State House, diaspora unit to jointly boost FDI 

The State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU) has been proactive in creating investor confidence, with Foreign Director Investment (FDI) expected to jump further to the greatest heights ever.

Already available statistics point in the above direction, as Uganda was able to attract about $13m in FDI in 2022.

Coupled with the various investor packages that Uganda has, the head of SHIPU, Col Edith Nakalema together with the Anti-Corruption Unit of State House come in handy in ensuring the investors are not conned while government officials do not take bribes.

This will in turn ensure quick set up of investment units, hence the country benefitting in terms of job creation and value addition, especially to our agricultural products.

President Museveni has been insisting on 13 key productions whose value addition will ensure that the country’s income from exports hits $6 billion by the end of this decade.

Nakalema has started her mission in high gear by collaborating with related ministries, departments and agencies through joint meetings and sensitization projects. We have witnessed her holding meetings with foreign and local investors, Uganda Revenue Authority chiefs, traders and members of the forces.

Since there is also the Diaspora Unity at State House, I believe they could work together to sensitize Ugandans living abroad to act as good ambassadors in attracting investors back to the Pearl of Africa.

Also, the same community of Ugandan Diaspora is a good source of investment back home as long as they have the confidence to safely sink their remittances into the profitable sectors without being cheated.

By January 2024, Bank of Uganda announced that remittances by Ugandans in the Diaspora had grown to sh5.5 trillion up from sh4.8 trillion in the same period to January 2023.

This growth shows the confidence the Diaspora community is having the systems back home and we are sure this year the remittances will even jump higher.

As stated above, let the public support Nakalema through whistleblowing wherever we detect that someone is cheating the investors or trying to con them.

In that way our country will have more factories and industries, thereby increasing job opportunities while also leading the socio-economic transformation

The author, Aiden Wasajja is a businessman based in Kampala.