Over the last couple of weeks i have had the pleasure of meeting with 2 of East Africa’s leaders. Both President Museveni of Uganda and President Nkurunziza of Burundi were in London for the British hosted Somali talks.
CBC hosted President Museveni for lunch where he Launched Uganda’s new tourism initiative and discussed the business and investment climate in Uganda. The President spoke with a great deal of authority on many issues affecting Uganda and made a strong impression on the business leaders gathered for the Lunch. His views and plans to ensure Uganda’s newly discovered natural resources are a boon for the whole of Ugandan society was particularly interesting.
The following day I held talks with President Nkurunziza of Burundi. I don’t know Burundi as well as the other EAC countries as it is not yet a Commonwealth Member. However I was pleased to hear from the President that his country has begun the office petitioning process to join the Commonwealth. In many ways echoing President Kagame before Rwanda joined, President Nkurunziza spoke of the importance of connecting his country’s businesses more fully with the English speaking world, and explained how he has already made English the main language in schools. I offered the President CBC’s services in helping link up Burundi with Commonwealth Investors and businesses.
Burundi joining the Commonwealth will make the EAC a Commonwealth Exclusive Club, this I feel will help bind the Union together and make in a strong investment and business destination.
CBC hopes to return to East Africa in early 2013 to hold its flagship Africa Event the Africa Investment Forum in Kampala Uganda; both Presidents were supportive of the plan.
Showing posts with label Uganda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uganda. Show all posts
Friday, 9 March 2012
Monday, 1 February 2010
Talks in Uganda
Last week I was in Uganda to follow up on talks I had with President Museveni, while he was at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Trinidad and Tobago last November. We discussed how CBC could increase it interaction with Uganda, over the coming year, to develop an investment promotion programme, particularly focused on the areas of agriculture and skills development.
At meetings with the Minister of Finance, Hon. Syda Bbumba, I discussed the practical functions of the programme and the implementation details, particularly how we would help generate the required investment to support the growth of both small and commercial farms. We also discussed a similar plan for skills promotion in the country.
Before leaving the country on Thursday, I met with the Uganda Investment Authority, where it was agreed that CBC would bring its prestigious Africa Investment Forum to Uganda in February 2011 and that work would continue on the development of a large scale ICT park outside Kampala.
At meetings with the Minister of Finance, Hon. Syda Bbumba, I discussed the practical functions of the programme and the implementation details, particularly how we would help generate the required investment to support the growth of both small and commercial farms. We also discussed a similar plan for skills promotion in the country.
Before leaving the country on Thursday, I met with the Uganda Investment Authority, where it was agreed that CBC would bring its prestigious Africa Investment Forum to Uganda in February 2011 and that work would continue on the development of a large scale ICT park outside Kampala.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Ugandan Infrastructure and FDI
I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with HE Yoweri Museveni the President of Uganda last weekend while he was passing though the UK on the way to New York. President Museveni hosted CHOGM and Commonwealth Business Forum in 2007, it was good to catch up and talk.
A couple of Points he raised were of particular interest;
1)
Firstly, Uganda is re-prioritising reducing the Infrastructure gap as quickly as possible. A renewed focus on building and renovating, roads, rail, ports and especially power generation and delivery will remove one of the largest hurdles to development and growth.
2)
The Second point was perhaps the more pertinent; President Museveni made it clear that while he will more than welcome Foreign Direct Investment, the Ugandan Government was prepared to pursue large Infrastructure projects alone. The Financial crisis has made accessing traditional sources of funding harder than ever before, and with the discovery of oil in the Lake Alberta region earlier this year; Uganda now has a greater confidence that it can find its own solutions to its infrastructure issues.
The government is continuously increasing its allocation for infrastructure projects in annual budgets, this is good news. Uganda and other African countries are becoming more confident in shaping their future, similar sentiments were expressed by the Presidents of Ghana and Rwanda when I met them recently.
A couple of Points he raised were of particular interest;
1)
Firstly, Uganda is re-prioritising reducing the Infrastructure gap as quickly as possible. A renewed focus on building and renovating, roads, rail, ports and especially power generation and delivery will remove one of the largest hurdles to development and growth.
2)
The Second point was perhaps the more pertinent; President Museveni made it clear that while he will more than welcome Foreign Direct Investment, the Ugandan Government was prepared to pursue large Infrastructure projects alone. The Financial crisis has made accessing traditional sources of funding harder than ever before, and with the discovery of oil in the Lake Alberta region earlier this year; Uganda now has a greater confidence that it can find its own solutions to its infrastructure issues.
The government is continuously increasing its allocation for infrastructure projects in annual budgets, this is good news. Uganda and other African countries are becoming more confident in shaping their future, similar sentiments were expressed by the Presidents of Ghana and Rwanda when I met them recently.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Africa to buck recessionary trend
While visiting East Africa last week I had the opportunity to meet with both President Museveni of Uganda and President Kagame of Rwanda to discuss the global financial crisis. It is apparent that there is a lot of innovative thinking going on in Africa right now, around how to resist the severe impact of the Global crisis and maintain the flow of FDI.
A Recent article in Time Magazine ‘Africa a Business Destination’ demonstrated this, reporting that while ‘Africa, usually the poorest performing region in the world economy, is now likely to be among the best-performing’. A consequence of not venturing into the derivatives markets or subprime lending as the west did has left the continent relatively immune to the Global Crisis. While recent the latest estimates for global growth this year look bleak, the same article reports that Africa will ‘buck the recessionary trend’ and grow over 3% this year.
New ideas are emerging regarding investment in Africa in sectors such as Agriculture, Infrastructure and ICT. It is a new reliance on business as cash rich countries such as China and the Middle East look for new markets in which to invest, that will fuel this growth. Even the Investment funds in the UK, Europe and the US are beginning to take serious notice of Africa as an investment destination, practically the agriculture sector.
A Recent article in Time Magazine ‘Africa a Business Destination’ demonstrated this, reporting that while ‘Africa, usually the poorest performing region in the world economy, is now likely to be among the best-performing’. A consequence of not venturing into the derivatives markets or subprime lending as the west did has left the continent relatively immune to the Global Crisis. While recent the latest estimates for global growth this year look bleak, the same article reports that Africa will ‘buck the recessionary trend’ and grow over 3% this year.
New ideas are emerging regarding investment in Africa in sectors such as Agriculture, Infrastructure and ICT. It is a new reliance on business as cash rich countries such as China and the Middle East look for new markets in which to invest, that will fuel this growth. Even the Investment funds in the UK, Europe and the US are beginning to take serious notice of Africa as an investment destination, practically the agriculture sector.
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