The organisers of the Ugandan UK Convention are happy to welcome Centenary Bank as one of the sponsors of the 6th Ugandan UK Convention taking place on 10th September 2016 at the Luxury Troxy Arena 490 Commercial Road, London, E1 0HX.
Centenary Bank wants to extend its financial services especially micro-finance to Ugandans in the Diaspora.
Centenary Bank is Uganda’s leading commercial microfinance bank serving customers with 62 branches and 155 ATMs across the country. We have been trusted by over 1.3 million customers, a third of the total banking population in Uganda. Our mission is to provide appropriate financial services especially Micro finance to all people in Uganda in a sustainable manner and in accordance with the law.
Last year Centenary Bank launched, in partnership with MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda launched Mobile Wallet service, an innovative financial service that enables the bank’s customers to access, deposit and withdraw money from their bank accounts using their phones.
The Mobile wallet service is an additional feature on the bank’s 24 / 7 mobile banking platform dubbed CenteMobile. Other financial services on the CenteMobile platform include; transfer of funds, payment of utility bills (e.g NWSC, electricity on Yaka and postpaid, pay TV), request for mini statements and fundraising among others. To access the Mobile Wallet service, one has to be registered with CenteMobile and MTN or Airtel mobile money. CenteMobile is also accessible on any type of phone and as an application on smart phones.
The Ugandan UK Convention is the largest Ugandan focused investment platform a in the UK and has now become firmly established as an annual event in the UK.
Established in August 2011, The Convention, the platform has rapidly developed into a market leading investment platform, providing a unique meeting place for experts, business leaders, professionals and representatives from prominent organisations based in Uganda, the UK and internationally, Ugandans in the Diaspora.
Following the phenomenal success of the London Convention last September (which attracted over 1,500 delegates, the Convention is back again in September this year. Delegates will have access to up-to-date information on the vast potential for investment that Uganda offers to both the domestic and international community. They can acquire business tips, obtain relevant literature on priority sectors for investment, take part in an interactive Q & A session and hear about the realities of doing business in Uganda.
Some of our speakers include:
• Rt. Hon. Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of Uganda
• Mr. Sudhir Ruparelia, MD, Ruparelia Group
• Hon. Amelia Kyambadde, Minister of Trade and Investment
• Lord Popat, UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda
• Emmanuel Katongole, CEO-Cipla Quality Chemicals, chairman- Uganda National Oil Company
• Jimmy Mugerwa, General Manager, Tullow Uganda Ltd
• His Highness, Dr.Solomon Iguru Gafabusa II, The King of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom
• His Lordship Erias Lukwago, Lord Mayor of the City of Kampala
• Zain Latif, CEO-TLG Capital
• His Highness, David Onen Acana II, Acholi Paramount Chief
• Hon. Ernest Kiiza, Minister of state for Bunyoro Affairs
• Dr Bernard Obika, Chief Executive Director, Roughton Group
•Hon. Akiror Agnes Egunyu, Minister of State for Teso Affairs
• Hon. Galabuzi Dennis Ssozi, Minister of State for Luwero Triangle
The theme of the Convention is “Why Invest in Uganda Now? Enhancing Investment for Job and Wealth Creation”. Uganda continues to record remarkable economic growth. According to the latest report by the Centre for International Development (CID) at Harvard University, Uganda’s economy is projected to grow at an average annual growth projection of 7% over the next decade. At this growth rate, Uganda is projected to be the fastest growing economy in the Africa Region, and among the top 4 fastest growing economies in the world behind India at 7.9%.
The Convention addresses the essential need-to-know topics most prevalent to Uganda, such as opportunities within the priority sectors; infrastructure development, Power & Energy, Health-care, Agriculture & Agri-business, Real Estate, tourism, increasing intra-regional trade and developing risk mitigation strategies through collaborations and private equity, and VC finance access.
The theme for the Forum could not have been timelier, as Uganda is enduring high economic growth. Despite the positive growth outlook, Africa still faces an annual funding deficit of $31 billion for electrical power alone, while some donor countries have been falling short of their international commitments. This is an indication of trade and investment opportunities to fill the deficit gap. And given the rapid growth of the Ugandan population—three-quarters of the population are below the age of 30 years—coupled with the fact that the youth are getting better educated through higher access to primary and secondary education, a stronger focus on job creation for this cohort of people cannot be overemphasized.
The Forum 2016 will therefore highlight key aspects of the following thematic discussion areas:
- What are the key opportunities available when venturing into this highly lucrative space
- What strategies, techniques and tools needed to succeed doing business in Uganda
- The role of Ugandan women in sustainable economic development
- Bilateral trade arrangements between UK and Uganda
- Increasing UK’s exports and attracting UK investment into Uganda
- Agribusiness in Uganda; food security and value addition
- Youth Entrepreneurship: Uganda’s key to prosperity for all
- Case studies and challenges doing business in Uganda
The focus on these issues will help provide a wider platform for stakeholder participation and emphasize the critical issues in each area.
Women and youth entrepreneurship and empowerment will be taken into consideration as cross-cutting issues in the discussion of all the areas mentioned above.
