Willy Mutenza, the Chairman of Uganda UK Convention, encourages the Diaspora to take advantage of investment opportunities in Gulu.
At a recent networking gathering of Ugandans in the UK, Willy Mutenza, encouraged Ugandans to look at home for investment opportunities. Mr Mutenza was promoting the ‘Home is Best’ Summit taking place from 14th – 19th December 2014 at Pece Ground in Gulu.
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The theme of the summit is stimulating and accelerating investment opportunities through local and Diaspora synergies. The summit will give individuals and families the opportunities to invest their capital in their home communities.
The 7th Home is the Best Summit 2014 – Gulu will be attended by invitation from especially those who are participating in the week long activities, namely persons from the Diaspora, exhibitors, government officials, cultural leaders and foreign dignitaries. The summit will bring together a cross-section of 200-400 Ugandans in the Diaspora, their families at home, the public and the private sector members. The summit focuses on the investment opportunities and challenges mobilizing the international business community to investing in Uganda.
H.E. Museveni, the President of Uganda, will grace the summit by giving the key note address and will hand over the different awards to major investment achievers from the Diaspora and Uganda.
Mr Mutenza stressed that “Gulu provides a strategic investment opportunity to access the South Sudan virgin market, not to mention DRC and the vast local market. Neighbouring Southern Sudan will remain a market of strategic importance”.
The Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, recently in Zambia said “We are considering upgrading the way we deal with Ugandans in the Diaspora so that they do not have to be resident in the country in order to contribute effectively to the economy.”
Mr Mutenza added that “it is our duty to not only repatriate skills and knowledge we have gained in the Diaspora, but also look at how we can contribute to the social economic development of our nation by converting our remittance into money generating projects to mitigate the syndrome of dependence by our relatives. The Diasporan population is aging and they need to start investing their money wisely to prepare for their retirement time in Uganda.”
The summit is organised by The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) in partnership with the private sector and the Ugandan Government to drive national economic growth and development with the aim of promoting and facilitating private sector investments in Uganda. The main objectives of the authority are to attract value adding investment that brings technology, jobs and provide serviced sites, buildings and competitive infrastructure.
The government of Uganda, through Investment Authority (UIA) and the Private Sector, have organized Diaspora investment summits, under the theme “Home is the Best”. Kampala has usually been the main venue for these summits.
The summits are one of the many efforts to bring the Ugandan Diaspora into active participation in private investment home, to contribute to the national economic development and focus on Uganda’s investment prospects opportunities /challenges and the role the Uganda Diaspora should play in these efforts.
The “Home is Best Summit- Gulu” is the show of strength and “Let us go to Gulu” business summit are the events which most industrialists and service providers should not miss. Participants should prepare adequately to meet the demands and expectations.
