Gilbert Junior Buregyeya

3RD ANNUAL DOING BUSINESS FORUM 2026 #10FoldGrowth

3RD DOING BUSINESS FORUM: PROGRESS REPORT ON PRIVATE SECTOR CONCERNS RAISED IN 2025 The Forum is a public-private dialogue platform through which Government communicates interventions aimed at lowering the cost of doing business, while the private sector highlights operational bottlenecks and proposes practical solutions to inform the FY2027/28 budget. Opening the Forum, Ms. Dianah Nannono, Head of the Private Sector Development Unit, provided an update on Government's response to concerns raised at the 2nd Doing Business Forum in 2025. On product certification, Government increased funding to the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) from Shs 55.9 billion in FY2024/25 to Shs 133 billion in FY2025/26. A further Shs 130 billion was allocated in FY2026/27 to support certification, standards enforcement, laboratory operations and trade facilitation. UNBS has also recruited 100 additional staff and invested in regional laboratories, modern testing equipment and digitalisation. To address the cost of electricity access, Government reduced connection charges under the rural electrification programme from Shs 700,000 to Shs 30,000 for connections requiring no poles, and from Shs 1.8 million to Shs 30,000 for one-pole connections. Government has also achieved an off-peak electricity tariff of US$0.05 per kilowatt-hour for extra-large consumers using more than 1.5 megawatts. On industrial park infrastructure, Government increased funding for the Manufacturing Programme from Shs 312 billion in FY2025/26 to Shs 1.03 trillion in FY2026/27. At Namanve Industrial Park, infrastructure works covering approximately 45 kilometres of roads, bridges, drainage, electricity distribution, water, sewerage and ICT had reached 82% completion by September 2026, with completion expected by December 30, 2026. At Mbale Industrial Park, Government approved Shs 146.39 billion for FY2026/27 to support internal roads, drainage and electricity infrastructure. Road works had reached 50%, while water supply and sewerage stood at 40%. At Kapeeka Industrial Park, road construction had reached 29%, while a contractor had been procured for the power substation. Nannono noted that construction is a foundational enabler of Uganda's ambition to grow into a US$500 billion economy by 2040. The value chain supports investments across agro-processing, industrial parks, tourism, real estate, housing, transport infrastructure and other productive sectors. She cited ongoing investments, including KCCA's upgrading of more than 78 kilometres of roads, a US$140 million African Development Bank facility supporting irrigation and agro-industrialisation in Bunyoro, and development of a 320-million-litre fuel terminal in Mpigi. She emphasised that these investments present opportunities for local contractors, engineers, transporters, farmers and manufacturers, adding that the challenge is to strengthen the capacity of Ugandan firms to participate in contracts and deliver quality work on time and within budget. The Forum will continue to provide a platform for identifying practical reforms and strengthening collaboration between Government and the private sector to improve Uganda's business environment and accelerate economic transformation. #10FoldGrowth

MICROECONOMIC INDICATORS & DEVELOPMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2026: Formal employment returns,as captured under the PAYE Register, increased by 19% from 805,428 employees in August 2026 to 958,751 in September 2026. There were no officially registered migrant workers in September 2026, following the Ebola travel bans to Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia. National Social Security Fund’s registered and active members respectively increased by 6% and 8% from 3.4 million and 850,000 in 2025 to 3.6 million and 920,000 in 2026. The number of Agent Banking agents increased by 10% from 37,585 in June 2026 to 41,498 in June 2026. Air quality in Kampala improved, with particulate matter dropping by 29% from 49.4µg/m³ in August 2026 to 34.9µg/m³ in September 2026. The improvement was partly attributed to seasonal rainfall that commenced in September 2026, which helped to reduce airborne particles and suppress road dust. However, this remains above the World Health Organization’s threshold of 25 µg/m³. Most parts of the country received near-average rainfall during the month of September 2026. Malaria prevalence remained unchanged at 0.8 deaths per 1,000 persons in September 2026. For more details👇👇👇 development.finance.go.ug/si…