KAMPALA, May 8, 2025 — The Uganda Bankers Association [ UBA ] says the upcoming 2025 Annual Bankers Conference, set to take place on July 29, at the Serena Hotel Kampala will be held under the theme: “Harnessing the Potential and Maximising the Impact of Remittances on Development”.
This says year’s theme, UBA says in a Call for Papers for the conference, highlights the growing significance of remittances to Uganda’s economy and aligns with global trends recognising these financial flows as a critical tool for development, poverty alleviation, and macroeconomic stability.
The Call for Papers, posted on the UBA website, underscores the importance of remittances in sustaining livelihoods and contributing to Uganda’s economic resilience.
“Remittances are no longer just a lifeline for families. They are a powerful driver of national development. The 2025 conference will focus on how the banking sector, policymakers, and other stakeholders can innovate and collaborate to harness this potential more effectively,” it says.
The UBA, established in 1981, is the umbrella body for Uganda’s licensed commercial banks and supervised financial institutions. Its Annual Bankers Conference is now in its eighth edition and is regarded as a flagship platform for thought leadership and sector-wide dialogue.
Remittance inflows to Uganda have shown consistent growth, with the World Bank estimating that in 2023, Ugandans abroad sent home over US$ 1.4 billion, accounting for nearly 3 percent of the country’s GDP. Uganda ranks as the seventh-largest recipient of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa and ninth across the entire continent.
“In recent years, remittances have outperformed traditional exports like coffee and gold in terms of foreign exchange contributions. They are more resilient and less volatile, making them a strategic area of focus for our financial sector.”
The 2025 UBA conference is expected to draw a diverse range of participants including government officials, policymakers, academics, development partners, private sector representatives, and civil society actors.
Key sub-themes of the conference will include: The Economic Impact of Remittances on Growth and Development; Technological Innovations Shaping the Future of Remittances; Addressing Challenges and Risks in the Remittance Ecosystem; The Role of Financial Institutions in Leveraging Remittance Potential
Meanwhile, UBA Call for Papers targets scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. Papers explore the above themes or other relevant topics. Authors of selected papers will be recognised and awarded an honorarium, with the opportunity to present their work at the conference or have it published in UBA’s working paper series.
According to UBA, the ultimate goal of the conference is to foster meaningful discussions that result in actionable policy and regulatory recommendations to improve the efficiency, inclusiveness, and impact of remittance systems in Uganda.
“With Uganda’s increasing reliance on labour externalisation and growing diaspora networks, now is the time to put remittances at the centre of our national development agenda,” UBA says.
UBA notes that Uganda’s labour externalisation has been a major driver of remittance inflows, with official data showing that from 2016 to 2022, over 111,000 Ugandans sought employment in Saudi Arabia, with tens of thousands more working in the UAE and Qatar. Most of these migrant workers are women, who use the money they send home to support families through education, healthcare, and housing.
The conference, UBA says; comes at a time when the global remittance market is demonstrating resilience in the face of global crises. The World Bank recently reported that remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew by 0.7 percent in 2023, reaching US$ 656 billion, despite global economic headwinds.
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