Benefits and Challenges of Investing in Uganda

Why you should consider international expansion in Uganda

There has been a rise in the number of multinational and international companies setting up overseas in Uganda over the recent past. This can be attributed to many reasons especially liberalization of the economy allowing many multi national corporations to set up like in the telecom sector; MTN and Airtel Bharti, Orange, in the Financial Services sector ;- Citi Bank, Standard Chartered, Standard Bank, Barclays, Letshego, Oil and Gas Sector; Tullow Operations Pty, Total, Vivo Energy, CNOOC, Beverages Sector;- Diageo, SabMiller, Coca Cola, Pepsi; Fast Moving Consumer goods (FMCG);- Uniliver, Bidco.

Some of the benefits of setting up business in Uganda include;

1.  Wide regional market including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan.
2. Easy and investor friendly labour/employment laws
3. Conducive Investment Climate
4. Positive income tax regime that provides incentives to investors including double taxation treaties
5. Good physical climate
6. Liberalized economy where there is repatriation without restrictions and there are no foreign exchange controls.
7. Political, economic and market stability
8. Emergence of the regional common market of the East African community. Uganda is a member of the East African Community common market with 5 member states
9. State of infrastructure
10. Availability of adequate energy
11. Legal regulatory framework, there are no stringent laws to doing business
12. Availability and the costs of raw materials and natural resources
13. Attractive foreign investment policies
14. presence of environmental laws and regulations

Some of the drawbacks of investing in Uganda include;-

1. Dis economies of scale
2. Limited skilled labour in specialized fields hence supervision of business becomes a challenge
3. High interest rates