Uganda Business News | Uganda Business News 28

Africa needs a grand revival plan from the West and China

An overcrowded refugee boat capsizes in the Mediterranean Sea. The current economic and political situation in Africa has already fuelled a sharp rise in migration. Last September (2023), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that more than 2,500 people had died or gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the first nine months of 2023, with many more perishing before they reached the coast. During that same period, 130,000 migrants, many departing from Tunisia or Libya, landed in Italy. These numbers will increase sharply if Africa’s population growth is not coupled with improving economic conditions. Worryingly, the International Monetary Fund’s current forecasts suggest GDP growth of around 4 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa for the next two years – well below long-term trends. The current influx of mass migration to European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece may be only the beginning.

Africa’s crises have fuelled a surge in migration to Europe unlikely to abate soon unless rapid population growth is matched by improving economic conditions

BMI forecast: Interest rates to fall by 1% by year-end

The Bank of Uganda's headquarters in Kampala

Research firm says Bank of Uganda will keep policy rate at 9.5% in first half due to rising inflation, but will cut by 1% by year-end as inflation stabilises below target

Exit of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from Ecowas could fuel regional unrest

US President Joe Biden bids farewell to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Raj Ghat Memorial before departing for the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Sunday, 10 September 2023.

The three countries left the 15-member Economic Community of West African States after being suspended following military coups that overthrew elected governments

The unchecked power of Africa’s pastors

Nigeria's TB Joshua preaching in Mexico in 2015. Three years after his death, a BBC investigation in January 2024 accused the world-famous televangelist and Pentecostal pastor of rape, torture and abuse of his followers over a 20-year period.

The last 20 years have seen an unprecedented rise of charismatic Pentecostal prophets in Africa and their unchecked influence on social, economic, and political institutions

Trade deficit in goods narrows in December

Overhead image of shipping containers in a port

Uganda’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed for the fourth month in a row in December as exports continued to grow at a faster rate than imports

Announcement of changes to the board of Bank of Baroda (Uganda) Limited

Bank of Baroda's headquarters on Kampala road, Kampala

Tyagi Lalit joins bank’s board as non-executive director

Bank of Uganda’s Monetary Policy Statement for February 2024 — Full text

The Bank of Uganda’s Monetary Policy Committee kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 9.5 per cent at its meeting on 6 February

Private sector credit growth drops in December

Crested Towers in Kampala, with the shorter tower housing offices of Stanbic Bank

Lending to the private sector slowed in December due to a decline in microfinance loans and stagnant growth in commercial bank loans

BoU keeps rates on hold, raises inflation forecast

Bank of Uganda's headquarters in Kampala

Bank of Uganda said that economic activity continues to strengthen, although the weakening shilling could lead to a modest increase in inflationary pressures

Global sector correction leads to sharp drop in start-up funding

Funding for tech start-ups dried up last year, mirroring a phenomenon seen across the continent and beyond as international funders pulled out in the worst year for venture capital in nine years