The fourth Uganda-UAE Business Forum begins today in Kampala, running until October 29. The event brings together over 500 policymakers and entrepreneurs from both countries to explore trade and investment opportunities.
Over the past few years, the UAE has emerged as a powerhouse investor in Africa, committing over $110b across the continent, with East Africa as a priority for investments in resources, food security, and infrastructure.
Uganda’s Ambassador to the UAE, Mr Zaake Kibedi, said foreign direct investments (FDI) from the UAE to Uganda have surged from $300m in 2018 to $3.5b in 2024. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $2.85b as of September 2024, making the UAE Uganda’s leading export destination. Mr Kibedi said six daily commercial flights connect Entebbe to the UAE, which has ‘enhanced connectivity and accelerated business linkages .’
The three-day forum will spotlight opportunities in agriculture, agro-industrialisation, tourism, energy, minerals, real estate, and innovation etc. Uganda, with a projected six to 6.5 percent GDP growth in FY 2025/2026 driven by oil, gas, minerals, and agriculture, stands out as an ideal investment partner. Bilateral trade has reached $2.85b, while UAE FDI in Uganda rose tenfold since 2018, primarily targeting renewables, oil and gas, and agro-industry. UAE investors are expected to build Uganda’s new oil refinery.
This momentum positions Uganda to capture even more UAE capital, particularly in agriculture, energy, minerals, and logistics. UAE sovereign wealth funds such as ADIA and Mubadala, alongside family offices, have collectively driven $64.3b in GCC, African FDI from 2012 to 2025. Earlier this year, Uganda signed five additional investment deals in aviation, logistics, and digital systems.
The UAE’s diversification agenda aligns well with Uganda’s economic strengths, vast arable land supporting agribusiness, untapped mineral and oil reserves, and Uganda’s strategic location as a gateway to East and Central Africa.
Agribusiness will take centre stage at the forum. Uganda’s 80 percent arable land directly supports the UAE’s food security goals, given that the UAE imports about 80 percent of its food. Joint ventures in coffee, beef, maize, and horticulture processing for export to Dubai are expected. UAE firms such as Al Dahra are already targeting African agribusiness through continent-wide investments exceeding $110b. Energy, particularly renewables and oil and gas, is another hot sector.
Uganda will showcase its 1,500 MW hydropower potential and the $4.5b East African Crude Oil Pipeline, as it seeks to attract UAE participation in clean energy, a sector where Masdar, the UAE’s global renewables leader, has invested over $72b in Africa. UAE investments traditionally take a ‘long-game’ approach, emphasising mining, logistics, and infrastructure, areas where Uganda’s growth is outpacing its regional peers.
The forum will also focus on affordable housing, cargo hubs, and logistics infrastructure, leveraging Uganda’s access to 600m consumers in the EAC-Comesa region and its attractive incentives such as tax holidays and 10 to15 percent annual returns in key sectors. Uganda’s total imports reached $13.83b in 2024, up from $9.75b in 2022, driven by growing demand for energy, food, and industrial inputs.
Agricultural and food imports alone accounted for $604.8 million, even though Uganda has abundant arable land. The country still imports over 60 percent of its edible oils and key grains, a gap ripe for import substitution.
UAE investors are well-positioned to fill this gap, given their more than $110b commitments to African agribusiness and expertise in food processing. Recent UAE-Uganda agreements, including a $1.4b agro-investment in maize and soybeans, underline the strong potential. New ventures in edible oil production, grain processing, and food manufacturing could save Uganda over $500m annually, create more than 50,000 jobs, and boost non-oil exports by 15 percent by 2027.
Uganda’s National Development Plan IV prioritises agro-industrialisation and targets at least $2b in FDI for the sector. Uganda’s top 11 annual imports with aggregated value estimates from trade data are refined petroleum (fuels, diesel and gasoline) now at $3b; Mechanical appliances, engines and industrial equipment now at $1.5b; cars, trucks and parts at $900 million; wiring , transformers and electronics now at $900m; pharmaceutical products at $700m; iron and steel products now at $600m; polymers and packaging materials at $500m; fertilizers and industrial chemicals at $400m; cereals (wheat, rice and maize) now at $300m; edible oils now at $250m; printing paper and cardboard at $250m.
UAE’s top imports all estimated in billions of dollars include pearls, precious stones, coins and metals ($114 billion); electrical machinery and equipment ($63b), machinery, nuclear reactors and boilers ($40b); minerals, oils and distillation products ($21b); medicines, vaccines and medical chemicals ($5b). There is deep trust between Uganda and the UAE, a solid base for expanded cooperation.
Businesses and officials from both sides are now expected to translate these numbers into actionable investment opportunities. Uganda’s delegation must also emphasise the ease of repatriation and low bureaucracy that UAE investors prioritise.
Additionally, the 2023 Uganda-UAE Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement should be highlighted as a key incentive for investors.