Centenary Group has committed sh52m towards Makerere University’s centenary celebrations.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at Mapeera House the Centenary Bank Headquarters, Centenary Group executive chairman, Prof. John Ddumba Ssentamu said, ‘I am particularly proud about this event owing to the close relationship between Centenary and Makerere University. All the executives at the helm of the Centenary subsidiaries are all alma mater of the university, namely; Fabian Kasi – Centenary Bank Managing Director, Dr Grace Ssekakubo – Cente Tech Chief Executive Officer and myself.’

He added that over 80% of the Centenary staff are graduates of Makerere University and promised that Centenary Group is willing to offer internship opportunities to students from the university.

He added that the partnership between Uganda’s largest indigenous business entity, Centenary, and Uganda’s largest indigenous university, Makerere will only grow stronger.

“I pledge the support of all Centenary subsidiaries towards the success of the Makerere centenary celebrations,” he added.

Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe lauded the Centenary Group for its support, noting that the group’s dedication to supporting youth in Uganda was of mutual interest to the institution.

“Makerere University welcomes Centenary Group’s support through this partnership that will benefit both the students at Makerere University and the youth in Uganda as a whole. This donation is especially special owing to the presence of my predecessor, former Vice Chancellor Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu, at the helm of Centenary Group. Our continued success as a University is owing to the legacy of leadership of Prof Ddumba and the previous leaders we had,’ he said.  

Nawangwe added that Makerere University and Centenary Group are both in the business of giving the youth a platform to achieve their full potential and that the partnership will therefore inspire their students and the youth, in general, to innovate and contribute significantly to the transformation of Uganda.

Centenary Group has three operating subsidiaries and their headquarters are all located at Mapeera House which is owned by the Group. These are Centenary Bank, Centenary Technology Services and the Centenary Foundation.

Centenary Group also owns Centenary Rural Development Bank; the bank with the largest customer base in Uganda with over 2.5 million customers including 12,000 SACCOS and over 46,000 Village Saving & Lending Associations (VSLA) based in rural areas.  

The bank has an extensive branch network of 80 branches covering all regions of Uganda supported by 189 Automated Teller Machines and over 5,200 bank agents countrywide making the largest footprint in the country.

Centenary Technology Services Limited (Cente-Tech), is a Group technology company, with a combined professional ICT experience of over 75years. As the group technology company, Centenary Technology Services provides technological leadership to the group subsidiaries to enable them to grow and provide meaningful services to the rural poor.

“Centenary Bank is the second-largest commercial bank in Uganda and the leading commercial microfinance bank not only in Uganda but in Africa serving over 2.5 million customers with an asset base of sh4.7 trillion. The focus of the Bank is Financial Inclusion. Our bank is serving its customers through a network of 80 branches, 5,200 agents and 192 ATMs across the country, as well as online banking,” Ddumba added.

The focus areas of the Group Foundation are Education, Environment, Health and the Social Mission of the Catholic Church. Centenary Group Foundation is another company within the Group focusing on implementing programmes that improve the social welfare of the beneficiaries

“Centenary Group with all its subsidiaries will walk with you to make sure that Makerere at 100 celebrations is successful. For 100 years, Makerere University has played a major role in the continuity of communities through the provision of high-quality education – which has been the bedrock for our national prosperity and social progress,” he added.

About the celebrations

Makerere University’s celebrations of 100 years of service to Uganda, Africa, and the world commenced in October 2021 and will climax in October 2022. Opening its doors to 14 day students in 1922, Makerere University has grown to become one of the most prestigious Universities in Africa.

This celebration marks the end of a century of excellence, and offers a chance to look beyond, and see how to participate in Leveraging the 100 Years of Excellence in Building a Transformed Society.