- In 2020, India's investments in Uganda hit USD$200 million.
The Association of Indians in Uganda has called upon investors in foreign countries to consider Uganda as more potential land for investment.
The development came as the Indian community in Uganda gathered for two days of the Afro-Indian Investment Summit held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, marking 100 years of the Indian Association in Uganda anniversary in the country.
Sponsored by Diamond Trust bank, and Grant Thornton among other companies. A total of eighteen countries participated in this summit and agreed on attracting more foreign investors to invest in untapped potential areas, minerals, and sectors including Mineral mining and value addition, Agro-processing and value addition, and information and communication technology among others.
With 15 years of experience in Uganda, Thambi Varghese, the Managing Director of Diamond Trust Bank, noted that Uganda is a one-stop center that has all materials needed to make investment easy.
“When we look at the reports of imports and exports in Uganda, we see that we import more. In 2021 we imported 10.65 billion which brought in 30% more than the previous year. In 2020, because of the Covid situation, imports were slightly less by only 3.17%. In 2019, we had done about 8.7billion and in 2018 it was 7.10% imports much more than exports,” said Varghese.
He added: “So even though we have done a lot of import substitutes, still we will import more than export and that is the opportunity every investor needs. The Buy Uganda Build Uganda will put both Uganda and India on a higher level.”
“I am hundred percent sure that once you invest in Uganda you can’t regret. We hereby encourage investors in the diaspora to come on board and specifically do foreign direct investment in Uganda. For example those in South Africa, Germany, Spain, and many more.” Remarked Varghese.
The last day of the summit was graced by Jessica Alupo, the Vice President of Uganda, who appreciated the association’s efforts to develop Uganda and encouraged more engagements to continue in the state.
India has consistently remained one of the top investors in Uganda with an estimated investment worth US$1bn in the last two decades. In 2020, India's investments in Uganda hit USD$200 million. The trade between the two countries is still skewed in favor of India. In 2020, Uganda exported and imported goods worth US$56.98Million and US$959.11 Million respectively.