Written by Simone Pagani
Raeding time: 4 minutes
Uganda: A Land of Opportunity and Challenges
Africa in general is a continent which has been showing promising growth signs in recent years with one of these countries being Uganda, regarded as the pearl of Africa, situated in the center of this great continent. It is primarily a market-based economy in possession of a vast quantity of natural resources coupled with one of the fastest-growing and youngest populations on the planet with an average of four out of five being under the age of 30. (International Trade Administration, 2023)
Uganda’s GDP is still characterized by a strong presence of the agricultural sector which employs on average 68% of the total workforce and makes up for one fourth of the country’s GDP. Though Uganda is subject to extensive poverty, with almost half the population living below the international poverty line ($2.15 per day), it is expected to reduce this to 39% by 2025. The poverty reduction plan is led by their Parish Development Model (PDM) which also explains the increase in public spending of 9.5% compared to the previous financial year. (International Trade Administration, 2023)
Uganda’s external policy with their foreign trade and their open market regime provide an inviting foreign investment opportunity, nonetheless this is contrasted with endemic corruption, capital mismanagement and onerous tax regime which are the main reasons for the lack of investment in the country. In addition, their recent passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) indicates a conservative view on LGBTQ+ matters which may keep away some investors. (International Trade Administration, 2023)
According to UBOS, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the three main trading partners of Uganda are China (reaching a total amount of $1.5 billion), the United Arab Emirates (roughly at $1 billion) and India ($897 million), there are no major western players demonstrating the potential for the EU to enter such a market as well. (International Trade Administration, 2023)
The main reasons why Uganda could be a market to consider can be summarized into four main points. Firstly, it has a growing free market economy with the IMF projecting and average growth of 6% in the following three fiscal years. Secondly, it has a substantial and rapidly growing consumer market thanks to its rapid population growth estimated to be roughly 3%, which according to the World Bank is one of the highest in the world. Thirdly, it has a dynamic agricultural sector thanks to its abundant fertile lands and a strong labor force with more than half of the population employed in this sector. Finally, the East African Community customs union, or simply known as the EAC, which allows Uganda to engage in the free movement of goods with other countries part of this cooperation agreement. (International Trade Administration, 2023)
Sustainable Development in Uganda: Progress and Prospects
The expected growth of Uganda’s economy in the medium term is mainly thanks to the Bank of Uganda’s approach to a less stringent monetary policy and the government’s openness to more export diversification and agro-industrialization efforts. (The World Bank, 2024)
Shifting the focus more on sustainability, let us analyze how well Uganda has been able to maintain its targets and progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) created by the UN to promote “a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” (United Nations, 2024). The goals aim were created together with the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” by a UN Summit in New York in 2015 and aim at eliminating poverty and hunger, protect the planet from degradation, ensure future and longterm prosperity for future populations, foster peaceful societies and encourage global cooperation for sustainable. (United Nations, 2015)
Uganda set forth the so-called Vision 2040, a blueprint which serves to develop long-term national development policies through a set of 6 National Development Plans. (Roadmap for the Implementation of the Sdgs in Uganda 2020/21 – 2024/25, 2020). Overall, it has made progress with the implementation of their Second National Development Plan (NDP II) and their current ongoing Third National Development Plan (NDP III), which is aimed more at increasing household income and quality of life. NDP III is expected to improve the total SDG attainment by 10.1% by 2030. Furthermore, a study suggests that NDP III would be most beneficial if all plans are implemented together due to their joint nature (NPA, 2020) and as the deadline for the implementation edges closer, it would be interesting to see the actual impact it has had and if the predictions were accurate.
Overall, Uganda is a country with extensive potential, if the resources and people are managed correctly. Its presence in the world’s fastest growing economies of 2024 further underlines the effectiveness of their current economical and fiscal policies making it an increasingly more interesting country for investors (African Development Bank Group, 2024). In addition, it is rated as one, if not the most secure country for Foreign Direct Investment in East Africa which paired with its investment incentives and future growth couple help accelerate its ambition to become an upper-middle income country by 2040 as planned. (Uganda Investment Authority, 2024).
My name is Simone Pagani, I am a 21 year old half Italian half Filipino student currently enrolled in the BSc Business Administration at KU Leuven. During my upbringing I have had the unique opportunity of living in different countries like Italy, Indonesia, Canada and currently Belgium. These experiences made me develop an innate need of continuously discovering different cultures and peoples which has helped me foster an open minded and unique approach to understanding. Being a content creator allows me to share this point of view with interested individuals and hopefully leads to an open and fair dialogue on important matters between the community, in particular the youth, which represents the future of society.
References
African Development Bank Group. (2024, February 16). Africa dominates list of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024—African Development Bank says in macroeconomic report.
https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africa-dominates-list-worlds-20-fastest-growing-economies-2024-african-development-bank-says-macroeconomic-report-68751
International Trade Administration. (2023, October 13). Uganda – Market Overview.
Www.trade.gov. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/uganda-market-overview#:~:text=Uganda%20is%20a%20market%2Dbased
NPA. (2020). DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Achieving the SDGs with Uganda’s Third National Development Plan Policy Brief.
https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/ug/iSDG-Policy-Brief.pdf
Roadmap for the implementation of the sdgs in uganda 2020/21 – 2024/25. (2020). UNDP. https://www.undp.org/uganda/publications/roadmap-implementation-sdgs-uganda-2020/21-2024/25
The World Bank. (2024, April 3). Overview – Uganda. World Bank.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/uganda/overview
Uganda Investment Authority. (2024). Why Uganda. Uganda Investment Authority. https://www.ugandainvest.go.ug/why-uganda/
United Nations. (2015). Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
United Nations. (2024). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals
