The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | Uganda is set to host the first-ever Uganda Development Finance Summit from September 1 to 2, 2025, at the Speke Resort Convention Centre in Kampala. Organized by the Uganda Development Bank (UDB), the high-level summit will take place under the theme “Transforming Africa through National Development Finance Architecture.”
UDB executives say the event is expected to draw more than 400 distinguished participants from across Africa and the global finance community, including government officials, leaders from national financial institutions, private sector executives, scholars, and international finance practitioners.
With Africa’s development financing landscape rapidly evolving, the summit aims to explore new financing strategies and alternatives to support the continent’s economic transformation.
It will also address the deepening financing gap that has emerged in the face of shrinking aid flows and concessional funding.
The urgency of the summit’s agenda is underscored by the continent’s increasing reliance on global debt markets to meet its development needs.
However, these international financial markets present notable obstacles, including limited access and higher interest rates for African countries compared to other sovereign borrowers.
These challenges have compounded existing financial constraints, limiting the flow of capital to both public and private sectors, and stifling economic growth and transformation efforts across the continent.
Patricia Ojangole, the managing director of Uganda Development Bank, emphasized the significance of the summit, stating that hosting it demonstrates UDB’s commitment to advancing the development finance agenda in Africa.
She noted that the summit will serve as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and partnership-building, focusing on fostering inclusive growth, financing sustainable projects, and tackling the challenges that national development banks across Africa continue to face.
Throughout the two-day event, participants will gain critical insights, explore practical solutions, and form strategic alliances as they engage in discussions on financing industrialization, strengthening agri-value chains, supporting SMEs, and expanding green and blended financing initiatives.
The summit seeks to chart a pragmatic, forward-looking path for African economies by promoting sustainable development, enhancing resilience, and accelerating inclusive growth through innovative finance.
With development finance at the heart of Africa’s growth agenda, the Uganda Development Finance Summit is set to become a milestone event in shaping the continent’s economic future.
