Youth plant Irish potatoes. The youth think the government should prioritise programmes and opportunities that ensure employment and skills development. Photo/ Lominda Afedraru
With the unveiling of the country's approved Shs72.4 trillion National Budget for FY 2025/2026, Uganda's Gen Z finds themselves at a crossroads, weighing the budget's promise against their realities. “I have been following the budget process closely—from the National Budget Framework Paper to Parliament’s final approval.
Uganda’s budget for the 2025/2026 financial year is Shs72.3 trillion, nearly identical to last year’s,” economist Taaka Proscovia Mugeni says. Ms Penninah Kawuma, a researcher at International Livestock Research Institute, says: “With the national budget theme and prioritisation of agriculture, as an agriculturalist and researcher, I was curious to know what this year's budget has in store for a field that employs 64 percent of Ugandans and 72 percent of youths and accounts for 24 percent of the country’s GDP and 50 percent of exports.”
Expectations and implications
The youth think the government should prioritise programmes and opportunities that ensure employment and skills development. Ms Mugeni says Uganda is a young country with more than 75 percent of its population under 30, and to support this demographic, the government should focus on sectors that combine employment potential with skills development. “These include agro-industrialisation (not just farming, but value addition and agritech), tourism (a job-rich sector if properly marketed and supported), education, science and technology (digital skills, AI, and innovation hubs are key for future jobs), green economy (things like clean energy, waste management, and smart farming). These sectors are practical, scalable, and well-suited for youth involvement if backed by proper policy and funding,” she adds.
Macroeconomics
Ms Mugeni says this financial year's budget is higher than that of 2024/2025 by Shs239 billion, which reflects a desire for stability, as keeping the budget size constant offers some form of predictability. Mr Ceaser Ocan, a teacher, believes that the implementation is what matters. He says the government does not strive for a balanced development approach for its youth, citing the fruit factory development in eastern Uganda. Mr Ocan adds that many young people are growing cassava in Northern Uganda and similar initiatives have not been put in place to assist them with value addition. He lauds the introduction of the tax exemption for new businesses as a good tool for the youth. “However, financing for young farmers and youth remains limited, despite the new schemes (like PDM) and these accelerator actions are tailored for large scale commercial farmers and seem to overlook the fact that majority youth (Gen Z) in agriculture are small scale farmers, especially in rural areas with limited funds, resources and unpredictable weather patterns,” he adds.
Ms Phiona Boonabaana, environmental activist, notes: “It is commendable the government is taking a step in the right direction in ensuring the establishment and maintenance of climate-related policies and institutions.” Ms Boonabaana highlights that the 2025/2026 budget is a missed opportunity for striking a balance between sustainable economic growth and environmental conservation, as it seems to emphasize economic growth through mining and infrastructure. “True progress isn’t just about building industries or increasing GDP; it’s about making sure our air stays clean, our water safe, and our communities resilient to climate impacts. Without enough investment in conservation and green solutions, we’re setting ourselves up for more floods, droughts, and hardship. Real development means caring for both people’s livelihoods and the planet that sustains them,” she adds.
Science & technology
Mr Micheal Ntege, a tech specialist, observes: “A major priority programme that is likely to benefit Uganda’s e-commerce and Gen Z populace is science and technology, and it’s no wonder that the government is fronting digital transformation, with Shs381.08 billion in FY 2025/2026." “I believe the budget's focus on agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral development, and science and technology is in the right direction—but it needs recalibration, especially when it comes to innovation and the digital economy,” Ms Mugeni says. “Let’s be honest: youth are not just looking for jobs, they’re creating ideas. Across Uganda, we see young innovators building fintech platforms, health tech solutions, smart farming systems, and even AI-driven tools. But most of these ideas die at the prototype stage because there’s little to no funding or incubation support.
“A great example is a team of Ugandan youth who represented the country in China during the Huawei ICT Competition Global Finals. They developed a smart farming robot called AgriKbot—a homegrown innovation that detects crop diseases, monitors soil conditions, and uses AI to support smallholder farmers. It was one of the top innovations on the continent. Yet back home, such ideas often struggle to secure local funding or visibility,” adds Ms Mugeni She emphasizes that the Science and Technology component of the ATMS strategy should be the foundation for supporting more of these innovations. Unfortunately, although the budget mentions innovation hubs and boot camps, funding remains small, and coordination is weak.
“We need a deliberate push: For example, scale up government-funded innovation grants—not just for research institutions, but for grassroots youth teams; establish district-level tech incubators tied to national programmes and incentivise private sector investment in startups through tax breaks or matching funds,” Ms Mugeni says “This budget could be a turning point—if it becomes more than just a document. Uganda’s youth don’t need handouts; they need the right tools and opportunities. We should budget for the future, they’re already building,” she adds. Mr Ocan also echoes a similar sentiment. “There has to be much less than talking or doing paperwork or trying to show us figures in the budget, yet little is being done to work on that,” he says.
