Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has challenged the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) to move beyond recording investment commitments and issuing licences, insisting that every investment entering the country must translate into jobs, increased production, value addition and tangible economic benefits for Ugandans.
Musasizi made the call during an entry meeting with the UIA Board, led by Board Chair Dr Robert Kyamanywa, in the presence of Minister of State for Privatization and Investment Amina Mukalazi.
The minister said Uganda’s investment agenda must be judged not merely by the volume of capital attracted or the number of licences issued, but by what investors actually contribute to the economy.
He placed job creation, investor facilitation, local content and the mobilisation of both domestic and foreign capital at the centre of UIA’s mandate, aligning the authority’s work with the Government’s Ten-Fold Growth Strategy.
“Investment must go beyond licenses and headline figures,” was the central message from the meeting, with the government seeking to ensure that capital deployed in Uganda generates measurable economic activity.
The renewed emphasis comes as Uganda seeks to accelerate industrialisation, expand manufacturing and increase the participation of Ugandans in productive sectors of the economy.
From investment figures to jobs
For years, investment attraction has been measured largely through announced projects, pledged capital and investment licences. Musasizi’s directive signals a stronger focus on what happens after investors arrive.
The Finance Minister wants UIA to ensure that investment translates into employment opportunities, expanded production, value addition, exports and increased participation of local businesses in supply chains.
This means that attracting a factory, processing plant or other major investment will increasingly need to be assessed against its actual economic footprint — including how many Ugandans it employs, how much it produces locally and how much value it adds to Uganda’s raw materials.
The approach also places greater emphasis on local content, with government seeking to ensure that Ugandan enterprises are not left on the margins of major investment projects.
The objective is to create an investment ecosystem in which foreign and domestic investors work alongside local manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and entrepreneurs.
UIA targets domestic investors
Dr Kyamanywa told the meeting that UIA has strengthened its focus on domestic investment, including efforts to identify and promote investment opportunities outside Kampala.
The authority is undertaking nationwide mobilisation and profiling of investment opportunities, with Greater Masaka and Gulu among the areas being targeted.
The strategy is intended to encourage Ugandans to move beyond trading and other low-value activities into manufacturing, processing and value addition.
The push for domestic investment is particularly significant because Uganda’s industrialisation ambitions cannot depend entirely on foreign capital.
By identifying opportunities and connecting Ugandan entrepreneurs to viable investment projects, UIA hopes to unlock more locally owned enterprises capable of producing goods for domestic consumption and export.
The Greater Masaka and Gulu initiatives are therefore expected to provide a model for identifying investment opportunities across other regions.
Investment licences now processed within 24 hours
UIA also reported improvements in investor facilitation, with investment licences now being processed within 24 hours.
This represents a reduction from the previous 48-hour target and reflects efforts to make Uganda’s investment environment more responsive to businesses.
The authority has further set its sights on reducing the processing time to below 20 hours where possible.
Faster licensing is intended to reduce bureaucratic delays and make it easier for investors to establish and expand operations.
However, the discussions also made clear that efficient licensing is only one part of the investment equation.
Once an investor has obtained a licence, the business still requires land, roads, electricity, water, wastewater management and other infrastructure to operate successfully.
This is where UIA’s investor facilitation and aftercare functions become critical.
Industrial parks face infrastructure constraints
The UIA Board outlined plans to expand industrial parks while acknowledging a number of challenges that continue to affect their effectiveness.
Among the constraints highlighted were land titling, inadequate roads, power tariffs, infrastructure gaps, water supply and wastewater management.
The challenges surrounding the Namanve wastewater treatment plant were also highlighted as an issue requiring attention.
Industrial parks are central to Uganda’s industrialisation strategy because they are intended to provide investors with serviced land and infrastructure necessary for manufacturing and other productive activities.
But delays in land documentation, inadequate roads, expensive electricity and insufficient water and wastewater systems can increase the cost of doing business and undermine the competitiveness of companies operating within the parks.
The UIA Board’s plans therefore point to the need for closer coordination between the investment authority and government agencies responsible for infrastructure, land, energy and utilities.
Government pushes digital investment management
The meeting also highlighted the need for stronger digital systems within UIA, including the development of an electronic database to improve investment management and investor services.
A comprehensive digital investment database could give government a clearer picture of the projects licensed, their locations, sectors, capital invested, employment created and operational status.
Such a system would also help UIA identify investors whose projects have stalled and determine the obstacles preventing them from becoming operational.
This is particularly important because announced investments do not always translate immediately into operating businesses.
Better data would allow government to distinguish between investment commitments and actual investments that are generating economic activity.
Mukalazi demands stronger investor aftercare
Minister of State for Privatization and Investment Amina Mukalazi challenged UIA to strengthen its investor aftercare services.
She said the authority should remain engaged with businesses after issuing licences, understand the challenges they face and help them overcome obstacles that could prevent expansion and job creation.
The emphasis on aftercare reflects a shift from viewing UIA’s responsibility as ending once an investor has been licensed.
Instead, the authority is expected to maintain relationships with investors throughout the life of their projects.
This could involve helping businesses navigate government agencies, resolving infrastructure-related challenges, supporting expansion plans and identifying opportunities for additional investment.
Mukalazi also called for one-stop centres to be fully operational and provide meaningful services to investors.
The centres are intended to reduce the burden on investors by bringing key government services closer together rather than forcing businesses to move between multiple institutions to secure approvals and services.
The test is now implementation
The meeting has placed a clear responsibility on UIA to demonstrate that Uganda’s investment drive is producing results beyond impressive statistics.
The government wants investment to create jobs, strengthen local content, increase manufacturing, support exports and promote value addition.
For domestic investors, the ambition is to encourage more Ugandans to invest in productive sectors instead of concentrating capital in activities that generate limited value.
For foreign investors, the expectation is that their presence should create stronger linkages with the Ugandan economy through employment, procurement, technology transfer, production and exports.
The challenge will be ensuring that these ambitions are translated into measurable outcomes.
Uganda has continued to market itself as an attractive investment destination, but the success of that strategy ultimately depends on whether investors can establish, operate and expand profitable businesses.
For UIA, this means its performance will increasingly be measured not only by how quickly it attracts or licences investors, but by how effectively it helps turn investment commitments into functioning businesses.
The government’s message is therefore straightforward: investment figures alone are no longer enough.
Every major investment must contribute to Uganda’s broader economic transformation by creating employment, increasing production, adding value to local resources, opening opportunities for Ugandan businesses and strengthening the country’s industrial and export base.
With UIA now under pressure to deliver on those outcomes, the next test will be whether faster licensing, expanded industrial parks, stronger investor aftercare and improved digital systems can translate into more factories, more production and, ultimately, more jobs for Ugandans.
