Uganda Government launches own unit trust scheme

The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) and the Bank of Uganda (BoU) have launched the pilot phase of the Okusevinga Money Market Unit Trust Scheme, a landmark initiative aimed at expanding access to safe and affordable investment opportunities for Ugandans.

Okusevinga is Africa’s first government-owned unit trust scheme and represents a strategic shift from merely expanding access to financial services towards enabling meaningful participation in savings and investment. The initiative builds on Uganda’s strong progress in financial inclusion, where 81 percent of adults now have access to financial services, according to the FinScope Uganda 2023 Survey, largely driven by the widespread adoption of mobile money.

Despite this progress, a significant proportion of Ugandans continue to save informally, limiting the ability of household savings to earn returns and contribute to long-term financial resilience. Okusevinga seeks to bridge this gap by enabling individuals to invest small amounts directly into regulated money market and bond funds through a simple mobile-based platform.

The pilot phase will involve a limited group of participants who will test the platform’s end-to-end functionality, including registration, investment transactions and balance inquiries. According to MoFPED and BoU, this controlled rollout is intended to validate system performance, strengthen consumer safeguards and refine the user experience ahead of a broader public launch planned for early 2026.

Officials described the pilot as a prudent, phased approach to innovation, ensuring that the platform operates efficiently, securely and in full compliance with regulatory standards before it is made widely available.

The Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary, Dr Ramathan Ggoobi, said the use of digital platforms such as Okusevinga will enable the government to reach out to a segment of the population that otherwise,would not be easily reached through conventional means and these include the rural communities and the Diaspora among others.

“In addition to securities,Government will leverage this infrastructure to mobilise retail pensions,contributions towards insurance products and any other mass resource mobilization efforts,” said the PSST. He said Okusevinga is aimed at stimulating the saving culture and increasing savings volumes.

“As our economy grows and as we pursue our tenfold growth agenda-we must identify alternative revenue sources,particularly from the domestic financial market,” said Dr.Ggoobi,adding that Okusevinga will also lower Government borrowing costs.

By linking small savers to professionally managed, low-risk investment instruments, Okusevinga is expected to improve household-level financial health while contributing to deeper domestic capital markets and sustainable economic development.

The pilot phase has been supported by several partners, including the Capital Markets Authority, Uganda Communications Commission, National Information Technology Authority–Uganda, Financial Sector Deepening Uganda, Uganda Investment Authority and Airtel Uganda.

As implementation progresses, MoFPED and the Bank of Uganda said they will continue to engage key stakeholders, strengthen financial literacy efforts and prepare for the next phase of the rollout. Further communication will be issued in due course to inform the public about the full launch and participation modalities.