Minister Kyambadde woos Polish investors

Aug 10, 2016

Among the investment opportunities the minister highlighted include the leather sector, oil and gas and agriculture.

PIC: Minister Amelia Kyambade received gifts from visiting Jerzy Bednarek during a meeting at the ministry of trade headquaters in Kampala. (Credit: Francis Emorut)

KAMPALA - The Ugandan minister of trade and industry, Amelia Kyambadde, has called upon investors from Poland to take advantage of investment opportunities in Uganda.

While meeting the chief executive of Geneva Capital Group (DSBJ), Jerzy Bednarek, in Kampala, Kyambadde told him of the areas Poland can invest in.

She talked of investment opportunities in the leather industry, oil and gas, agriculture, minerals development, manufacturing and information communication technology (ICT), transport and logistics and tourisms and wildlife, among others.

Kyambadde said that only seven tanneries are involved in the processing and export of wet blue.

Trade and industry minister Kyambadde said there are virgin areas in Uganda. (Credit: Francis Emorut)


The current production by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is 201,600 pairs of shoes and 115, 200 pieces of small leather goods, added the minister.

Regarding ICT investment opportunities Kyambadde said Polish investors can inject money in software development, hardware assembly, multi-media development, film industry and graphics and rural communication.

And in the oil and gas sector, she said Poland can plough capital venture in extraction, refinery, energy generation, supply of goods and infrastructure.

The minister specifically singled out sectors Uganda is doing badly on as storage facilities in terms of warehousing and silos, marine transport and packaging.

"We need silos badly and nobody has invested in marine transport. It's a virgin area."

The meeting took place in Kampala at the trade ministry headquarters. (Credit: Francis Emorut)


During their meeting though, Kyambadde warned of hurdles investors face when they opt to invest in Uganda. And among them being bureaucratic tendencies, corruption, inadequate human resource and leadership management.

But she assured investors that the bottlenecks can be addressed because President Yoweri Museveni in his fifth term has tasked his minister to ensure that the country achieves the middle-income status and has vowed to fight corruption.

The President has come up with the slogan 'Hakuna mchezo' (meaning 'no jokes') as far as service delivery is concerned.

Jerzy Bednarek is the CEO of Geneva Capital Group (DSBJ). (Credit: Francis Emorut)


On his part, Bednarek said his country has special interest in energy production and automobile, among others.

Poland has over 600 investments in Africa and would be interested to promote 10 in Uganda, he added.

Present in the investment meeting were business partners from CEDA International led by the president and founder Hajjat Rehmah Kasule.

 

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