Monday November 17, 2025 KAMPALA, Uganda — As Stanbic Bank prepares to mark 35 years of serving Uganda, the lender is not pausing to reminisce—it’s doubling down on a forward-looking call for national progress in a new brand campaign dubbed: Keep Growing.
Flagged off today, Keep Growing is an 18-month brand campaign that celebrates Uganda not as a story of what has been, but of what is still possible—driven by resilience, ingenuity and a refusal to stand still.
“Growth is never accidental; it is the consequence of courage, adaptation, and belief,” said Mumba Kalifungwa, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda.
“Ugandans embody this every day. Keep Growing is our commitment to stand with them—especially women, youth, and farmers—as we invest in a future shaped by inclusion, innovation, and positive impact.”
A Story Larger Than a Bank — Over a Century in the Making
The campaign is rooted in a legacy that predates the Stanbic name. The institution traces its origins to 1906, when the National Bank of India began operations in East Africa, later evolving into Grindlays Bank—an early partner in Uganda’s commercial and trade networks.
Standard Bank Group entered Uganda in 1991 through the acquisition of Grindlays’ regional assets, bringing with it a philosophy now familiar across the country: Uganda is our home; we drive her growth.
A defining shift came in 2002, when the Government of Uganda privatised Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB), and Standard Bank secured a majority stake. Almost overnight, Stanbic became Uganda’s largest commercial bank—moving from simply banking Uganda to enabling Uganda’s households, farmers, entrepreneurs and industries.
What Keep Growing Means for Uganda
For Stanbic’s leadership, the campaign is both a tribute and a challenge: a tribute to Uganda’s resilience, and a challenge to continue striving toward transformative growth.
Sam Mwogeza, Executive Director & Head of Personal and Private Banking, described it as an affirmation of everyday determination: “Ugandans have never stopped pushing
forward—through cycles, shocks, and reinvention. Keep Growing honours that spirit and reinforces our commitment to solutions that help families move closer to prosperity.”
Paul Muganwa, Executive Director & Head of Corporate & Investment Banking, linked the campaign to Uganda’s evolving economy: “As Uganda becomes more sophisticated and regionally integrated, our role is to enable capital flows—from trade corridors to agro-industrial value chains and infrastructure. Keep Growing signals that readiness.”
Tunde Thorpe, Head of Business and Commercial Banking, emphasised the centrality of enterprise: “Uganda’s growth story is fundamentally an SME story. Our role is to fuel that momentum—with affordable credit, advisory, and partnerships that help businesses scale sustainably.”
From the enterprise development frontier, Catherine Poran, Chief Executive of the Stanbic Business Incubator, added: “When entrepreneurs grow, communities grow. By equipping SMEs with investment-ready skills, we help unlock long-term value for Uganda’s economy. This campaign celebrates that ambition.”
And Diana Kahunde, Acting Head of Brand & Marketing, framed the effort as more than advertising: “Keep Growing is a movement. It makes our purpose visible in communities across the country and celebrates the innovation and resilience of Ugandans everywhere.”
A National Storytelling Platform
The campaign will run across media, community engagements, enterprise hubs, and digital channels, spotlighting Ugandans who are redefining what progress looks like—on farms, in factories, in markets, in homes, and online.
“We want to hear—and help tell—the growth stories of Ugandans building something, changing something, daring something,” said Ken Agutamba, Country Manager, Corporate Communications. “If you have grown at any point along our journey together, this campaign is yours.”
From the banking outposts of 1906 to a present-day ecosystem of digital platforms, capital markets, insurance, and enterprise development, Stanbic’s history mirrors Uganda’s own: resilient, adaptive, and unfinished.
If the institution has learned anything over its decades of service, it is this: Progress rarely moves in straight lines—but it moves.
And so, as Uganda writes its next chapter, Stanbic Bank has chosen a simple, insistent message to carry forward: Keep Growing.
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