business

Uganda’s oil and gas sector is focusing on practical skills development to prepare citizens for opportunities within and beyond the industry.

Uganda has flagged off its first export consignment of processed canned pineapples to China in a move expected to boost agro-processing and farmers’ incomes.

The East African Development Bank has launched a USD 13 million fund to provide affordable credit to youth and women-led businesses. The initiative aims to close a massive financing gap and support the transition of small enterprises into the manufacturing sector across East Africa.

The government is banking on grain production, agro-processing and subsidised agricultural financing to drive Uganda’s export growth strategy.

Uganda's government aims to increase agro-industrial exports to $20 billion under the Tenfold Growth Strategy. PSST Ramathan Ggoobi says the plan focuses on value addition, grain processing, and subsidized loans for commercial farmers to boost the country's GDP contribution.

Senior Presidential Advisor Moses Byaruhanga has asked small-scale traders to form structured groups to access low-interest government loans. The initiative aims to support businesses that missed out on PDM and Emyooga funding.

EACOP says Ugandans are increasingly taking over key jobs as the pipeline reaches 84 per cent completion ahead of Uganda’s expected first oil production in July.

Minister of Local Government Raphael Magyezi has confirmed that Cabinet will proceed with the nationwide trade order enforcement. The directive aims to relocate street vendors to formal markets and improve urban hygiene and planning.

The government has introduced Postcom, an online marketplace operated by Posta Uganda, to modernize domestic trade. By leveraging the national postal network for deliveries, the platform aims to empower small businesses and digitize the economy under the supervision of the Uganda Communications Commission.

Uganda's Parliament has approved a 30 percent environmental levy on imported second-hand clothes and increased taxes on cement, sugar, and motorcycle registration. While the new laws introduce a tax amnesty for old debts and raise the VAT threshold to Shs300 million to aid small businesses, critics warn the "mivumba" tax will hurt low-income earners.