Uganda's Private Sector Gears Up for the August Uganda-Egypt Business Forum in Cairo
Uganda's Private Sector Gears Up for the August Uganda-Egypt Business Forum in Cairo
The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Monday, July 28th, held the fourth stakeholders preparatory meeting, at the PSFU headquarters in Nakasero, Kampala, ahead of the Uganda-Egypt Business Forum, scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday, August 11th, under the theme: Strengthening Trade and Investment Cooperation between Uganda and Egypt.
The high-level forum is expected to be a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations between Uganda and Egypt. The event will coincide with a visit by H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to the Arab Republic of Egypt, from Monday, August 11th to Wednesday, 13th, whose presence underscores the strategic importance of the event.
The forum, according to the Chief Executive Officer of PSFU – Stephen Asiimwe, will focus on five key areas, among which will include Business-to-Business (B2B) engagements, Business-to-Government (B2G) dialogues, promotion of joint ventures and strategic partnerships, tourism development, and technology transfer.
Uganda’s Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy in Cairo, Ambassador Lt. Gen. Charles Angina, confirmed Uganda’s participation and emphasized the opportunity the forum presents for the private sector.
“Egypt is a very industrialized and developed African country with a lot of opportunities,” Amb. Angina said. “We are exploring avenues through which Uganda's private sector can forge mutually beneficial business ventures and partnerships with Egypt.”
World Bank statistics show that Egypt’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at USD 389 billion, as of 2024, with a GDP per capita standing at USD 3,574.
Angina emphasised the huge potential Uganda has to tap into Egypt’s steadily tourism base, having grown from over seven million tourists, in 2023, to 15.2 million tourists, last year, making Egypt the second highest ranking tourism destination in Africa.
“Let us position our country better for bigger tourism opportunities because not very many countries in Africa are more gifted than us. However, we need to start by reducing on the unnecessary security-threatening stories that keep recklessly going out because this always affects the number of tourists we attract annually,” Angina added
The Uganda-Egypt Business Forum is expected to attract a wide array of stakeholders from both countries, including entrepreneurs, government officials, investors, and development partners. Participants will engage in networking, deal-making, and strategic discussions aimed at unlocking new markets and catalyzing investment.
The event also aims to lay groundwork for long-term collaboration, leveraging Egypt’s industrial strength and Uganda’s strategic positioning in the East African region.
As the business community readies to be a part of the Forum, especially on the part of Agriculture, the stakeholders preparatory meeting resolved that emphasis be put on products where Uganda has a competitive advantage over Egypt. Ambassador Angina recommended, for example, products like pineapples, jackfruit, sesame (sim sim), and avocado, among others.
Asiimwe reiterated this by urging the various representatives of businesses and associations to go niche, referencing PSFU's speciality market programme on coffee, where an exporter focuses on producing and supplying little but of very high quality, as opposed to mass market production.
One of the stakeholders in the fourth preparatory meeting – Joseph Awino, the National Sales Manager at Brookside Diary Uganda Ltd, expressed their interest in meeting players and competitors in the diary business in Egypt, especially in the production of powdered milk, ghee, and butter.
Interested participants can book to be part of the official delegation via https://forms.gle/Xskm8ct1J6vNTvDn8
