The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has granted an investment licence to Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co. Ltd, a Chinese company renowned for manufacturing medical diagnostic products and reagents.
Founded in 1992, the publicly listed company specializes in research and development, manufacture and sales of rapid diagnostic reagents and related equipment. It employs more than 1,100 employees in China.
Speaking at the investment licence handover ceremony on Monday, UIA Director General Robert Mukiza said the authority is keen on attracting more investments in the pathogenic economy.
He added that UIA intends to develop an industrial park solely for pathogenic industry manufacturers.
Dr Mukiza said UIA is laser-focused to expediting the process of acquiring investment licences in order to speed up set up of critical investment projects.
In the fight against Covid-19, Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co. Ltd, has successfully developed multiple diagnostic products to efficiently detect the virus.
Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co. Ltd. becomes the second pathogenic industry investment project that UIA has licenced in one month, the other being Jena Herbals Uganda Ltd, the manufacturers of Covidex, a supportive drug in the treatment of Covid-19.
Mukiza, who formally assumed office on Thursday, July 1, 2021, following his appointment by President Museveni in May 2021, said his priorities will be aligned towards the National Development Plan III (NDP III) and UIA’s strategic plan, including operationalisation of industrial parks.
“I will, together with the team at UIA, accelerate the Government’s industrialization agenda by aggressively operationalizing our industrial parks and promoting import substitution. We shall double our efforts in attracting of investors into Uganda, in order to add value to our primary products, through fully operationalizing the One Stop Centre.”