Uganda Business News | Uganda Business News 39

Setting aside regional rivalries would go a long way to neutering the ADF

Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), listens while Contingent Commander for Uganda, Brigadier Paul Lokech (not seen) briefs members of 09 Battalion before an advance on the town of Afgoye to the west of the Somali capital Mogadishu. AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) troops swept through Afgoye on the morning of the 25th May 2012 without a shot being fired, liberating the area and its population - including 400,000 internally displaced people - from the control of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab.

ADF’s recent attacks highlight how regional rivalries in the Congo-Uganda-Rwanda borderlands provide the group with oxygen to survive and grow

Tanzania is a showcase for World Bank funding

Electricity infrastructure in Pemba, Tanzania. In May 2010, a submarine cable brought electricity from Tanga to Pemba (and on to the mainland). The cable was buried in the picturesque surroundings of Mkumbuu; three metres into the ground before rising to a mast about 120 metres from the water's edge. The cable continues to the Wesha substation, where "feeders" distribute the power to the island's grid. Norway paid NOK 475 million (out of a total cost of NOK 575 million). Norway also provided technical assistance to the project. The cable is now operated and maintained by the Zanzibar Electricity Corporation (ZECO).

The International Development Association is a major source of support for African countries struggling with mounting debt and shrinking fiscal space

Why East African countries should rethink their nuclear power ambitions

The Dukovany nuclear power station near Dukovany in the Czech Republic. Nuclear power plants are among a number of new energy proposals in four East African countries. Earlier this year, Uganda announced plans to build a 2,000MW nuclear power plant 150km north of Kampala, with the first 1,000MW coming online by 2031. Rwanda also recently signed a deal to build a nuclear reactor, while Kenya and Tanzania have made more or less similar announcements. While it is tempting in many ways for these countries to pursue nuclear power, there are several risks to choosing the nuclear path, the biggest of which is financial.

Costs of building, maintaining, and later decommissioning a nuclear power plant make it one of the most expensive forms of electricity generation

Shelter Afrique secures technical assistance grant from IsDBI to develop affordable Islamic housing products

Shelter Afrique managing director Thierno Habib-Hann, middle, and other officials at COP28 in Dubai, 6 December. Shelter Afrique, a pan-African housing finance institution, announced a collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) on the sidelines of COP28. The partnership aims to develop Islamic housing finance products to meet the growing demand for affordable and climate-resilient housing solutions across the continent.

Shelter Afrique sees the development of Islamic finance products as a viable alternative financing model to effectively address Africa’s housing and urban development challenges

Parish Development Model: Stanbic hands out Flexipay integrated phones to saccos

Irene Muwanguzi, the Parish Development Model's Deputy Director for Enterprise Development, hands over a phone to a beneficiary SACCO member

Initiative to be rolled out across the country to support government efforts to bring 39 per cent of Ugandans into the cash economy

GDP grew 5.5% in third quarter, driven by output in the industrial sector

Hima Cement's plant in Kasese, western Uganda

Industrial and agricultural sectors expanded at healthy pace compared to previous quarter, while services sector slowed down

DRC elections: three factors that have shaped Tshisekedi’s rocky first term

Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaks at the naming and inauguration of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Research Station in Bukavu, DRC, 8 October 2019.

While Tshisekedi can claim some successes, including the DRC’s accession to the EAC and modest economic growth, much remains to be done to improve the lives of Congo’s people

How green hydrogen can be made to work for Africa

A plant owned by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy. Efforts to build Africa's nascent green hydrogen industry are underway, most notably in Namibia's Tsau Khaeb National Park. In May, the Namibian government signed a feasibility and implementation agreement with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy for a green hydrogen production and supply project near the coastal town of Lüderitz. In June, the government agreed to take a 24 per cent equity stake in the $10bn project, which is almost equal to Namibia's GDP.

Africa’s limited energy infrastructure means that countries can leapfrog fossil fuels and build green economies based on renewable energy and designed to meet their needs

BoU’s Monetary Policy Statement for December 2023 — Full text

The crest of the Bank of Uganda on its premises

BoU’s monetary policy committee maintained the central bank rate at 9.5 per cent

For inclusive media, we need to bridge the digital divide

Only two million Ugandans use social media regularly, representing a paltry 4.3 per cent of the population, leaving a significant portion of the population outside the digital sphere