President Yoweri Museveni has urged Japan to think of economically linking up with Africa because the African Continent has ready and available market to consume Japanese products and services.
“Japan has been growing at a small rate of like 1%. Japan should work with Africa because it has a growing population that has been under-consuming,” he observed.
The President was receiving a delegation of Japanese investors, led by Ms. Kalpana Abe, who called on him last evening at State House, Entebbe and have expressed interest to invest in the banking, agriculture, and information and technology sectors in Uganda.
The Japanese investors unveiled a proposal of starting up a ‘Smart City’ that would be self sustaining, technology oriented and would have a commercial bank that focuses on agricultural and mortgage financing.
Mr. Museveni welcomed the idea and said that it would be good for farmers to get a bank that would give them loans at cheaper interest rate compared to the current commercial banks in Uganda that only focus on traders.
“Interest rates are high because banks are interested in commercial people, like traders. An agricultural bank would be very good,” the President noted.
Mr. Museveni promised to the Japanese entrepreneurs that the Government of Uganda would avail them land and licenses in order help them commence their proposed projects.