President Museveni commissions cassava starch processing plant in Namasagali
The facility sits on over 5,000 acres and is spearheaded by Ugandan scientist and entrepreneur Dr Matthias Magoola under Dei BioPharma Ltd.
President Yoweri Museveni commissions the starch plant in Kamuli as propriator Dr Mathias Magoola (R), founder of Dei BioPharma, First Lady Janet and other leaders look on at Namasagali in Kamuli district. (PPU photos)
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President Yoweri Museveni has commissioned a US$50m cassava starch processing plant in Namasagali, Kamuli District, marking a major milestone in Uganda’s push toward industrialisation and pharmaceutical self-reliance.
The facility sits on over 5,000 acres and is spearheaded by Ugandan scientist and entrepreneur Dr Matthias Magoola under Dei BioPharma Ltd.
The project, according to a release from the Presidential Press Unit, forms the first phase of what is projected to become Africa’s largest industrial park dedicated to pharmaceutical and food-grade processing.
This investment is expected to drastically reduce Uganda’s import bill for pharmaceutical raw materials such as starch, glucose, maltose, and fructose, inputs that the country has historically relied on from foreign markets.
At the official commissioning of the plant on Thursday, November 20, President Museveni, who was accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni, cut a ribbon before inspecting the complex state-of-the-art facility.
The Namasagali plant is designed to create over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, support cassava farmers with a guaranteed market, and stimulate local industry by supplying key materials essential for drug manufacturing.
At the launch, Dr Magoola revealed that his partners had mobilised approximately US$150 million for several projects, with an ambitious long-term goal of transforming the area into a US$10 billion new city anchored by industrial science and innovation.
“We are producing five products, namely: pharmaceutical grade starch, food grade starch, glucose, maltose, and fructose, and this is the largest on the African continent,” Dr Magoola said.
President Museveni, who commended Dr Magoola for his resilience and innovation, criticised individuals whom he said had previously frustrated the scientist’s efforts.
“I want to congratulate Magoola as a very innovative person. Africans don’t like innovation. They are used to sleeping. They don’t want new things. Africans need to critique themselves and support new individuals with innovative ideas. I know young people can have very good ideas. Even when I started fighting, some people thought I was mad,” Museveni lectured.
He remarked that Uganda’s indigenous knowledge, long overlooked, was increasingly proving its global value.
“These Americans have come here to support this work. Now, all these other foreigners should know there is ancient knowledge here, and this knowledge can help the whole world. Regarding cassava, all these are gold mines because they are needed in the world. This is all wealth. But Africans are sleeping.”
Dr Mathias Magoola (L), the founder of Dei BioPharma, taking President Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni on a guided tour of the starch manufacturing plant at Namasagali in Kamuli district.
However, President Museveni cautioned small landholders against blindly turning to cassava production for industrial use without understanding profitability.
“We must be clear about the earnings per acre per year. If it’s not much, we shouldn’t repeat the mistake of sugarcane, where people with small land copied those with huge chunks of land,” he advised.
More projects
Dr Magoola revealed several projects being developed at the industrial park.
He disclosed that the company had secured a global patent for a foot and mouth disease vaccine, the first of its kind in the world, and was preparing to manufacture and supply the vaccine across Africa.
“We own a patent on a foot and mouth vaccine for the first time in the world. We’re going to be able to supply foot and mouth vaccines on the African continent for the first time,” he revealed.
Dr Magoola further announced plans for a 1,000-bed sickle cell hospital equipped to administer a cure approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).
The therapies are currently unavailable in Africa due to high treatment costs.
Dr Magoola also highlighted progress in developing Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs, among the most profitable pharmaceutical products globally, because of their widespread use in diabetes and weight management.
According to him, the USFDA had approved their development plan, and the products could potentially inject US$15 billion into the Ugandan economy.
“This is his vision,” Dr Magoola said of President Museveni, expressing gratitude for the Head of State’s support over the years.
“He has guided me as a young boy when I went to him with an innovation to treat malaria, and he believed in me. When taken to the United States, the malaria drug was found to kill more parasites than known drugs on the market.”
Dr Magoola also confirmed that the government had committed more than US$200 million towards developing the Dei BioPharma facility in Matugga, another flagship pharmaceutical project.
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, commended the President and the innovators for the milestone, describing it as a testament to the NRM’s 2026 campaign theme of “protecting the gains.”
“In all the places you have moved into, this place emphasises the NRM’s campaign theme of protecting the gains. This is one of the gains we are protecting because this was not here previously,” Kadaga said, urging the government to expedite the power line from Isimba to support the expanding industrial base in the region.
Several ministers, Members of Parliament, government officials, and leaders from the Busoga sub-region attended the events.