In The Magazine

Non-life insurance accounted for 55.95% of total premiums—slightly down from 58.14% the previous year Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s insurance sector capped off 2024 with an impressive 10% growth in gross written premiums (GWP), rising from UShs 1.60 trillion in 2023 to UShs 1.76 trillion in 2024. This strong …

The downgrade has also attracted criticism from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an arrangement established in 2003 by African Union states to monitor governance performance ANALYSIS | JOHN BASQUILL | The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has joined a pan-African governance unit in criticising Fitch Ratings’ downgrade to the multilateral development …

Industry analysts say platforms like the FMCG Digital Suite are timely, especially with Africa projected to have over 500 million e-commerce users by 2025 Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | MTN Uganda’s mobile-based supply chain platform for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies has registered strong uptake, with more than 860 businesses …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | MTN Uganda plans to spin off its mobile money arm, MTN MoMo, into a separate entity, a move that could alter the structure of its business in one of its largest African markets. In a regulatory filing last week, the company said it “intends to …

Uganda’s Shs 72 trillion budget bets on wealth creation and growth in election run-up for next financial year ANALYSIS | JULIUS BUSINGE | As Uganda prepares to enter a heated election season in 2026, the government unveiled an ambitious Shs 72.1 trillion budget for the 2025/2026 financial year. Presented at Kololo …

Why the Jewish state will never leave at peace unless it frees itself from its racial and religious bigotry THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | For the last week, Israel and Iran have been exchanging heavy blows. I had expected Israel to beat Iran badly, decisively, and quickly. From a strategic …

How divergent interests emerged in the country’s latest road safety rollout  Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE |  The government’s recent rollout of the “EPS Auto” speed limit regulations—and their swift suspension amid public backlash—has exposed the conflicting interests of the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, road …

New drivers continue to join platforms even as fares were slashed starting in 2016 COMMENT | JULIE ZOLLMANN | Many argue that gig work involves exploitation, as research and media coverage have highlighted. But that doesn’t seem to deter ride hailing drivers on platforms like Uber and Bolt. In Kenya, in …

Ukraine has just demonstrated, in spectacular fashion, that a small but determined and innovative country can deploy cheap, scalable, and decentralized technology to challenge a much larger, conventionally superior foe. COMMENT | IAN BREMMER | On June 1, Ukraine conducted one of the most extraordinary asymmetric operations in modern military history. …

Why the US president’s visa restrictions and aid cuts are good for the development of our continent THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Many people are angry with President Donald Trump for canceling the visas of many students studying in the USA. This is bad for individual families and students. I …