Source : UDB
Arshad Rab (L), CEO and Chairman, the International Council of Sustainability Standards for Value-Driven Financial Institutions and Dr. Patricia Ojangole (R) Managing Director Uganda Development Bank during a panel discussion at the Forum
As Uganda readies to leap into a high-tech and high-value future, Uganda Development Bank (UDB), the country’s Development Finance Institution (DFI), has rallied wide array of stakeholders around its RISE Platform, which seeks to convert national challenges into investable, scalable opportunities.
On Tuesday, February 24, UDB convened the RISE Stakeholder Forum, a series of consultative engagements under the Bank’s flagship Reshaping Industries for a Sustainable Economy (RISE) Program. Launched in March 2025, the RISE Platform brings together innovators, financiers, regulators, and industry leaders to co-create opportunities that are commercially viable and socially impactful.
In her remarks during the event held at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance said technology sovereignty is central to Uganda’s national strategy, highlighting the ‘Buy Uganda, Build Uganda’ policy which is designed to protect our young innovators and promote solutions that are homegrown.
“While we talk about tenfold growth, it is critical to emphasize that growth is not just about numbers; it must be quality and sustainable. To implement our objectives for tenfold growth, the government has launched the National Digital Transformation Programme, a five-year strategy running from 2023 to 2028. This programme prioritizes nationwide broadband coverage of 90% to enable high-tech industrialization in all regions of the country,” said Dr. Zawedde.
Dr. Aminah Zawedde, the Permanent Secretary in Uganda’s Ministry of ICT and National Guidance
Speaking at the forum, Arshad Rab, CEO and Chairman, the International Council of Sustainability Standards for Value-Driven Financial Institutions, said the three-day engagement seeks to introduce RISE to critical stakeholders, as a practical comprehensive solution to turn Uganda’s societal, economic, and environmental challenges into high-impact, high-value opportunities.
“RISE is a vehicle for mobilizing strategic capital. By ensuring that capital is deployed into high-impact, system-aligned ventures with measurable outcomes, RISE transforms the use of funds into a powerful engine for capital mobilization — attracting shareholders, governments, and investors seeking both performance and real-world impact,” Arshad said.
By leveraging domestic expertise, channeling strategic capital, and aligning public and private actors, UDB is working with innovators, financiers, regulators, and industry leaders to build a pipeline of investable, high-tech solutions across priority sectors.
UDB’s Managing Director, Dr. Patricia Ojangole said; “Today, Uganda has a clear opportunity to reset its development trajectory. Since the launch of the Platform, a lot of work has gone into ensuring the platform delivers a seamless, high-performance user experience for stakeholders. Now, we convene to deliberate on the opportunities that exist across energy, agri-food, infrastructure, industrial real estate & construction, advanced manufacturing, and cross-sectoral technologies, in order to accelerate Uganda’s 10-fold growth strategy.”
“We believe the dialogue that arises from this Forum will translate into investment-ready pipelines and deliver tangible national impact including high-quality employment, technology diffusion, competitive exports, fiscal and economic resilience, as well as productivity and national competitiveness,” Dr. Ojangole added.
The Forum comes at a time when UDB is in the second year of implementing its new strategy where the Bank will expand its services beyond provision of credit to the private sector, to taking on a greater role in structuring, transaction advisory, and crowding-in development finance from various local and international sources to finance investments in the country, among other roles.
Government officials and private sector players follow proceedings during the Technology Mission on the final day of the RISE Forum
The NDP IV underscores Science, Technology, and Innovation including ICT; are enablers for the knowledge economy which is key for creating new sources of growth and informing solutions to the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment through increasing value for sale and how we live and do business. In particular, STI is a key driver of economic growth and a prime source of competition in the global marketplace with at least 50% of growth attributable to it.
The RISE Stakeholders Forum will comprise of five sectoral engagements – RISE Energy Mission, RISE Agri-Food Mission, RISE Industrial Real Estate & Construction Mission, RISE Infrastructure Mission, and RISE Technology Systems Mission.