President Yoweri Museveni has called on international investors and buyers to seize the vast economic opportunities Uganda presents, emphasizing value addition, industrialization, and strong trade partnerships as the anchors for the country’s future growth.
President Museveni urged international buyers to trust Ugandan suppliers—and encouraged local exporters to meet global packaging and quality standards.
“Uganda is open. Let us build partnerships that expand trade, create jobs, and strengthen prosperity for all.”he declared
President Museveni said the Buyers Week was not merely an exhibition but a strategic platform to deepen Uganda’s integration into global value chains.
“The main focus of this week is to consolidate efforts aimed at turning interest into actual orders and orders into enduring partnerships that can result in jobs and incomes for our people,”he stated..
Museveni stressed the need for more capital, entrepreneurship, and knowledge to unlock the country’s full economic promise.
“Uganda has always had an abundant supply of labour and land however, we have been short on capital, entrepreneurship, and knowledge. Without these, our resources will stay as they have been since the time of Jesus,” the President remarked.
Te President reaffirmed the NRM government’s target of propelling Uganda’s GDP from the current $61 billion to $ 500 billion in the shortest possible time, hinged on peace, a private sector–friendly climate, and export-led growth citing key export sectors like coffee, dairy, gold, and horticulture.
He announced strengthened sanitary and phytosanitary systems and the upcoming Entebbe Free Zone Centre of Excellence, which will streamline export processes using AI, digital inspections, and shared facilities.
In is remarks Presidential Advisor and Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), Odrek Rwabwogo, called for a mindset shift toward high-value manufacturing adding that Uganda’s food export boom is impressive.
“We must aim at manufacturing higher-value goods. Our next frontier is electricals, pharmaceuticals, and eventuallywho knows? aviation and semiconductors,” Rwabwogo said.
“This should not be a preserve of the developed world. We have all the raw materials to make these things. It’s just confidence and consistency.”e added.
Rwabwogo praised government’s $400 million injection into 3.6 million households through the Parish Development Model as a very significant step to realising ten fold strategy.
“For the first time in our history, the common person has a direct payment from the national budget. If you never held USD 10, now you have USD 320—what can you do with chicken, sesame, or pineapples? This will trigger massive agricultural production.”e stated
To support this expansion, he said Uganda urgently needs investments in refrigeration, transport, drying, and storage, noting that current refrigeration capacity covers only 30% of national needs. He also revealed plans for aggregation parks—industrial spaces designed to ensure quick fulfillment of export orders and reliable supply.
Rwabwogo projected that Uganda could close the year 2025 with at least $1billion in new business from engagements made at the International Buyers Week.