Busoga is set to take centre stage as farmers, businesses, investors and tourism players converge in Jinja for the inaugural Busoga Coffee & Cocoa Tourism Festival (BCCTFEST) 2026.
The three-day festival, scheduled for September 18-20 at the Jinja Showgrounds, is organised by the Women’s Environmental Forum Uganda (WEF-Uganda) in partnership with the Busoga Kingdom and stakeholders from agriculture, tourism, the private sector, development and enterprise.
Held under the theme “Brewing Prosperity, Cultivating Heritage: Advancing Coffee & Cocoa Value Chains for Youth Employment and Economic Transformation,”, the festival seeks to reframe Busoga’s story, linking its agricultural potential to tourism, culture, enterprise and investment.
Organizers say the festival will create a practical meeting point for the value chain. Farmers will connect with buyers and service providers, businesses will showcase products and explore new markets, young entrepreneurs will meet mentors and investors, while tourism operators will pitch experiences that can make visitors stay longer in Busoga. More than 300 exhibitors and thousands of participants are expected.
According to Resty Mbwali, Founder of WEF-Uganda and Festival Director, the idea was born out of grassroots work. “Through our work with women, youth, farmers and community enterprises, we have seen the opportunities that coffee and cocoa can create for Busoga. But we have also seen the gaps, limited access to finance, weak market connections, low levels of value addition and limited opportunities for young people,” Mbwali said.
“We wanted to create a space where these conversations can happen together and where people can actually find partners, markets and opportunities,” Mbwali noted. Beyond income, coffee and cocoa have environmental and tourism value.
“Coffee and cocoa are not just cash crops. They are tree crops, and when grown responsibly, they contribute to environmental restoration, biodiversity and climate resilience while providing long-term income for farming households. We see an opportunity to connect agriculture with tourism and conservation in a way that benefits communities.” The festival will kick off on September 17 with the Busoga Coffee & Cocoa Agro-Tourism Experience in Busede, Jinja District. The pre-festival farm visit will give invited participants a first-hand look at coffee and cocoa production, processing and how farms can be transformed into tourism experiences.
Organisers say the experience will feed into the development of agro-tourism products that create additional income for farmers and rural communities.
On September 19, the focus will shift to the River Nile for the Nile Coffee Cruise Networking Experience. The cruise will bring together investors, exporters, entrepreneurs, financiers, policymakers, tourism operators and development partners for business conversations over coffee.
The cruise is envisioned as more than a festival side-event; organisers hope to develop it into a recurring tourism and business networking product for Busoga.
Evenings will come alive with the Nile Coffee Jazz Nights, featuring live music, cultural performances, food, coffee and entertainment designed to showcase Busoga’s hospitality and creativity while giving visitors more reasons to spend time in Jinja.
A major highlight will be the Youth Innovation Challenge and Enterprise Hub, which will bring together young people innovating in coffee and cocoa value addition, agritech, tourism, branding and packaging, digital solutions, logistics and the creative economy. Young innovators will pitch ideas, showcase businesses and interact with investors, business leaders and development partners.
The festival will also launch a six-month Post-Festival Enterprise Acceleration Programme, where selected high-potential youth and women-led enterprises will receive mentorship, business development support, market linkages, product improvement and investment readiness training.
Festival Communications and Marketing Manager, Emmanuel Mawejje, said the event is about rebranding Busoga. “Busoga is often associated with sugarcane, but there is much more to the region. We want people to discover our coffee, cocoa, farms, tourism attractions, culture, businesses and the opportunities available here. The festival gives us a platform to tell that story differently,” Mawejje said.
The Showgrounds will host a diverse showcase of players across the chain — coffee roasters, chocolatiers, baristas, processors, exporters, cooperatives, community nurseries, financial institutions and tourism businesses.
Festival Coordinator Christine Nababi said success will be measured by outcomes, not just attendance. “We want people to leave with something practical. A farmer may meet a new buyer, a young entrepreneur may find a mentor, a business may identify a financing opportunity, and a tourism operator may find a new partnership. Those are the kinds of connections we want the festival to create,” Nababi said.
Organisers expect the festival to spark stronger market linkages, new enterprises, tourism products, investment conversations and pathways to decent employment for youth and women in Busoga.