KAMPALA, Uganda – President Yoweri Museveni praised the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) for its pivotal role in providing affordable credit to productive sectors during the inaugural Uganda Development Finance Summit 2025, held at Speke Resort Munyonyo on September 1.
However, he urged the institution to slash interest rates further and proposed staff salary cuts to enhance accessibility, highlighting a blend of commendation and constructive criticism amid discussions on Africa’s economic transformation.
The two-day summit, convened by UDB under the theme “Transforming Africa through National Development Finance Architecture,” gathered policymakers, financiers, and industry leaders to rethink financing strategies for sustainable growth.
Attendees included First Lady Janet Museveni, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, UDB Managing Director Dr. Patricia Ojangole, UDB Board Chairperson Geoffrey Kihuguru, Arshad Rab (CEO, European Organisation for Sustainable Development), Admassu Tadesse (President, TDB Group), and Dr. Arkebe Oqubay (former Ethiopian senior minister).
In his keynote address, Museveni emphasized the need for vision and integrity among African leaders to shift from raw material-dependent economies—historically focused on coffee, copper, cotton, tobacco, tourism, and tea—to high-value industries.
He hailed UDB as a “guarantee” for financing, contrasting it with commercial banks’ “greedy” 22% interest rates amid Uganda’s sub-5% inflation. Yet, he critiqued UDB’s 15% rates as excessive, suggesting a drop to 10% and lower salaries for its “crowd of parasites” to align with development goals.
Museveni praised Chinese investments, noting they enabled low-cost electricity from the Karuma (2.8 cents per kWh) and Isimba (4.8 cents) dams, urging Western lenders to follow suit with patient capital. Finance Minister Kasaija described the summit as timely, projecting Uganda’s GDP to surge from $50 billion in 2023 to $500 billion by 2040 through agro-industrialization, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and ICT innovation.
Dr. Ojangole underscored national development banks’ global success in Asia and Brazil, crediting Uganda for preserving UDB during structural adjustments. Arshad Rab advocated for high-value economies and mobilizing local capital to end poverty, while Kihuguru stressed job creation for Africa’s youth amid climate and geopolitical challenges. Oqubay called for export-oriented policies balancing donor aid with domestic resources.
Looking ahead, the summit outlined priorities like de-risking sectors such as energy and infrastructure, fostering public-private partnerships, and building resilient financial systems to create jobs and adapt to global shifts.
Delegates emphasized homegrown solutions to accelerate inclusive growth, positioning UDB as central to Uganda’s Vision 2040 and broader African transformation.
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