Overview:
Stanbic says its new free Sustainability Academy will help Ugandan firms build the ESG capabilities needed to attract investment and enter global supply chains.
Stanbic Bank Uganda has launched an ESG client readiness series and a free-to-enrol online “Sustainability Academy,” which it says will help local enterprises build the environmental, social and governance (ESG) capabilities increasingly demanded by international investors and global supply chains.
The bank, Uganda’s largest by assets, unveiled the programme at a forum in Kampala on Thursday, timing it to what it describes as 35 years of operating in the country. The event drew business leaders and industry stakeholders to discuss how stronger ESG practices might help firms unlock financing and expand into new markets.
Stanbic chief executive Mumba Kalifungwa said the academy was a way of sharing knowledge and tools built up over the bank’s time in Uganda. “Through the Sustainability Academy, we are sharing knowledge, practical tools and expertise that can help businesses strengthen their competitiveness, attract investment and position themselves for long-term growth,” he said.
Kalifungwa argued that sustainability is becoming a prerequisite for accessing international capital and winning investor confidence, and pointed to a recent Standard Bank Group fundraising as evidence of investor appetite. He said the group had secured US$800 million in sustainability-linked funding, with demand exceeding $1 billion, and framed this as capital available to support businesses in markets such as Uganda.
That deal, closed in April 2026, was a syndicated loan Standard Bank Group raised for its own funding rather than a facility earmarked for lending to Ugandan enterprises. Initially launched at $500 million, it was oversubscribed to more than $1 billion from 30 banks across several continents, with its interest rate tied to the group’s performance against two targets covering green and social finance mobilisation. Whether, and how, that funding translates into financing for individual Ugandan businesses was not detailed at the forum.
The academy itself is a localised rollout of a Standard Bank Group platform launched across Africa in 2024. Accessible free of charge on phones, tablets and computers, it offers self-paced modules on renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, water and wastewater management, carbon markets, and core ESG principles.
Speakers linked the initiative to Uganda’s national development goals, including the government’s stated ambition of growing the economy from about $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040 through agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral beneficiation and technology. According to the bank, attracting the investment needed for that transformation will increasingly hinge on firms demonstrating strong governance and responsible environmental practices.
Cathy Adengo, Stanbic’s head of sustainability, said the academy was intended to help businesses turn sustainability ambitions into practical action, describing sustainability as “a business imperative” rather than a future consideration. Nicholas Kiiza, acting head of client coverage for corporate and investment banking, said stronger sustainability capabilities would help local firms access international financing and plug into regional and global value chains.
The forum also featured Katlego Mogoba, Standard Bank Group’s head of environmental and social risk for corporate and investment banking, with additional input from Atacama Consulting and corporate practitioners including Roofings Limited.
Stanbic positions the academy within what it calls its Positive Impact Agenda, a five-pillar framework the bank says underpins its purpose of driving Uganda’s growth.