Uganda’s Standard Chartered Bank organized a Manufacturers’ Business Forum for over 150 manufacturers’ and various stakeholders with the purpose of providing a platform for market players to share progressive insights, network and best practices.
The forum was under the theme“Practices for Sustainable Business Growth”.
It brought together experts and leading manufacturing businesses to talk about current trends affecting Uganda’s business growth and share the latest research on important and policy-relevant topics.
Standard Chartered Bank clients got an opportunity to engage, learn, network and are empowered to expand their operating environment.
The Standard Chartered Bank Africa Strategist, Eva Wanjiku Otieno, presented the Macroeconomic & Global Geopolitical Outlook.
She emphasized on Uganda’s mixed growth outlook which is supported by public investment in infrastructure. However, she said that the business prospects would be affected by the delay of the Final Investment Decision (FID) and upcoming elections.
Also Read: Uganda 7% projected growth too ambitious, World Bank
On Uganda’s economic growth prospects, Wanjiku said that the effort made by the government to invest in infrastructure will begin to pay off.
“We’ve seen Uganda’s growth being one of the best in East Africa, at 6% economic growth forecast for 2020, one of the supportive factors would be the investments that the government has done in infrastructure which will start to pay off, the quite robust private sector mainly due to the accommodative monetary policy by the bank of Uganda and keeping the policy rate steady.”
“The manufacturing sector’s contribution to the growth of the economy on basis of the exercise doubled from 8% – 16%, the industrial sector increasing from 20%-30% which shows that the investment which the government has been doing through the NDP II has started to bear fruits.” She said
The Chief Executive Officer Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Albert Saltson , said that this new decade presents immense opportunities for business growth.
“It is critical that business leaders make insight-led and research-based business decisions in partnership with strong and reliable financial partners who will help them stimulate their business growth.”
He added that the bank is committed to sharing their knowledge, expertise and best practice with the Ugandan market.
