Uganda trade and investment roadshow seeks to unlock investment across borders
The roadshow, which has attracted more than 150 participants from 10 nationalities, is focusing on opportunities in agriculture, coffee, manufacturing, mining, trade and innovation, with organisers seeking to connect businesses with capital, markets, technology and strategic partnerships
KAMPALA, September 15, 2026 — Uganda is seeking to deepen trade and investment across the borders as business leaders, investors, policymakers and private-sector stakeholders gathered in Kampala for the 2026 Uganda Trade and Investment Roadshow organised by Equity Bank Uganda, seeking to unlock cross-border trade and investments.
The roadshow, which has attracted more than 150 participants from 10 nationalities, is focusing on opportunities in agriculture, coffee, manufacturing, mining, trade and innovation, with organisers seeking to connect businesses with capital, markets, technology and strategic partnerships.
Speaking at the opening of the Uganda leg of the mission on Monday at Kampala Marriot Hotel, Uganda’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Sanjay Tanna, said government is accelerating investment in value addition, manufacturing, innovation and skills to translate its economic potential into jobs and higher incomes.
Tanna said Uganda’s youthful population, natural resources, strategic location and growing regional markets provide a strong foundation for economic growth, but urged businesses to move beyond exporting raw materials into value addition.
He said Uganda is targeting a tenfold expansion of its economy under the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), with agro-processing, tourism, mineral extraction, and science, technology and innovation identified as key drivers.
Tanna said Uganda’s gross domestic product has reached approximately US$ 69 billion, but warned that the country must do more to capture value from its raw materials rather than exporting them in unprocessed form.
He particularly pointed to coffee, agriculture and minerals as sectors where greater value addition could generate more income and employment.
“The ambition is to grow our economy tenfold under NDP IV,” Tanna said, highlighting the need to accelerate the shift from primary production to value addition.
He also cited Uganda’s infrastructure, power generation capacity, liberalised foreign exchange regime and access to regional and continental markets as some of the country’s investment advantages.
Tanna called for greater financial literacy among micro, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs], affordable development capital and stronger collaboration between businesses and financial institutions.
He said partnerships with institutions such as Equity Bank could help local businesses access the financing and other resources needed to expand.
The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to working with investors and private-sector players to create an environment in which businesses can establish, grow and expand.
Equity Bank Uganda Executive Director Claver Serumaga said bringing together businesses, policymakers, investors, technology providers and markets was critical to converting business connections into actual commercial opportunities.
Serumaga said Uganda’s industrial transformation would require more than access to finance, arguing that businesses also need technology, knowledge, markets, investment and strategic partnerships to scale.
“Industrial transformation requires more than financing,” Serumaga said. “Businesses need access to markets, technology, knowledge, investment and strategic partnerships to scale.”
He said the country’s opportunity lies in moving beyond primary production towards processing, packaging, branding, technology, commercialisation and access to international markets.
Coffee, he said, illustrates the potential for Uganda to capture a larger share of the value generated along global supply chains.
“The opportunity is not only in producing coffee, but in capturing more value and connecting Ugandan businesses to higher value markets,” Serumaga said.
He added that the success of trade missions should ultimately be measured by the partnerships initiated, investments unlocked and transactions generated, as well as the business relationships that continue after the mission.
The delegates arrived in Kampala on Monday and were hosted to a welcome cocktail ahead of a series of business and sector engagements aimed at identifying investment and trade opportunities in Uganda and the wider East African region.
While welcoming the participants, Equity Group Associate Director for Trade Relations, Mahvish Malik, reaffirmed the group’s commitment to facilitating cross-border business growth and connecting enterprises to opportunities across East Africa.
The programme includes business networking, market linkages, site visits and sector engagements intended to give participants direct exposure to investment opportunities on the ground.
The organisers said the engagements are expected to create pathways for partnerships, market access and sustainable economic growth, particularly in sectors with potential for regional and international expansion.
The roadshow will subsequently move to Rwanda, extending the engagements and Equity Group’s efforts to connect businesses, investors and markets across the region.
The initiative comes as East African countries seek to increase intra-regional trade and investment by strengthening business linkages and encouraging private-sector participation in economic transformation.
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