Uganda shines at Expo Milano 2015

Jul 23, 2015

Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde has wooed Italian investors to come and start businesses in Uganda.

By Samuel Sanya

Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde has wooed Italian investors to come and start businesses in Uganda.

Kyambadde was the head of delegation and chief guest when the Republic of Uganda celebrated its national day at the ongoing Milano Expo 2015, an international exhibition held at the Expo center in Milan, Italy.

The Milano Expo 2015 is running for six months. It started on May 1 and will close on October 31, 2015.

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Uganda has a pavilion at the expo center where exhibitors from Uganda are showcasing their products.

Uganda celebrated its national day during the Expo on July 3, 2015, and on this day all the attention was on Uganda during the expo.

The Uganda National Day kicked off with a tour of the Uganda pavilion with exhibitors ranging from crafts, coffee, tea, to tourism sites.

Among the exhibitors at the Uganda pavilion is Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) that is serving free Uganda coffee for the entire six months of the expo, tea companies, handcrafts groups, tourism materials exhibited by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), the Ugandan Mission in Italy, cultural groups, and other private companies.

In her remarks,  Kyambadde enlightened the participants in the expo on the various investment opportunities in Uganda including agriculture, agro-processing, oil and gas sector, mineral sector, tourism sector, real estate, transport, leather sector and many others.


Ndere Troupe doing entertain guests

She also appreciated the great relations and ties between Uganda and Italy, saying that there are over 50 known Italian businesses in Uganda which are part of an association called Business Italia Uganda.

The Minister said the Italian businesses in Uganda are mainly concentrated around construction projects, coffee, cocoa, tourism and general import and export.

The Salini construction company was in charge of the expansion of the Owen Falls dam in Uganda.

Later, the delegation moved to the expo conference center where they met different potential and current investors in Uganda, business men and women, and other invited guests for a business forum.

There were presentations from Uganda's ambassador to Italy, Grace Akello who encouraged Ugandan public and private sector institutions to participate in the Milano expo saying it is a good opportunity for them to market their products and services.


Doreen Rweihangwe, the Principal controller, Uganda Coffee Development Authority with guests at UCDA stall at the Uganda pavilion


Other presentations included; executive director of Uganda export promotions board – Elly Twineyo, the managing director Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Henry Ngabirano, Honorary Consul of Uganda to Milan Dr. Robert Randazzo, executive director of Private Sector Foundation, Gideon Badagawa, Minister of state for Finance (Investment), Ajedra Gabriel Gadison Aridru, Director of tourism (Uganda Wildlife Authority), Raymond Engena.

Also, testimonies of the Italian Business Community in Uganda were heard and the forum was concluded by a key note address by Amelia Kyambadde and exchange of contacts by the participants.

Ndere Troupe, a traditional cultural group from Uganda entertained the participants in the Uganda pavilion at the expo.

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