What is the British Chamber of Commerce intended to achieve?
The British Chamber of Commerce was formed with a very bold vision. The British Chamber of Commerce Uganda is a member-driven organisation that promotes trade, investment, and collaboration between Uganda and the United Kingdom.
Through events, advocacy, and partnerships, BCCU supports businesses to grow, connect, and make a lasting impact.
In many ways, we are like a family and looking to expand on our national ambitions. When you look at our five-year development plan, we are looking at the tenfold Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth that the government is focusing on. With our relationship and partnership, we can contribute towards this effort and really maximise on the relationship that we have.
You made a year in September. What highs and lows were registered over the 12 months?
We are now up and running after fulfilling all legal requirements and protocols. As we mark our first Annual General Meeting, we are also celebrating 42 new members who have joined the British Chamber of Commerce. We have huge aspirations and ambitions. Collectively as a Chamber, we are spread across 17 key different sectors, employing more than 20,800 staff with 95 percent being Ugandans.
Within the last 12 months, we have had 15 high-level engagements. Eleven of these engagements were championed by the British Chamber of Commerce, and the others were championed by our partners – all for the benefits of our members and partners. We had several engagements, including with the American Chamber, the Dutch Chamber, the French Chamber, but more importantly, with our national chamber, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda.
We also have a very good partnership with the government and President Museveni himself.
We also have a good relationship with the technical wing, especially with the Finance Ministry. The Permanent Secretary and the Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance has been engaging with us.
We have also had an engagement with the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority and Bank of Uganda Governor over the last year. This elevates expectation from our side. This helps us to understand the economy from different lenses. So we have had great partners,
So your priorities over the last year have been met. Is that correct?
In our plans and priorities, we have built a network of leadership and great businesses. Even the smallest business that has any relationship with the UK or any UK business that has any small relationship with Uganda can be integrated as long as it is an authentic company.
We had a pre-budget engagement, talking about what we want to see in the budget. We had a tax engagement where we engaged with URA about tax issues, challenges and opportunities. We just had a session with Trademark Africa where we spoke about trade issues and related barriers, and we also looked at trade opportunities. This is what we are trying to unlock.
How does your plan relate to the national priorities?
We have had some of the leadership forums where we brought in investors from the UK and spoke to them about many issues that relate to trade and investment.
When you want to grow from $50-$500 billion GDP, you need the right partners and the right voices.
The British High Commissioner to Uganda, Lisa Chesney has been a brilliant voice of growth for not only the chamber but also the relationship that we benefit from between the UK and Uganda.
Our members are involved in the government of Uganda’s ‘ATMS’ which refers to Agro-industrialisation, Tourism development, Mineral development, and Science, Technology, and Innovation strategy, and part of the national ten-fold Growth Strategy (TGS) to grow Uganda’s economy from $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040.
This strategic plan hopes to stimulate economic growth through these key sectors. We have members in agro-processing, tourism industry, minerals and mining, and science, technology and innovation.
We have members in education, logistics, green economy, aviation industry and audit, accounting and consulting firms. So we are in diverse sectors of the economy.
In terms of opportunities, there are plenty. Let us not forget the 10-fold growth strategy is a big opportunity. Technology is another big opportunity.
Artificial Intelligence as an enabler. With technology, we can be on the same footing with the rest of the world.
What can happen in China, in India, in the US, in Australia, can also happen in Africa. We just need a bolder vision.
Our members are keen on understanding the potential of optimising on technology, but also to embrace it. That’s why we’ve created Shared Purpose. The other area is sustainability, ESG.
Any low moments so far?
The biggest one our members have pointed out is about the stability of policies. Our members would like to see stable trade, tax, and green business policies. When you want to grow the economy from $50 billion to $500 billion, you need efficiency and transparency. We have seen some ambiguities around certain tax policies.
There are challenges around tax, and we had an opportunity to meet URA Commissioner General and we were handed a point of contact with URA for further engagement and deliberation.
The 2026 General Election is just around the corner. How confident or concerned are you?
We can see some predictability and continuity. Most of our members are investing and not holding back. When somebody is investing, he or she does so with eyes wide open and with a lot of knowledge. We have confidence in democracy and leadership. That is why investment is coming.
Uganda has set its sights on boosting agro-exports to $20 billion by 2040, with the United Kingdom. How will the chamber contribute in this regard?
So the trade value you are referring to is possible. We shall continue supporting businesses to grow, connect, and make a lasting impact.