The Uganda Coffee Roasters Association (UCRA) has appointed Richard Rugaya of Gorilla Highlands Coffee as its incoming Executive Director, with a mandate to drive commercial growth, expand market access and secure financing for Uganda’s coffee roasting businesses.
In an announcement to its members, the UCRA Board said Rugaya would lead the association under a proposed 2027–2030 Strategic Brief that shifts its focus from industry representation to delivering measurable commercial benefits for member businesses.
The appointment comes as the association seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of Uganda’s coffee roasting industry by expanding domestic coffee consumption, opening up international markets and building partnerships across the coffee value chain.
According to the board, Rugaya’s priorities include growing member businesses, increasing local coffee consumption, unlocking new export markets and mobilising between Shs1 billion and Shs5 billion in financing for members.
The financing target is expected to support the growth ambitions of Ugandan coffee roasters, although the announcement did not specify the funding sources, mobilisation timeline or mechanisms through which members would access the proposed financing.
Focus on measurable results
UCRA said Rugaya’s leadership approach would emphasise accountability and measurable outcomes, with his performance appraisal tied to a scorecard focused on revenue generation, partnership development and market access.
The association said the incoming executive director had also developed a 356-day roadmap intended to guide his first year in office.
The roadmap is structured around three phases: diagnosis, mobilisation and delivery, with the stated objective of producing visible benefits for member businesses within his first year.
The approach signals an emphasis on translating the association’s activities into practical commercial outcomes for coffee roasters, rather than limiting its role to advocacy and industry representation.
The board said Rugaya’s performance would ultimately be judged by whether members could identify tangible business benefits from paying membership dues.
“Can each member clearly identify a tangible business benefit from paying UCRA dues?” the board stated, describing this as the ultimate test of his tenure.
Partnerships to strengthen Uganda’s roasting industry
Rugaya is also expected to prioritise collaboration with key institutions involved in Uganda’s agricultural, standards, trade and export sectors.
The UCRA Board identified the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), standards bodies, trade and export agencies, and financial institutions among the partners the incoming executive director intends to engage.
Such partnerships are intended to help build a more competitive coffee roasting industry through improved coordination, stronger market access and greater access to business financing.
For Uganda’s coffee sector, developing local roasting capacity and expanding the market for roasted coffee are important components of efforts to capture greater value from the country’s coffee production.
However, the association’s announcement did not provide further details on specific programmes, prospective international markets or proposed partnerships under the 2027–2030 strategic framework.
A commercial mandate for UCRA
The appointment places business growth and accountability at the centre of UCRA’s next strategic phase.
Under Rugaya’s proposed approach, the association is expected to pursue initiatives that directly support members’ revenues, market expansion and access to capital, while measuring progress against defined performance targets.
The board expressed confidence that his leadership would help the association deliver stronger commercial outcomes for its members.
UCRA’s proposed 2027–2030 Strategic Brief is expected to provide the broader framework for these ambitions, while the 356-day roadmap will guide the initial implementation phase.
The association has not yet outlined detailed implementation milestones or confirmed how progress against the proposed financing and market-access targets will be reported.
Rugaya’s tenure will therefore be closely associated with the association’s ability to turn its commercial ambitions into measurable gains for Ugandan coffee roasters.
