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) |
Wakiso Mukono |
2,200 | Park is Operational and land is fully allocated. |
| 2. | Luzira Industrial and Business Park | Kampala | 70 | Operational and land is fully allocated. |
| 3. | Bweyogerere Industrial Estate | Kampala | 50 | Operational and land is fully allocated. |
| 4. | Jinja Industrial and Business Park | Jinja | 182 | 90% of the land here has been allocated and investors in final stages of plan approval. |
| 5. | Kasese Industrial and Business Park | Kasese | 217 | Park is available for allocation to prospective investors. |
| 6. | Soroti Industrial and Business Park | Soroti | 219 | Allocations in this park are going on, so far one factory, Teso fruit factory is under construction. |
| 7. | Mbarara SME Park | Mbarara | 12.2 | Park with constructed structures that are let out to Small and medium enterprises. |
| 8. | Mbale Industrial and Business Park | Mbale | 619 | Compensation process still going on which will be followed up by master planning. |
| 9. | Karamoja Industrial and Business Park |
Moroto Napak |
417 | Master Planning process ongoing. UDC to establish a cement factory. |
| 10. | Kashari Agricultural Park | Mbarara | 147.3 | Land is not yet allocated to any large scale agricultural investor. |
Related documents:
Guidelines on Allocation of land
Physical Planning Development Guidelines
Industrial and Business Parks (IBPs) Master Plans
Karamoja IBP provisional Master Plan
Small and Medium Enterprises
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
The SME Division supports and facilitates the development of MSMEs who are majorly domestic entrepreneurs. The overall goal of the SME division is: Developing Sustainable Domestic Investment & SME’s.
The SME Division of UIA has the following objectives:
- Facilitation and support for development of competitive SMEs in the priority sectors;
- Increase revenues earned by SMEs;
- Facilitation and support for SMEs under the National Content inclusion in Oil and Gas sector Programme;
- Improved access to business related information;
- Advocacy for and on behalf of SMEs.
In Uganda a ‘Micro Enterprise’ is an enterprise employing up to four people, with an annual sales/revenue turnover or total assets not exceeding Uganda shillings 10 million. On the other hand Small Enterprises employ between 5 and 49 and have total assets between UGX: 10 million but not exceeding 100 million. The Medium Enterprise therefore, employs between 50 and 100 with total assets more than 100 million but not exceeding 360 million.
The SME Division supports and facilitates the development of MSMEs who are majorly domestic entrepreneurs.
The Clean Development Mechanism Project
The cooperation of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) with GIZ GmbH- Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme (PREEEP) constitutes the secondment of a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Technical Advisor to identify, appraise and provide in-process support for potential climate finance (especially CDM) projects and programmes.
The objective of the cooperation is to support UIA’s active role as a stakeholder in promoting the private sector in climate change mitigation activities through:-
- Increasing the involvement of the private sector in the development of CDM projects and establish UIA as a central point for CDM developers in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
- Identification of potential CDM projects, technical support for concrete project ideas especially in the development of business plans and financing schemes, and in preparation of feasibility studies and selection of suitable appraisers
- Identification of financial solutions for potential CDM projects
- Providing advisory support and create awareness on information about CDM to project developers, owners, investors as well as directly or indirectly to stakeholders
- Networking with other focal stakeholders on CDM, especially with the Ugandan Climate Change Unit and additional organisations that take part in climate change mitigation activities.
- Providing advisory support and create awareness on information about CDM to UIA’s staff
From Muppets to Gazelles project
Promoting Inclusive Development through Rural Community Based Resource Centers
Sustainable development of a country is closely related to the level of inclusion of the population into the financial safety net. According to the Muppets to Gazelles (MTG) Project, inclusive development is in terms of a pro-poor approach that equally values and incorporates the contributions of the marginalized groups in addressing information asymmetry and development issues.
This approach is based on the establishment of Rural Based Resource Centers as an information flow and development enabler, since majority of Uganda’s population live in the rural locations and is considered less innovative.
The project is implemented by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) in collaboration with Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), Makerere University Business School, Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association
The project aims at investigating pivotal barriers to dynamic entrepreneurship and inclusion particularly among the rural populations in Uganda. To do this, the project team decided to initiate and sustain such processes by utilizing the already existing Rural Based Community Tele-centers to foster research, training, information dissemination and physical infrastructural support to create secondary opportunities within the farmer/business communities specifically in Nakaseke and Mpigi Districts.
This is a contribution towards ‘temporarily’ addressing some of the challenges faced in running these telecentres towards improving the socio-economic status of poor farmers and/or entrepreneurs.
UIA as an implementing partner in the project is to establish the functionality of these centers through
- Provision and installation of better of radio equipment to boost the radio signal/coverage of these centers
- Provide computers, furniture and generators
- Recruit Business advisers for the centers
- Build the capacity of both staff and beneficiaries of the center (rural female entrepreneurs)
- Rehabilitate the physical infrastructure of the centers
- Create a technological marketing platform that enables information flow and directly links sellers to buyers in the two districts.
From the quantitative surveys, ethnographic interactions and community engagements/social networking experiences, a vibrant though ‘struggling’ Telecentres in Nakaseke among others being supported by this project. UIA realized that there was perhaps an opportunity to use such functioning community infrastructures to move part of Uganda’s inclusive development as well as popularize the actually existence of such telecentres and what role they play in the rural communities where social facets drive adoption and individual progression.
Some of the existing Telecentres in Uganda initiated by Government of Uganda include; Nakaseke multipurpose community, Bwama tele center and Nabweru Telecentre in Central Uganda, Lira CPAR Telecentre in Northern Uganda, Kabala and Kachwekano Telecentres in South West Uganda.
These telecentres have a full-fledged board of directors whose members represent farmer associations, women groups, small business communities, local council leaders, and youth groups. The day-to-day operations are run by volunteers from the local communities which is in most times unsustainable.
In addition, all these tele-centres have access to cellular, TV and radio to enable them serve as the multiway media information disseminating agencies that facilitate entrepreneurial growth and demand for better services.
Why invest in Uganda?
Investment Climate
- Uganda attained and has had political and social stability since 1986.
- Effective macro-economic policies that maintained economic growth at an average of 6.5% and enabled the country to withstand external economic shocks during the global economic downturn from 2008 to 2011 during which the economy still grew by 3%
- Natural resource rich country (Human and Minerals).
- Totally liberalised foreign exchange regime.
- Consistently improving infrastructures.
- Trainable and fast adaptable workforce from over 30 universities.
- Welcoming population.
- No labour tensions.
- Dedicated Commercial and Industrial courts for quick resolution of business disputes
- A unique multi climate varies from winter on the snow capped Mountain Rwenzori in the west, to the temperate highlands of Western Uganda and tropical forests of the Central region as well as the semi arid North Eastern Uganda.
Market Access through Treaties and Agreements
- The Common Market for Eastern and Southern African (COMESA), a region with a market of about 400 million people in 19 countries.
- The East African Community (EAC) population of over 140 million people.
- Uganda is part of the Free Trade Area of EAC, COMESA and SADC.
- Uganda has a population of 35 million people with a growing middle income class with reasonable expendable income.
Uganda is a signatory to major international investment and business protocols
- Multi – lateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
- Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) of USA
- Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Award (CREFAA)
- Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC)
- International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS)
- General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS)
- Agreement on Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
- Duty and quota free access into China (quota free access for over 650 products)
- The USA (AGOA)
- Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme with European Commission
- EU (Everything But Arms) markets.
Investment Opportunities
- Renewable Energy
Uganda has considerable unexploited renewable energy resources for energy production and provision of energy services. The overall Government
The goal of Uganda Renewable Energy Policy is to increase the use of modern renewable from below 5% in 2007 to 61% of the total energy consumption by 2017.
