Uganda:
Country On The Move
Uganda
is recognised as one of the best places for investments in East Africa
Uganda
is clearly a country on the move. The country has attracted increasing amounts
of foreign direct investment (FDI) since the beginning of the 1990s. Between
2005 and 2007, the country attracted an average of over US$100 million in FDI.
This increased steadily with FDI being USD 210 million in 2006. This means that
Uganda attracts more FDI than most other countries in the region and indeed,
most developing countries.
The
Government of Uganda has pursued a steady policy of improving the investment
climate by reducing bureaucracy, streamlining the legal framework, fighting
corruption and uganda_musevenistabilizing the economy. The government has adopted
'The Big Push' strategy intended to make Uganda the most competitive
destination for FDI in Africa and establish Multi-Facility Economic Zones,
extra-territorial zones exempt from cumbersome and archaic domestic
laws.
Uganda
is a country rich in natural resources and offers a wide range of investment
opportunities in agriculture, forestry and mineral resources. Because the
country's young economy, the potential and the choice of investment
opportunities is much wider for the prospective investor than would be the case
in more developed economies. The recent economic dynamism has also opened up
opportunities in manufacturing and services. Linked to almost all of the
primary-sector industries are opportunities in upstream or down-stream
manufacturing activities. These include, among other things, packaging and the
construction of storage facilities. In addition, the extensive privatisation
programme undertaken by the Government has opened up industries that were
formerly closed to the private sector, particularly in the infrastructure
sector.
Uganda
was one of the first African countries to liberalise its telecommunication
sector airport_entebbeand there are now several private telecommunication
companies in operation. The poor condition of many other infrastructure
facilities, in particular air, road and rail transport, is an obstacle to users
but an opportunity for investors.
Perhaps
the biggest long-term opportunities are to be found in the tourism industry.
Uganda, commonly known as the 'Pearl of Africa', offers a number of unique
tourist attractions.These include Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, the
Murchinson Falls and the Mountains of the Moon, along with a number of national
parks and wildlife reserves hosting, among other fauna, half the world ’s
mountain gorilla population. However, the tourism infrastructure is still
underdeveloped. This offers plenty of opportunities for tour and hotel
operators.
Apart
from the availability of natural resources, Uganda offers a well educated
domestic labour force. On top of this, the government provides a fiscal
incentive package which in turn provides for generous capital recovery terms,
particularly for investors whose projects entail significant investment in
plant and machinery and whose investments are medium/long term.
Economic
Growth
After
a year of turbulence, the Ugandan government stabilised the economy in 2012
with inflation falling to 14.6% from 18.7% in 2011. Tightened fiscal and
monetary policy helped bring fiscal balances under control. While laying the
foundations for recovery and growth, stabilisation came at the cost of a
slowdown in gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 3.2% by June 2012
Agribusiness
Uganda
is among leading producers of coffee and bananas. It is also a major producer of
tea, cotton (including organic cotton), tobacco, cereals, oilseeds (simsim,
soya, sunflower, etc), fresh and preserved fruit, vegetables and nuts,
essential oils, orchids..
Factory
Growth
Uganda's
manufacturing output has been expanding by more than 10% annually over the last
eight years. Opportunities exist in virtually all areas ranging from beverages,
leather, tobacco based processing, paper, textiles and garments,
pharmaceuticals, fabrication, ceramics, glass, fertilizers, plastic / PVC,
assembly of electronic goods, hi-tech and medical products.
Forestry
With over 4.9 million hectares of rich forest
vegetation, Uganda possesses abundant potential in areas like timber processing
for export, manufacture of high quality furniture/wood products and various
packaging materials. There are also opportunities in afforestation and
reforestation especially of medicinal trees and plants, soft wood plantations
for timber, pulp poles
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