Who are the experts at Pakasa Forum?

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The 2025 Pakasa Forum, which is set for this Saturday, November 22, has successful entrepreneurs and experts who are ready to transfer knowledge and skills, offer career advice, and help participants navigate challenges, which can lead to greater success.

Organised by Vision Group in partnership with Enterprise Uganda, Centenary Bank, Post Bank/Pearl Bank and Uganda Registration Services Bureau, the forum will run under the theme: Opportunities and Ideas for Growing Businesses.

It will be held at Enterprise Uganda’s newly-constructed multi-billion-shilling business training facility opposite Butabika Hospital in Kampala.

DR CANON GASTER LULE

Lule is a distinguished Ugandan entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist, best known as the managing director and co-founder of Ntake Bakery and Company Limited.

Since establishing the company in 1978 with his wife Edith Lule, he has transformed it from a small family bakery into a dynamic industrial conglomerate with a strong presence across East Africa.

His visionary leadership has positioned Ntake as a model of resilience, innovation and sustainable growth.

Under Lule’s stewardship, Ntake has diversified its operations to include bakery production, flour milling, edible oil refining, paper recycling, concrete batching, and real estate development.

From producing just 2kg of flour a day, the company now boasts a daily output of over 25 metric tonnes, supported by modern facilities across Uganda.

Notably, Lule has overseen the establishment of a 300-metric-tonne wheat mill, the eco-friendly AAA Tissue Factory and the Ntake Edible Oil Refinery at Namanve Industrial Business Park — a milestone in Uganda’s agro-industrial development.

He has prioritised employee development through technical training programmes and international exposure opportunities, nurturing a dedicated workforce of over 1,670 professionals who embody Ntake’s values of discipline, diligence, and devotion to quality.

Lule’s outstanding contributions to Uganda’s industrial sector have earned him several prestigious awards, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year (2015), Standard Chartered Entrepreneur of the Year (2015), and the KCCA Revenue Contribution Award (2022/2023).

CHARLES OCICI

Ocici is the director general of Enterprise Uganda. He has over 30 years of offering professional business development services in Uganda and the rest of Africa. Enterprise Uganda has built capacity for more than 220,000 micro, small and medium-size enterprises across Uganda.

He is a widely respected and notable speaker on entrepreneurship and business management at international conferences organised by the United Nations (UN), the World Bank and the African Union.

Ocici is also a founding director general of Enterprise Uganda, the country’s premier business management and career development institution.

Enterprise Uganda is currently regarded as Africa’s benchmark of best practice in the network of 14 Enterprise Development institutions in Africa established under a UN agency called UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

Some of Enterprise Uganda’s clients are national award winners, while others have won global accolades under the bi-annual Women in Business Awards conducted by UNCTAD.

Ocici has led the institution with distinction, diversifying funding partners to include the Government, World Bank, commercial banks, large corporates, NGOs, and development partners.

AGA SEKALALA JNR

Sekalala Jnr is the executive director of Ugachick Poultry Breeders Ltd and chairperson of Uganda Manufacturers Association.

He is a shareholder and member of the board of directors at Ugachick Poultry Breeders, a leading poultry producer in Uganda.

Sekalala holds a degree in chemical engineering and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. Over the years, he has demonstrated exceptional acumen in business modelling, strategic management, and competitive strategy.

Sekalala began his career with Ugachick in 1992, serving in various management positions until 1996. He later returned to the company in 2010 as executive director, where he continues to play a pivotal role in driving its growth and innovation.

A serial entrepreneur, Sekalala boasts over three decades of hands-on experience in Uganda’s dynamic business environment. His ventures extend beyond poultry production to include the founding of Radio Simba, HOT 100 and Radio Simba Kenya.

His leadership and business insight have earned him positions on several boards and industry bodies. He has served as a director for the Uganda Export Promotion Board, the Uganda Investment Authority, and the Uganda Management Institute. He is also a former chairperson of the Poultry Association of Uganda.

Sekalala’s leadership extends further as chairman of the board for KCB Bank Uganda and as a member of the National Fund for COVID-19.

MATTHIAS MOBIUS

He is the co-founder of Startup Hub Africa (SHA). SHA Consulting Group provides services in the area of corporate innovation and strategy, innovation research and needs assessments for organisations, as well as implements innovation programmes across East Africa.

Since 2017, when it started work in Uganda, the organisation has equipped nearly 5,000 entrepreneurs and students with business skills and supported over 1,000 ventures to access funding. Its Catalyzer programme has supported 18 startups that collectively raised more than $300,000 in follow[1]on funding, while over $200,000 in grants has been distributed to help founders launch and test new ideas.

DOROTHY KYOMUHANGI

Kyomuhangi is one of the panellists. She is an investment and business development professional with more than 15 years of experience in agriculture finance and enterprise growth.

She is an investment associate at Pearl Capital Partners, a specialist agriculture investment firm that has been providing capital to small and medium-sized agribusinesses across East Africa since 2006.

Kyomuhangi is passionate about supporting early-stage enterprises to strengthen their business models and access the financing they need to scale.

She is currently researching innovative climate finance instruments that can unlock greater investment in agribusinesses and drive climate adaptation across agricultural value chains.

DR RUTH AISHA BIYINZIKA KASOLO

Biyinzika is the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises project co-ordinator (funded by the World Bank).

She is passionate about private sector development, human capital enhancement, women empowerment, skills development, trade development, gender mainstreaming, early childhood development and financial services deepening.

Biyinzika has over 20 years of working experience involved in designing and implementing a number of multilateral projects (World Bank, European Union, Department for International Development, ADB).


She has also worked with programmes in Uganda that have increased both social and economic benefits to the private sector. Biyinzika holds a doctorate in business administration, master’s degree in business administration, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

She has also undertaken a number of professional courses in project management, gender and trade policy, small and medium-sized enterprises development, early childhood learning and in Islamic banking.

DR SARAH BIMBONA

Bimbona is the director of the Entrepreneurship and Outreach Centre at Makerere University. She is also a lecturer at the same university.

Between 2023-2025, she went to the University of Edinburgh for a master’s degree in digital education and to Galilee International Management Institute, Israel for a certificate in project management.

Bimbona also went to Monash University in Australia in 2014 for a PhD in marketing and management, Makerere University in 2009 for a Master of Science in marketing, and graduated from Makerere University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Commerce.

She possesses extensive experience in entrepreneurship development, enterprise support, and training, gained through progressive roles in academia, industry and national-level initiatives.

DR DENNIS NGABIRANO

Ngabirano is the CEO and founder of Psalms Food Industries Limited. He is a passionate psychologist, teacher, entrepreneur and Rotarian.

He holds a doctorate in business administration, a master’s of arts in counselling psychology of Ndejje University and a bachelor’s degree in guidance and counselling of St Lawrence University, Uganda and several other certificates.

Besides that, Ngabirano is a qualified primary school teacher with a 12-year of teaching experience. He started a snacks business at a basic level in 2010. Ngabirano has emerged as one of Africa’s finest CEOs in the last 15 years after growing a once $11 business to a fully-fledged ISO certified food company worth over $10m.

The company manufactures over 30 products, ranging from crisps, nuts, butters, extruded snacks, vegetable snacks, as well as baked products under three brand names — Sumz, Afrikan Harvest and Krunchables. The company employs over 500 youth and provides direct market to farmers.

Last year, Ngabirano won an accolade as one of the top 10 most outstanding entrepreneurs in Agro-Foods Processing by The Business Executive Africa.

He recently won an accolade as one of the top 100 most trusted CEOs in East Africa and was recently profiled as one of the top 10 CEOs in Africa to watch in 2025 by the CEO Views Magazine.

Last year, Ngabirano won another award as the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur and Best Innovative Agro-Food Product from Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs Awards – Africa Ghana, among others.

MARY KARYABASHISHA ODONGO

Mary Karyabashisha Odongo is the managing director of Global Entrepreneurship Network Uganda, which focuses on building a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem.

She is an accomplished finance and management professional with over 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors.

Odongo holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Makerere University and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA, UK), as well as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, Uganda).

She has also received specialised training in procurement, business planning and business counselling. Odongo previously served as the director of finance and administration at Enterprise Uganda, where she was instrumental in strengthening institutional financial systems, human resource structures and administrative processes.

DANIEL KISEKKA

Kisekka is the Investment for Industrial Transformation and Employment (INVITE) manager in charge of export firm support.

The INVITE is a $218m Government of Uganda project financed by the World Bank, and it seeks to support manufacturing and exporting firms. Kisekka stands out as one of Uganda’s most accomplished entrepreneurs and private sector development experts, with over 25 years of experience in empowering small and medium (SME) enterprises to grow, compete, and thrive.

Armed with a master’s degree in information technology from Makerere University and a BA in economics, politics, and public policy from Goldsmiths, University of London, Kisekka combines analytical precision with a deep understanding of market dynamics.

His entrepreneurial strength lies in designing and implementing matching grant schemes that have transformed Uganda’s SME landscape, helping over 1,000 enterprises access funding, increase productivity and tap into export markets.

Through his leadership at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Kisekka has managed multi-million dollar portfolios funded by global partners such as the World Bank, European Union, DFID, and the Embassy of Sweden. His innovative grant mechanisms under projects like START, INVITE, and CoCoDEV have supported agribusinesses in key value chains, including coffee, cocoa, grains and horticulture.