KAMPALA — Government, financial institutions, development partners and businesses have been urged to turn Uganda’s green economy commitments into measurable action, with speakers at a high-level dialogue calling for increased investment in renewable energy, cleaner industrial production and digital technologies.
The call was made on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, during the Third CEO’s Breakfast Meeting and High-Level Dialogue on Green Economy, Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), held at the UNICEF Conference Centre in the United Nations compound in Mbuya, Kampala.
Held under the theme “Accelerating Uganda’s Green Economy Transition through Digital Transformation,” the meeting brought together government officials, business leaders, diplomats, UN agencies, investors, development partners and academics to discuss ways of advancing sustainable and digitally enabled economic growth.
Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Jacob Marksons Oboth said Uganda must move beyond discussions and statistics to practical measures that protect the environment and safeguard livelihoods.
“We must not just say the right things; let us do the right thing,” Oboth said, warning that climate-related disasters were destroying infrastructure and livelihoods built over many years.
“We can never win a fight against Mother Nature,” he said, urging stakeholders to protect forests and wetlands, restore degraded land, invest in renewable energy and use modern technology to improve environmental monitoring and resource management.
Oboth said Parliament would support laws, budgets and oversight measures aimed at strengthening climate action, while calling on individuals and institutions to take responsibility for environmental protection.
“We must strike a balance between our much-needed economic transformation and the urgent need to replenish our natural ecosystems.”
World Bank calls for investment and partnerships
World Bank Group Country Manager for Uganda Francisca Ayodeji Akala said the transition should be treated as an economic priority, with the potential to create jobs, attract investment and improve the country’s resilience to climate-related shocks.
“When we talk about Uganda’s green economic transition, we’re ultimately talking about one thing. And that is how to create sustainable growth and better jobs while protecting the natural resources on which our future prosperity depends,” Akala said.
She identified international partnerships, green finance and technology as three critical enablers of the transition, noting that public resources alone would not meet the investment needs of renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, resilient infrastructure, sustainable cities and green industries.
“But investments follow confidence,” she said, urging Uganda to strengthen policies, establish transparent standards, develop bankable projects and build institutions capable of delivering results.
Akala said technology could improve agricultural productivity, expand access to clean energy, strengthen climate resilience and create new economic opportunities, but stressed that its value lay in the results it delivered.
Digital technology and financial inclusion
Philip Andrew Wabulya, the Bank of Uganda’s Executive Director of Risk and Strategy, said the country needed to pursue growth that was productive, environmentally responsible and socially inclusive.
“We must build an economy that is productive but environmentally responsible; technologically advanced but socially inclusive; and financially profitable but sustainable for future generations,” Wabulya said.
He outlined four ways digital transformation could support green growth: improving efficiency, expanding access to markets and financial services, strengthening climate resilience, and enhancing transparency and accountability.
He said mobile money and digital banking had widened access to financial services, while digital agricultural advisory services, real-time weather information, satellite monitoring and data analytics could help communities respond to climate risks.
“No green transition can succeed if it leaves people out,” Wabulya said, adding that women, young people, rural communities, smallholder farmers and vulnerable populations must benefit from the transformation.
Fred Otuunu, Director of Corporate Affairs at the Uganda Communications Commission, said Uganda’s development priorities included improved agricultural productivity, competitive businesses, reliable public services, decent jobs and healthy communities.
UNICEF Country Representative Dr Robin Nandy said water, sanitation and hygiene were essential to both human development and climate resilience.
“They are essential to children’s health, community well-being, human capital development, climate resilience, and sustainable growth,” Nandy said.
He added that digital transformation could accelerate green growth, improve resource efficiency and promote economic inclusion.
IOM calls for a human-centred transition
Sanusi Tejan Savage, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Uganda, said the green and digital transitions needed to address the needs of people affected by climate change, including migrants, displaced persons, refugees and host communities.
“Uganda’s transition to a green economy depends on partnerships, innovation, and decisive action,” Savage said.
He said the transition should expand access to services, protect human dignity, strengthen resilience and create opportunities for vulnerable communities.
Savage also called for investment in digital accessibility, skills, reliable energy and institutions capable of managing innovation responsibly. He said data should help institutions anticipate climate risks and act before vulnerable communities faced crises and displacement.
Banks and businesses urged to invest in green industries
Gift Shoko, Managing Director of Equity Bank Uganda, said the bank intended to prioritise manufacturing and food and agriculture in its lending.
“Our lending will prioritise manufacturing, with 50% of funds allocated to the sector, and food and agriculture, with 30%, while promoting financial inclusion and transforming subsistence farmers into enterprise farmers,” Shoko said.
Nicolas Oebel, Country Director of Enabel, the Belgian development agency in Uganda, called for greater investment in green skills and cooperation between public and private sector actors to develop green value chains.
“The green transition will only become sustainable when it becomes economically viable,” Oebel said.
He said linking skills, enterprises and markets could create business opportunities and decent jobs for young people. Enabel’s green economy work in Uganda is supported by the European Union and the Kingdom of Belgium, according to the agency’s statement.
Adekemi Ndieli, UN Women Uganda Country Representative, called for interventions to focus on communities that risk being excluded from the transition.
“We need to target areas where evidence and statistics show that communities are being left behind,” Ndieli said.
Edrine Muhumuza, founder of Youth Go Green Africa, called for sustainable solutions to deforestation and soil erosion. He also raised concerns about schools lacking access to clean water.
Lynette B. Bagonza, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, highlighted the need to align industrial growth with environmental sustainability.
Her address focused on cleaner production, energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste reduction and the adoption of technologies that can improve industrial productivity while reducing environmental damage.
The ministry’s position was that Uganda could use the green transition to strengthen domestic manufacturing, create jobs, improve competitiveness and expand access to regional and international markets.
Achieving this would require coordinated policies, investment, skills development and support for businesses to meet changing sustainability standards.
Closing the dialogue, Rt Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, the first deputy prime minister of Uganda and the minister for East African Community Affairs, in a speech delivered on her behalf, linked the green economy to public well-being and the protection of natural systems.
“A green economy means the well-being of the people. It also means protecting the natural systems in which this development will occur at all times,” the remarks stated.
The event also featured a skit by students from Luzira Secondary School, illustrating the event’s theme through a performance promoting environmental responsibility and sustainable practices.
