ITALY INVESTMENT HUNT! Uganda Targets Oil, Pharma, Energy Deals at Rome Forum
The forum was announced on Monday by Uganda’s Ambassador to Italy, Elizabeth Paula Napeyok, and Henry Mayega, Head of International Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a media briefing at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
By Evans Najuna
KAMPALA — Uganda is stepping up its campaign to attract Italian capital, with government targeting new investment and industrial partnerships in oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, agro-processing and manufacturing.
The investment drive will take centre stage at the inaugural Uganda-Italy Business and Investment Forum, scheduled for October 13-14 in Rome, Italy, under the theme “Unlocking Shared Prosperity.”
The forum was announced on Monday by Uganda’s Ambassador to Italy, Elizabeth Paula Napeyok, and Henry Mayega, Head of International Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a media briefing at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
Napeyok said the two-day forum is designed to deepen trade, investment and industrial cooperation between Uganda and Italy while providing a platform for businesses from both countries to identify concrete commercial opportunities.
She said the forum will bring together senior government officials, investment promotion agencies, business leaders, financial institutions and development partners from Uganda and Italy.
At the centre of the meeting will be bankable investment projects and business opportunities in Uganda, with Italian and Ugandan companies expected to explore joint ventures, partnerships, technology transfer and other forms of commercial cooperation.
“We want to create a platform where businesses can meet directly, understand the opportunities available and build partnerships that can translate into actual investments,” Napeyok said.
The priority areas include oil, gas and energy; agro-industry and agro-mechanisation; coffee, tea and cocoa value addition; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
Government will also pitch the establishment of industrial parks for Italian manufacturers under the “Made with Italy in Uganda” concept.
The initiative is intended to attract Italian manufacturers to establish production facilities in Uganda while promoting skills development, technology transfer, local production and industrial growth.
Napeyok said Uganda’s strategic location, natural resources, youthful population and access to regional and continental markets make the country an attractive destination for Italian companies seeking to expand their operations in Africa.
She said the forum will go beyond speeches, with participants expected to engage in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) meetings, sector roundtables, matchmaking sessions, networking engagements and factory visits.
The programme will also feature high-level plenary sessions focusing on investment opportunities and areas where Uganda and Italy can strengthen economic cooperation.
Napeyok said Rome was selected because of its concentration of major Italian industrial groups and a strong network of small and medium-sized enterprises.
She added that Italy’s growing economic engagement with Africa provides an opportunity for Uganda to position itself as an investment and production hub for the wider East African and continental markets.
The forum will also give Ugandan public institutions and private-sector players an opportunity to directly pitch projects to Italian investors and discuss possible financing, partnerships and technology transfer.
English will be the working language of the forum, with Italian interpretation provided to facilitate participation by Italian businesses.
Uganda’s delegation is expected to use the forum to showcase investment opportunities and seek partnerships that can support industrialisation, value addition and expansion of Uganda’s productive sectors.
The organisers are now encouraging Ugandan businesses and institutions with investment opportunities to use the Rome meeting to connect with potential Italian partners and convert the forum’s discussions into concrete commercial ventures.
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