Uganda banks seek new funding models to finance $500b economy

Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy tenfold to $500 billion by 2040 cannot be financed by commercial bank lending alone, forcing the financial sector to look beyond traditional loans for the long-term capital needed to fund agriculture, minerals, tourism and industry.

With banks acknowledging that they cannot meet the full financing requirements of the government’s growth plan, the sector is turning to capital markets, development finance, technology-driven savings mobilisation and new financing structures to bridge the gap.

The challenge is to unlock patient, long-term…