The second Uganda- European Union (EU) Business Forum will be held on 26th and 27th of October 2022 at the Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala, as the successor event to the 1st edition held in March 2020.
The high-profile event is organized by the European Union Delegation to Uganda, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU), the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), and a host of Ugandan and European Agencies, in close partnership with the Government of Uganda.
The Sustainable Business for Uganda Platform (SB4U), a partnership initiative between the EU, the Government of Uganda and the PSFU, is coordinating the Business Forum.
This year’s event will be in a hybrid format allowing for both physical and virtual participation.
More than 1000 key stakeholders will gather in Kampala and online to discuss issues and opportunities to mobilize higher levels of quality investments into the priority sectors in Uganda and to explore avenues to increase trade between Uganda and the EU.
The participants include key actors from the Government of Uganda, the European Commission, private and public sector institutions and organisations from Uganda and EU Member States, entrepreneurs and investors from Uganda and Europe, development partners and donor agencies, industry experts and high profile academia.
The Forum’s overarching objective is to enhance Uganda’s visibility as an investment and export destination of choice, and will be centred around two Plenary Sessions and 11 thematic Parallel Sessions providing a platform to accelerate Uganda’s economic transformation by mobilising quality investments from local entrepreneurs, the Ugandan diaspora and foreign direct investment from the EU Member States.
A unique feature of this year’s Business Forum will be the showcase of at least 50 bankable projects from the Ugandan private sector and a dozen high-ticket public projects.
Local entrepreneurs will share their ambitions and concrete investment plans for modernisation, expansion and diversification across a wide range of priority sectors including the agriculture and agri-processing, mining, manufacturing and value-added services sectors for exports.
The Forum will also address the Sustainable Development Goals agenda (SDGs), specifically focusing on renewable energy and energy efficiency, inclusive growth, balanced development and digitalisation.
A state-of-the-art Match-Making platform, “B2Match”, will provide for structured B2B and B2G face-to-face and virtual meetings.
Business leaders from the EU Member States will be present and looking forward to establishing strategic, technology and joint-venture partnerships with Ugandan entrepreneurs.
Development Partners and donor agencies will showcase the services and technical assistance they offer to the public and private sectors.
Additionally, financiers including banks, non-bank financial private equity funds Investment private equity funds, investment guarantee funds, sovereign funds, angel investors and impact investors will also be present at the Forum to present their innovative project financing instruments.
The Business Forum will pave a way for a more remarkable coalition among Ugandan public and private sector trade and investment support institutions to work together in making investments happen in Uganda.
The following concrete outcomes of the Business Forum are expected:
Mobilising 100 bankable investment projects from Ugandan entrepreneurs and public agencies; including 50 projects for pitching during the Forum.
Mobilizing 500 physical participants and over 500 virtual participants.
Organizing over 300 B28 and 828 meetings, Signature of an MoU between the PSFU and the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic.
Launch of the Corruption Reporting Facility, building collaborative partnerships of critical stakeholders engaged in attracting and facilitating investments in Uganda and promoting exports from Uganda, among others.