Uganda’s $500bn growth target hinges on financing, says Mastercard executive

KAMPALA — Uganda’s plan to grow its economy tenfold by 2040 is at its core a financing challenge that banks, capital markets and technology firms will have to address together, a Mastercard executive has said.

Victor Ndlovu, Vice President and Head of Business Development for East Africa at Mastercard, said the target of expanding the economy from $50 billion to $500 billion would require banks, technology companies, government and other players to work together to mobilise capital and build digital infrastructure.

“At its core, this is a financing question,” Ndlovu said in an interview tied to the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) Annual Bankers Conference, which Mastercard has sponsored for nine consecutive years.

Citing UBA analysis, Ndlovu said private sector credit would need to grow from roughly Shs28 trillion today to Shs490 trillion by 2040, while capital markets are expected to mobilise a further Shs440 trillion. He said the discussion therefore had to bring in banks, capital markets, development finance institutions and technology partners.

Ndlovu pointed to the company’s local partnerships as part of that effort. He said Mastercard, working with MTN Uganda, Diamond Trust Bank and Network International, had launched Virtual Card by MoMo, which allows MTN MoMo subscribers to make online payments without a physical card or a bank account.

He added that Mastercard was working with Diamond Trust Bank to roll out digital payment products in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, including tokenisation-based passive wearable payments.

On agriculture, Ndlovu said the company’s Community Pass programme gives smallholder farmers in Uganda a digital identity and a transaction history. He argued that this financial visibility could improve farmers’ access to credit and support agro-industrialisation.

He said the same principle applied to small businesses, whose digital transaction records could help lenders and investors assess them and allow the businesses to take a fuller part in the formal economy.

He cited Mastercard’s SME Confidence Index, which he said shows that small businesses across Africa are increasingly accepting digital payments.

Ndlovu said the company was also marketing Ugandan tourism through its Priceless Africa offering on Priceless.com, where cardholders can book experiences such as gorilla trekking in Bwindi and white-water rafting in Jinja. He said Mastercard works with tourism boards across East Africa on data-driven marketing campaigns.

On remittances, Ndlovu said the company was seeking to reduce the cost of sending money so that more of it reaches recipients. He said its Mastercard Move service allows businesses and financial institutions to send and receive funds across more than 200 countries and territories in over 150 currencies.

Asked about security in cross-border payments, Ndlovu said Mastercard had invested roughly $12.6 billion in cybersecurity since 2019, helped launch more than 20 cybersecurity start-ups and works with threat intelligence firm Recorded Future.

He also said that since 2020 the company had supported more than 50 million small businesses globally, including 37 million women entrepreneurs, with tools he said help them expand, increase sales and reach new markets.