How Uganda’s $1.2bn Roosevelt trail opens door to US investment

A heritage trail following former US President Theodore Roosevelt’s journey through Uganda more than a century ago is being positioned as a gateway for American investment, after it was named the first deal under a new US “Trade Over Aid” framework.

The Roosevelt Africa Trail, an indicative $1.2bn investment pipeline for Uganda alone, was presented on Friday at a showcase in New York during the high-level week of the 81st UN General Assembly, according to its organisers.

The organisers say the designation gives Uganda’s projects a direct route to US government institutions, financing agencies, companies and investors. They describe it as a shift in the trail from a shared heritage and tourism initiative into an economic platform spanning infrastructure, technology, tourism, agriculture and jobs.

The showcase at the Lotte New York Palace was hosted by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to the organisers. It was co-hosted by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and John Jovanovic, president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim). Representatives of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also attended.

Trade Over Aid is a US approach that seeks to build economic relationships through trade, investment, private enterprise and commercially sustainable partnerships. Its deals framework is designed to turn that approach into transactions by connecting specific investment opportunities with US agencies, companies, investors and lenders.

The organisers say the arrangement works both ways. Uganda gains potential access to investment, technology, infrastructure, tourism markets and commercial partners, while US companies gain opportunities for exports, contracts, customers and long-term business relationships.

Much of that access would come through two US financing bodies. The organisers say Exim could support eligible purchases of US equipment, technology and professional services for qualifying trail projects, while the DFC could back qualifying private-sector investments alongside private capital and other sources of finance.

The $1.2bn is not a single project but a collection of separate, connected opportunities, the organisers said.

The largest is a proposed Roosevelt Africa Museum of History & Science, planned with a library, a resort and wider destination development. The organisers envisage an integrated destination bringing together heritage, science, research, conservation, hospitality, entertainment and tourism. They say the museum and library would interpret the Roosevelt expedition alongside the history, cultures, natural sciences and conservation of Uganda and the region, and that construction could create work for Ugandan and US firms in architecture, engineering, technology, hospitality, infrastructure, equipment and professional services.

A second strand is a network of “Smart Monuments”, which the organisers describe as the digital backbone of the trail. Using artificial intelligence, immersive storytelling, archival material and mobile guides, the network would link sites along the route and direct visitors to nearby hotels, restaurants, guides, transport providers, cultural experiences, artisans and community enterprises. The organisers say their ambition is to create the longest connected smart heritage trail in the world.

The pipeline also includes wider tourism and hospitality development along the route.

In Uganda, the trail would begin at Entebbe on Lake Victoria, the gateway through which Roosevelt entered the country during his 1909-1910 expedition through East Africa. It would pass through Kampala and the Buganda kingdom, linking the Roosevelt story with Buganda’s royal heritage, including his encounter with Kabaka Daudi Chwa II, and with sites such as Namugongo.

The route would then enter the Bunyoro-Kitara region through Hoima, Masindi and Butiaba before reaching Budongo Forest, which the organisers present as a destination for biodiversity, scientific research and conservation. From there it would continue to Murchison Falls National Park and follow the Albert Nile through Rhino Camp to Ajai Wildlife Reserve and the wider West Nile region.

The organisers say the sites are designed to work as one connected visitor journey rather than isolated historic stops, supported by accommodation, transport, restaurants, cultural experiences and conservation activities.

Coffee forms the agricultural arm of the plan. Roosevelt Africa Safari Coffee connects Roosevelt’s historical association with coffee to Uganda’s much older coffee heritage, particularly mwanyi, the Robusta coffee long embedded in Buganda’s culture, hospitality and traditional ceremonies.

The venture aims to combine Uganda’s coffee production with US investment, processing technology, brands, distribution and market access. Rather than exporting mainly green beans, it proposes roasting, packaging, branded coffee, K-Cups, pods and specialty products for the US market.

The organisers say US coffee company Keurig has expressed interest, and that a letter of intent and partnership pathway has been established with US-based Kahawa 1893.

They point to Switzerland as a model. Although not a major coffee grower, Switzerland exported about $3.63bn of roasted coffee in 2024, according to the organisers. The US imported roughly $1.12bn of it, making Switzerland its largest foreign supplier of roasted coffee by value.

For the US, the organisers say, the venture could help diversify coffee supply and create business for American firms in processing technology, equipment, packaging, logistics, branding and distribution. For Uganda, it offers farmers and processors a way to keep more value from one of the country’s most important crops through processing, manufacturing, exports and jobs.

Beyond coffee, the organisers expect the wider pipeline to create openings for American companies in technology, artificial intelligence, architecture, engineering, hospitality, aviation, infrastructure, equipment, agricultural technology and value-added manufacturing.

The organisers also set out what the trail could mean for communities along the route. They expect cultural tourism, hospitality, technology, creative industries and coffee enterprise in Entebbe, Kampala and Buganda. They see new visitor circuits, accommodation, guiding, transport and heritage businesses across Hoima, Masindi and Butiaba, and nature tourism, research and community enterprise around Budongo Forest.

Around Murchison Falls and the Nile, they expect stronger links between international tourism, conservation and local business. Along the Albert Nile, in Rhino Camp, at Ajai Wildlife Reserve and across West Nile, they anticipate growth in accommodation, transport, food supply, guiding and community-based tourism. They say the Smart Monuments network could create opportunities for Uganda’s technology, film, creative, heritage and digital content industries.

Uganda’s delegation in New York included Foreign Affairs Minister Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s Ambassador to the US Robie Kakonge, and representatives of Uganda’s Permanent Mission to the UN. Also present were Diana Kyaremera, chief executive of AGE Safaris, and Roosevelt Africa Trail officials Joshua Sentongo, director of business development and strategy, and Dr Frederick Kiggundu, director of finance.

Friday’s announcement built on an event at Uganda House in New York on 10 September, titled Shared Heritage, Shared Opportunity, where Dan Negrea, the US representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, supported advancing the trail through the Trade Over Aid framework.

The organisers say the focus now shifts to execution. The next phase involves breaking the $1.2bn pipeline into individual bankable transactions, completing feasibility studies, identifying US and Ugandan partners, structuring Exim, DFC and private-sector financing, and turning commercial interest into agreements and projects. Individual transactions would go through feasibility, eligibility checks, due diligence and formal approvals.

The $1.2bn covers Uganda only. Kenya and South Sudan, which form part of the wider regional trail, are expected to develop their own national projects and investment pipelines. The organisers say that together, the three countries’ plans could form a broader US-East Africa economic corridor linking shared heritage with trade, tourism, technology, investment and jobs.