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The government, through the Uganda Development Bank Ltd (UDB), has invested sh1.4 trillion in initiatives like the Parish Development Model and Emyooga to accelerate socio-economic development. The Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) aims to support the private sector, especially in industries like cotton, fruit processing, tea, sugar, and coffee.

The Government has already invested sh1.4 trillion through the Uganda Development Bank Ltd (UDB) to accelerate socio-economic development in the country, the finance ministry’s permanent secretary Ramathan Ggoobi said on Tuesday.

He was giving the keynote speech at the Kampala Serena Hotel during the 7th Economic Summit.

According to Ggoobi, the additional sh1.4 trillion comes from investments made in the Parish Development Model (PDM), the Emyooga initiative, and the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), among other things.

He declared, “These are all meant to make it easier for our people to obtain capital and escape poverty.”

Additionally, he stated that investing in people turns out to be a more workable strategy for resolving inequality.

“Those who argue that Emyooga is not helpful frequently are either not recipients of the program themselves or are ignorant of the difficulties that some Ugandans encounter on a daily basis. Integrating people who are not a part of the monetary economy into the economic system is the aim.”

Uganda’s national development finance organization, UDB, was established with the goal of promoting sustainable financial interventions that will hasten socioeconomic development.

 In keeping with its mandate, the bank provides funding to private sector initiatives that show promise for producing a high level of socioeconomic value, including the creation of jobs, increased production output, tax revenue, and foreign exchange.

As of June 2023, Patricia Ojangole, UDB’s managing director, stated in June of this year that the organization’s total assets stood at sh1.58 trillion, up 19% from the start of 2022.

“This growth is largely attributed to increased funding, primarily through capital allocations from the Government and the utilization of credit lines from our funding partners that enables the bank to disburse credit. The bank’s gross loan portfolio as of April 2023 is sh1.384 trillion,” she added.

However, UDB has recently faced criticism for failing to lend to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in need of funding and for placing needless requirements on access to low-cost capital that most SMEs are unable to meet.

 UDC’s public relations officer, Denis Dokoria, stated during the summit that although UDC is not a competitor, the private sector sometimes views it as such.

“On the contrary, UDC is actively assisting the private sector, especially in the cotton industry, fruit processing, tea, sugar, and coffee, as well as in the agro-manufacturing sectors,” he stated.

Anne Juuko, the chief executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda, said many Ugandans are willing to pay taxes. “However, we would like to see accountability for public expenditure in form of better service delivery.”