The dark side of African Continental Free Trade Area Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Africa’s heads of state on March 21, 2018 descended onto the hills of Kigali, Rwanda, to sign the long awaited agreement to create the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that encompasses more than 1.2billion …
Read More »Why Orient Bank is rebranding to I&M Bank
This development ends the institution’s 30-year history in Uganda’s financial sector Kampala Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Local lender, Orient Bank is getting a revamp, ending a nearly 30-year history in Uganda. The lender is ditching its name to I&M Bank (Uganda) following the latter’s decision to acquire a 90% …
Read More »Afreximbank’s platform to promote cross-border trade in Africa
The digital platform is set to build trust and cut the transaction costs of trading in AfCFTA Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | The African Export-Import Bank’s new digital Customer Due Diligence (CDD) platform, called Mansa, is set to promote cross-border trade in Africa, says the product head Maureen Mba. …
Read More »Uganda coffee exports reach a new record high
The East African nation shipped 6.49million bags of coffee worth US$629.8million Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Coronavirus pandemic restrictions in Vietnam coupled with bad weather in Brazil have helped Uganda record a 23% growth in coffee export earnings for the 2020/21 coffee season (October-September) to US$629.8million. Latest data from …
Read More »Multi-billion Isimba and Karuma Hydropower Dams: How Chinese loan ‘spillovers’ are creating new growth opportunities
Ugandan government has in the past years faced harsh criticism over regular borrowings from China Import Export Bank to facilitate development of infrastructure projects including hydropower dams, roads and possibly soon the planned Standard Gauge Railway. But the Chinese loans have also had a fair share of positive aspects to …
Read More »Behind MTN share offer
Assessing the opportunity and the risk Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Commenting on the move by Uganda’s largest telecom company, MTN, to list on the country’s stock exchange, Stephen Kaboyo, the managing director at Alpha Capital Partners, sees opportunity. “In my own prediction, MTN stock will be a good …
Read More »Afreximbank, AfCFTA roll-out Pan-African payment system
System provides Africa with greater capacity to conduct cross-border transactions, expand opportunities Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Pan-African multilateral lender, African Export-Import Bank and the Secretariat have rolled the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), revolutionalised financial market infrastructure to enable instant, cross-border payments in local currencies between African …
Read More »Cipla to widen product portfolio in new turnaround plan
The company’s share price has tumbled from Shs 256.5 during the IPO period to less than Shs100 Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Cipla Quality Chemical Ltd is considering widening its product portfolio as part of its new strategy to improve its fortunes in the medium term. The company has …
Read More »GA Insurance unveils medical cover for senior citizens
Insurance penetration remains one of the lowest among its peers in the East African region Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Insurance firm, GA insurance, has unveiled a new medical cover for senior citizens up to 80 years. Its Managing Director, Francis Kamau said, the health policy dubbed Graysure will …
Read More »New improvement groundnut varieties to meet market demand
Since the 1920’s, Uganda’s research efforts have released 24 varieties, the recent commercial varieties being Serenut1-14 series Kampala, Uganda | Isaac Khisa | Ann Apio has been growing groundnuts in Serere district, approximately 200km north east of Uganda’s capital Kampala for decades but has always had to content with difficulty in …
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