Absa Bank Uganda is calling for greater focus on converting Uganda’s growing pipeline of investment opportunities into financed projects and productive businesses, as the country seeks to accelerate investment across energy, infrastructure, minerals, manufacturing and technology.
Attracting investor interest is only part of the challenge. Converting that interest into investment requires projects and businesses with the governance, cash flows, commercial structures and risk allocation needed to secure financing and move towards execution.
“Uganda has significant investment opportunities. The more important question now is how we convert that potential and investor interest into bankable projects and productive investment,” said David Wandera, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Absa Bank Uganda. “The real test is whether we can build projects and businesses that can attract capital, withstand financial and commercial scrutiny and ultimately move into execution.”
Recent transactions demonstrate how this can work. In 2026, Absa provided a USD 50 million five-year facility to Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited, the utility’s first debt financing, to support investment in Uganda’s electricity distribution network. The investment is expected to enable more than 200,000 additional electricity connections.
Absa also partnered with the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company on a UGX 11.085 billion concessional credit facility, providing capital for onward lending to eligible energy companies. The structure shows how commercial and development finance can work together to address financing constraints and move capital towards productive investment.
These transactions build on Absa’s financing and advisory activity across telecommunications, sustainable real estate, green mobility, waste management and capital markets, including participation in a USD 100 million syndicated facility for MTN Uganda and its role as Lead Transaction Advisor on Airtel Uganda’s IPO.
“The opportunity is to connect more capital with the right opportunities and create the conditions for that investment to succeed,” Wandera said. “Different projects require different types of capital. The role of banks is increasingly to understand what an opportunity needs, structure it appropriately and connect international capital with the local knowledge and execution capability required to make it work.”
Uganda’s strengthening financial markets provide a foundation for that investment. The country has risen from tenth when the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index was launched, to third in the 2025 Index, reflecting progress in the financial ecosystem available to support investment and growth.
Wandera made the case for greater investment execution at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on 11 September, where discussions focused on moving African economies from access to production. He contributed to discussions on institutional finance and financial infrastructure, alongside a closed working session on critical minerals and industrial value addition.
“Uganda’s next investment story is about translating growing opportunity into investment that strengthens businesses, infrastructure and long-term productive capacity,” Wandera said.
