UFZEPA pushes for export growth

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According to UFZEPA Executive Director Hez Kimoomi Alinda, Uganda has set its sights on creating 50,000 jobs and increasing exports to nearly $26 billion by 2030. 

The authority, established in 2024 following the merger of the former Uganda Free Zones Authority and the Uganda Export Promotion Board, is positioning itself as a central driver of Uganda’s industrialisation and export-led growth agenda, in line with Vision 2040 and the government’s Tenfold Growth ambition.

UFZEPA Executive Director Hez Kimoomi Alinda said the new institution was designed to eliminate fragmentation in export promotion and Free Zone development, while accelerating the delivery of infrastructure needed to attract export-oriented investors.

“Increasingly, investors do not want to get entangled in setting up basic enabling infrastructure such as water, electricity, ICT and waste management systems,” Alinda said in a release. “They want to find this infrastructure already in place, and that is the responsibility of government through public Special Economic Zones.”

Over the next five years, UFZEPA plans to expand the number of public Special Economic Zones from one to five, establish agro-export processing hubs in districts including Kumi and Mubende, and formalise tourism and recreation zones to diversify Uganda’s export base.

If achieved, UFZEPA projections indicate that by the 2029/30 financial year, Uganda’s total exports could approach $26b, with exports from Special Economic Zones exceeding $2b. The authority also estimates $3.4b in new investment and the creation of 50,000 jobs, alongside a marked increase in the share of manufactured goods in Uganda’s export portfolio.

The government views the Free Zones strategy as a key lever for shifting Uganda away from primary commodity exports towards higher-value manufacturing and services, as competition for investment intensifies across the region.

However, the authority started operations amid significant constraints. UFZEPA faces a financing gap estimated at sh1.198 trillion, limited availability of large, contiguous land suitable for public Free Zones, and inconsistencies in the application of tax incentives, which have previously undermined Uganda’s competitiveness.

Despite these challenges, progress has been registered, with the Entebbe International Airport Free Zone nearing completion. The facility is expected to play a critical role in supporting logistics-intensive manufacturing, value addition and re-export activities.