BUSINESS | MUSEVENI | LOHANA

KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni is optimistic that Uganda’s rich raw material base will make it a first-world economy once they are fully exploited, now that the country continues to attract investors who are willing to support his value-addition strategy.

“This economy can quickly become a first-world economy. It is now entering the middle-income level, but it can easily go faster," he said.

President Yoweri Museveni addresses members at the Lohana International Business Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo on March 22, 2023. (All Photos by PPU)

"Why? Because the raw material base is already big."

Coffee, now raking in $900m (sh3.4 trillion) per year, can potentially fetch $10b (sh37.8 trillion) in the same period, said Museveni, adding that Uganda is also doing well on steel production.

“For a long time, we did not have investors in steel, but now they are rushing to develop a steel industry inside the African continent so that we don’t have to get steel from China, Ukraine or India."

The founder and chairman of the Ruparelia Foundation, Sudhir Ruparelia, remarks during the Lohana International Business Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo on March 22, 2023.

The President was addressing the Lohana International Business Forum (LIBF) at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort Hotel in Kampala, during which he highlighted seven key clusters of raw material base in Uganda ready for value addition.

They are;

1. Agro-processing (fruits, oil seeds, agricultural products)

2. Minerals (iron ore, steel, copper, phosphates, cobalt, gold, nickle, lithium and niobium)

3. Fresh water resources to facilitate fish farming

4. Forest products (furniture, ceiling boards, paper Industry)

5. Knowledge sector like the automobile industry

6. Services sector

7. Pathogenic economy

Lohana International Business Forum Executive Chairman Satishbhai Vithlani remarks during the Lohana International Business Forum.

'Manufacture here'

“These human diseases are a problem but also a very big opportunity," said Museveni. "Our scientists here discovered one substance called Covidex, which cured many people of corona. Uganda only lost 1,600 people to corona."

He also told the meeting that Uganda is on the right track with the production of motor vehicles and will soon stop importing them.

“We have designed our own buses and electric cars. I don’t want to hear about assembling, that one I will not accept. We must manufacture and fabricate here, not assembling."

Museveni reiterated his call on value addition.

State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite remarks during the Lohana International Business Forum.

“When we produce and sell a kilo of coffee beans, we get $2.5 (sh9,400) per kilo. But when somebody roasts and packages that same amount of coffee, gets $25 (sh94,400) from our product and all the jobs are exported."

The President told the Lohana business community that things are looking up.

“Africa is big but fragmented politically. That is why we revived the East African Community. We now have a ready market of 300 million people. Recently, we were in Algeria and they say Ugandan milk is the best and much better than they were getting from Ukraine and Russia and that they are ready to take Ugandan powdered milk. That is what they like most."

'Symbiotic relationship'

Museveni welcomed Lohana businessmen to Uganda, saying the Asian people played a positive role in boosting Uganda’s trade.

“In my village of Ntungamo, we had four Indians and two Arabs, and our relationship was symbiotic. For us we are farmers and cattle keepers and Indians were traders, bringing what we needed from far away and buying our products," he said.

President Yoweri Museveni in the company of the State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite arrive for the Lohana International Business Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo.

"I used to sell milk to them in 1952."

Mahaparishad Satish Vithalani is the global chairperson of Lohana International Business Forum while Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia is the chairperson of the board of trustees of the Lohana community in Uganda.

They told the President that under his regime, Uganda today offers stability, security and confidence for long-term development and thanked him for returning the Asian properties.

The State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization, Evelyn Anite, said Uganda now boasts of over 1,900 factories owned by Indians and 900 by Chinese.

She said they have interested the Lohana Business Community to invest in various virgin ventures, including pharmaceuticals and edible oil.

“Today, we import pharmaceutical products worth $100m (sh377.5b) and we import edible oil worth $10m (sh37.7b) every year. We have interested them to come invest in the pharmaceuticals sector and edible oil so that we avoid importation and improve our exports," said Anite.

Some of the guests show their excitement during the Lohana International Business Forum.

"And your Excellency, we told them that your policy is that for every product manufactured in Uganda will be bought by Ugandans."

Meanwhile, Museveni flagged off 50,000 uniforms manufactured in Uganda destined for Equatorial Guinea.

Odrek Rwabwogo, the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Export and Industrial Development (PACEID), deals worth billions of dollars have been reached with different companies on the sidelines of the business forum in the fields of agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biorefinery and mineral processing.

The Lohana International Business Forum dubbed 'Africa Calling' attracted over 750 business elite and investors from 139 cities, representing 22 countries and from 29 businesses and services sectors from the influential global Lohana Indian community.

The countries represented included India, Kenya, UK, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates (UAE), USA, DR Congo, Canada, Portugal, Oman, Angola, Mozambique, South Sudan, Germany, South Africa, Madagascar and Uganda.

The forum showcased opportunities for business and investment in Uganda and provided a platform for Lohana delegates to promote their companies to the Ugandan business community.

In Uganda, the Lohana community form one of the strongest investment and business blocs and includes luminaries like Ruparelia Group (real estate and hospitality), Madhvani and Mehta (sugar) and House of Dawda (processed foods).

They form part of the 27,000-strong Indian community that dominate trade, real estate and manufacturing in Uganda.