President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on investors worldwide to come and do business in Uganda in particular and Africa in general which today offers many investment opportunities in various sectors.
He said that Uganda’s economy is growing rapidly and only needs a stimulant, such as adding value to its products, to accelerate its transformation.
“We, therefore, invite investors from the world to help us do the rapid transformation of our economy and society as they also benefit because the IRR in Uganda is 14.1%. Uganda is now classified as a lower-middle-income country. It will however rapidly grow into a high middle-class country and eventually into a fast-world country. To achieve these goals, we need to add value to the large spectrum of our agricultural raw materials like coffee, bananas, fruits, cotton, oil seeds, cassava, maize, tea, dairy, beef, poultry products, fish, forest products, sugar as well as mineral products,” he asserted.
President Museveni was among several African and International leaders who today attended the opening ceremony of the 4th edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2025 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) themed ‘The Nexus of Next: Supercharging Sustainable Progress’.
President Museveni was delivering his address on the topic ‘Transforming Uganda in a rising East Africa’.
Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week is a global platform to address the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges and accelerate inclusive economic, social and environmental progress. The event fosters interconnected solutions that redefine sustainability and harness collective intelligence to supercharge sustainable progress.
Additionally, ADSW leverages the UAE’s vision and its unique ability to unite the Global community and accelerate a sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.
The annual event stands at the nexus of new thinking and action.
President Museveni who wholeheartedly thanked the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for inviting him to the summit, reflected on the importance of having a big market for the products produced in Uganda and Africa in general that will support the prosperity of the people on the continent.
President Museveni assured investors of the huge and growing market in the region that will not only absorb all their manufactured products but will also ensure the sustainability of their investments.
The President saluted leaders in East Africa and Africa in general for their clear vision of supporting the strategic policy of ensuring the prosperity of their people.
“I salute our African brothers and sisters in East Africa and the whole continent. With a clear vision, we agreed that when you produce a good or a service, you need to sell. The more you sell, the better for our prosperity. The internal market of Uganda of 46 million people is not enough to support large-scale sustained production of goods and services, especially when their purchasing power is still low. Already Uganda has a surplus of many products: maize, milk, beef, bananas, steel products, cement, tubes and tyres, textiles, and cassava products, among others. How would the Uganda economy grow if we did not have the East African market,” he wondered.
President Museveni went on to say, “I would like therefore to assure investors from outside Africa that the Africans have already laid down a lucrative market. When you invest in Uganda or any of the other African countries, you have the assurance of this huge and growing market. The population of Africa will be 2.5 billion people in the next 25 years. The population of Uganda will be 106 people by that time,” the President observed.
President Museveni noted that if African leaders adopt the correct policies and act in the right way, the continent will undoubtedly be the future leader in prosperity. He noted that Africa’s growth is now unstoppable.
In his address, however, President Museveni cautioned against the philosophical, ideological, and strategic mistakes committed by actors he described as bankrupt, greedy, evil, and ignorant. He observed that to win global affluence, mistakes are not necessary as they generate resistance followed by conflicts, adding that the strength is in win-win solutions to human problems.
Earlier, President Museveni in his address informed delegates of Uganda’s journey to economic recovery that involved reversing the small enclave island of the 3Cs- coffee, cotton and copper and 3Ts -Tobacco Tea and Tourism by encouraging the growing of more coffee, tea and expanding the Tourism sector.
He added that the government diversified the economy by commercialising new products such as fruits, fish, bananas, dairy products, beef, and sugar, cassava, and leather, wood products among others as well as adding value to some of the raw materials that included textiles, dairy products and sugar to produce finished products.
Furthermore, the government included the knowledge economy by producing products of intellect, such as automobiles and vaccines, among others.
President Museveni on the other hand continued to inform delegates at the summit the need for infrastructure, skilled and a healthy population as well as heavily investing in energy generation, road construction, and expanding schools and health centres.
“These modest efforts have made the economy grow from a miserable US$ 4 bn in 1986 to now US$ 168.5 bn by the PPP method. We are not satisfied with this. Much of this US$ 55 bn is raw materials. We intend to grow the economy to US$ 500 bn in the coming few years,” the President noted.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu also addressed the summit on the topic: From Climate imperatives to economic Prosperity: Bringing Africa into the Future of Global Energy.
The Nigerian Leader stressed his country’s commitment to the related matters of sustainability anchored on the 3 pillars of energy transition, climate resilience and transition to cleaner energy.
The summit was also attended by Attorney General Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Ramadhan Goobi, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr Vincent Bagiire.
Others present included the Ambassador of Uganda to the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Zaake W. Kibedi, Ambassador Aisa Ismail, the Deputy Head of Mission Uganda Embassy—Abu Dhabi, and officials from the Uganda Embassy, United Arab Emirates.