Local fashion designers to benefit from industrial park-based textile industries

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The government is set to support local fashion designer products of participants at the Uganda One Festival by manufacturing their works, New Vision Online has learnt.

Operation Wealth Creation director of operations Sylvia Owori says local textile industries in Uganda's industrial parks will help local fashion designers participating in the Uganda One Festival to produce their products using high-quality technology machines, which will give their products a new, high-quality look compared to the one they have presently.

 ‘‘The local textile industries will help Uganda's textile and garment products of the participants at the festival get more visibility in the world over, due to their high-quality look and advertising them, hence increasing our GDP through local export shifting from raw cotton exports to finished garments, Owori said.

She was addressing the media in Kampala city on April 30, 2026, announcing the second edition of the festival and opening of the exhibitors' registration.

(L-R): Joseph Ntare NSSF representative, Arthur Manafa, UTB Senior Manager, Sarah Muheki a URSB representative, Sylvia Owori, Chief Executive Officer of Zipa Modeling Agency and Solomon Owori, the Head of Walk Foundation at the One Uganda second edition launch. (Photo by Bridget Ahurira)

The festival will run under the theme: We Are One, and aims at uniting Ugandans across culture, business and innovation.

The Uganda One Festival is a major national cultural and creative event showcasing Uganda's diverse talents across music, film, fashion, and technology. It serves as a, "unifying platform" for creatives to tap into government funding and celebrate Ugandan heritage with free admission.

Owori, who doubles as the chairperson of the Uganda One festival, said fashion designers from all regions of Uganda will register, be vetted, and those who will have excelled will showcase their products at the Grand Finale, December 7-11, 2026, at the Kololo Independence Grounds.

Solomon Aboda, the chairperson of the WALK creatives in Northern Uganda, who represented the creatives, asked all members of the different domains to start preparing and ensure they register with an aim of participating at the event.

He said the festival will roll out regional activations across the central, Western, Eastern, and Northern regions, while engaging communities each month with exhibitions, performances, networking, and market opportunities.   

Aboda added that the festival will roll out regional activations, allowing participants to engage audiences at the grassroots level before culminating in a grand finale in Kampala later in the year.

Joseph Ntale, the marketing and brand manager at National Social Security Fund (NSSF), said the fund has injected shillings 50 million in the 2nd edition of the Uganda One Festival as sponsorship to reinforce the creative industry in the country.

He appealed to performing artists to save for the future with NSSF, funds that will help them during their retirement age.

Key partners include the Uganda Registration Services Bureau, the Uganda Tourism Board, the gender ministry and the Uganda Wildlife Authority.