During the Plenary discussion at the National Trade Review Conference at Speke Resort Munyoyo panellists underscored the transformative power of collective enterprise in scaling Uganda’s trade competitiveness if we are to achieve the $500 billion ambition by 2040.
The panellists highlighted that many cooperatives operate in horticulture, over 300 in fisheries and over 150 in cocoa which cooperatives contribute 2.8% to the Uganda’s Growth Domestic Product(GDP) and employ 16% of the population and to compete sustainably in export markets, cooperatives require patient, affordable capital incentives tailored to their business model, inclusion in policy formulation and strengthened industrial capacity.
The panellists also highlighted the role of science, technology and innovation in reshaping Uganda’s manufacturing landscape with emphasis on prototyping facilities and common user centres to help young innovators move ideas to the market.
In his conclusive remarks the Manager Investment and Implementation at Uganda Development Corporation assured the conference participants that Uganda Development Corporation is ready to capitalize the exporters and invest in mineral based industries and also lobby partners for technology to extract and add value.
“As Uganda Development Corporation we are enabling miners to expand extraction and value addition, it’s our role in capitalizing mineral based industries and lobbying for technology and investment partnerships to strengthen domestic value addition, said Kaburuhu Kawanda the Manager Investment and Implementation at Uganda Development Corporation