Skip to main content
International Partnerships
News announcement18 March 2020Directorate-General for International Partnerships

Uganda-Europe Business Forum promotes investment and jobs

uganda-europe-business-forum.png

The Uganda-Europe Business Forum, which took place 9-10 March in Kampala, Uganda, brought together over 800 private businesses and investors from Uganda, the EU, and other African countries. During this event, the EU and Uganda also signed an €85.9 million support package to help Ugandan products comply to EU standards in order to increase exports.

This event, a milestone for economic relations between EU and Uganda, opened the door to numerous investment opportunities for EU businesses in Uganda, boosting the country’s economy and creating jobs for its citizens. It also provided numerous networking opportunities between businesses and between business and government, as well as a forum to debate and answer key questions.

The EU also announced an €85.9 million package to support three programmes to help Ugandan products comply to EU standards in order to increase exports. The biggest programme, worth €45 million, will fund an inclusive green economy uptake programme to develop innovative products and projects that reduce environmental risks — a key benchmark for gaining access to the EU market. This programme covers climate-smart agriculture, green cities, eco-tourism, scaling of renewable energy investments that target off-grid and reduction of waste projects, as well as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for households and industry. The remaining 40.9 million will go to two separate programmes, both fostering investments in green economy.

The Uganda-Europe Business Forum took place on the day in which European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, presented in Brussels the EU’s proposals for a new comprehensive strategy with Africa, proposing a number of partnerships in key areas including the green transition and energy access, digital transformation, and sustainable growth and jobs.

The Sustainable Business for Uganda Platform – SB4U was also formally launched at the Forum. The initiative aims to facilitate collaboration between European and Ugandan private and public actors, as well as partnerships between domestic and European companies.

Please note that, this event duly applied the Uganda Ministry of Health’s measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 to Uganda.

Background information

Through the organisation of the first ever Uganda-Europe Business Forum, the EU, in partnership with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the Government of Uganda, aimed at promoting Uganda as an attractive destination for private sector investments to spur sustainable economic growth and jobs generation. The Forum aligned with the priorities of the European Commission, particularly on Green Deals, Sustainable Growth and Jobs, and Digitalisation. It was primarily a private sector-driven exercise, engaging both Ugandan and European companies and potential investors. The Business Forum focused on challenges and opportunities most relevant to current Uganda-EU-business relations. This highly interactive event provided information and working sessions on Uganda's investment and business environment, as well as green and innovation deals, including insights into how European funding can be used to support domestic and EU businesses and partnerships.

Details

Publication date
18 March 2020
Author
Directorate-General for International Partnerships