The Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening Uganda Development Bank’s (UDB) capital base to enable the Bank to fully deliver on its mandate of accelerating Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
The Prime Minister made the remarks on Friday while officiating at a ceremony where staff of UDB were passed out after completing a refresher training in patriotic and transformative leadership at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.
“As you are aware, the Government allocated an additional UGX1 trillion to UDB in the current financial year. We recognise the need to further expand the Bank’s loan portfolio and are committed to strengthening its capital base to enable it fully deliver on its mandate,” Rt. Hon. Nabbanja said.
She added, “Through institutions like UDB, the Government intends to create a strong class of Ugandan entrepreneurs to drive socio-economic transformation.”
Rt. Hon. Nabbanja described UDB as “a strategic institution” in the implementation of the Government’s Tenfold-growth strategy, the National Development Plan (NDP IV), and Vision 2040.
“I appreciate UDB for prioritising this training for its staff. This commitment demonstrates your appreciation of the importance of nurturing leaders who are grounded in the values and vision that guide our country,” she said.
She acknowledged the socioeconomic impact of the Bank’s activities, including job creation, tax contributions, foreign exchange generation, and improved enterprise profitability.
The training programme focused on deepening ideological clarity, strengthening national consciousness, and enhancing leadership capacity to effectively deliver UDB’s mandate of financing Uganda’s long-term socio-economic transformation in line with national development priorities.
Speaking at the ceremony, the UDB Managing Director, Dr. Patricia Ojangole, said the training provided staff with valuable insights that deepen their understanding of UDB’s mandate and its role in advancing national transformation.
“The skills and knowledge acquired at NALI have reinvigorated our team as we implement UDB’s new five-year business strategy, which places greater emphasis on structuring, transaction advisory, and crowding in development finance from both local and international sources,” Dr. Ojangole said.
“We received deeper insight into Uganda’s strategic position in the current global order, as well as Uganda’s economic interests. UDB is committed to providing the right financial instruments and products to strengthen Uganda’s participation and competitiveness in the global economy,” she added, further stressing the Bank’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s private sector to grow and remain resilient amidst the volatile global dynamics.
The training comes at a time when UDB has commenced the second year of implementing the Bank’s new 5-year business strategy, anchored on taking on a greater role in structuring, transaction advisory, and crowding-in development finance from various local and international sources to finance investments in the country.
The Director of NALI Kyankwanzi, Col. Okei Rukogota, applauded UDB’s leadership for its commitment to ideological grounding and institutional cohesion.
“It is rare to see an institution bring all its staff together for ideological regeneration. We commend UDB’s leadership for this exemplary commitment,” Col. Rukogota said.
The week-long training covered various areas, including the role of ideology and political education, national development priorities, the role of financial institutions in building a competitive economy, addressing national security priorities, Uganda’s strategic positioning in the current global order, and transformative work methods, among others.
Meanwhile, Uganda Development Bank Limited (UDB) is the country’s national Development Finance Institution (DFI) with a mandate to accelerate socio-economic development in Uganda through sustainable financial interventions. Consistent with this mandate, the Bank supports projects within the private sector that demonstrate the potential to deliver high socio-economic value, in terms of job creation, improved production output, tax contribution, and foreign exchange generation, among other outcomes. These projects fall within the key priority sectors of our economy and are in line with Uganda’s development priorities.
Uganda Development Bank (UDB) aligns its sector priorities with National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), focusing on Primary Agriculture, Industry (to include agro-industrialization, manufacturing, knowledge-based industries, and extractives), Services (health, tourism, and hospitality, education, science, technology, and innovation), and Infrastructure. Agriculture, agro-industry, and manufacturing constitute about 75% of the Bank’s portfolio, aligning with the Government’s focus under NDP IV and Vision 2040.
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