Uganda courts Thai investors to drive $500b economy ambition

KAMPALA. Uganda has invited Thai investors to explore opportunities in agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, tourism, manufacturing and technology as the government pursues its ambition of growing the economy to US$500 billion by 2040.

Finance Minister Henry Musasizi made the call during the Uganda-Thailand Economic Networking Dinner held on Monday, October 12, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mr Musasizi said Uganda wants to leverage Thailand’s experience in agro-processing, food exports, tourism and high-tech manufacturing to expand domestic production, create jobs and increase export earnings.

“Together, let us turn the friendship between our two countries into factories, export growth, jobs and shared prosperity,” he said.

He identified investment opportunities across agricultural and industrial value chains, including coffee processing, processed foods, pharmaceuticals, steel products, fertilisers, cement, meat and dairy processing, tourism and hospitality.

Uganda is also seeking to move beyond exporting raw minerals by developing industries that process them into higher-value products.

Mr Musasizi said investors could explore opportunities to manufacture electric batteries from lithium, automotive steel and construction materials from iron ore, organic fertilisers from phosphates, and electrical conductors and battery components from copper and cobalt.

The minister said Uganda’s membership in the East African Community (EAC), which has a market of about 530 million people, and access to the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer investors opportunities to establish production facilities serving regional and continental markets.

He said the government was working to improve the investment climate through fiscal incentives, industrial parks, export processing zones and investments in infrastructure, energy, irrigation, information and communication technology, and transport.

Mr Musasizi added that investors can register businesses within a day, own 100 per cent of their investments and repatriate profits without restrictions.

Economic growth

The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, presented Uganda’s economic performance and expanding export base as evidence of the investment opportunities available.

He said the economy grew by 6.4 per cent in the 2025/26 financial year, while exports of goods and services increased to US$18.4 billion, representing annual growth of 34 per cent.

Foreign direct investment inflows reached US$3.7 billion in 2025, while tourism receipts rose to US$1.62 billion.

Mr Ggoobi said Uganda had added 31 export products over the past 15 years, generating about US$333 million annually, a development he said reflected the diversification of the country’s export base.

He projected economic growth of 10.2 per cent in the 2026/27 financial year, supported by the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which prioritises agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and science, technology and innovation.

The strategy aims to expand production and value addition, with the government seeking to attract investment that can increase exports, generate employment and strengthen domestic industrial capacity.

Strengthening bilateral ties

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by Director General Urasa Mongkolnavin, reaffirmed the importance of strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

“Let us continue to build a bond of friendship between our two countries,” Ms Mongkolnavin said, adding that Asia was not far from Africa.

Uganda’s High Commissioner to Thailand, Ms Betty Bigombe, also called for deeper engagement between the two countries to expand commercial and investment opportunities.

The engagement forms part of Uganda’s broader economic and commercial diplomacy efforts to attract foreign investment, increase tourist arrivals, expand export markets and promote value addition.

For Uganda, attracting Thai investors could help bring capital, technology and expertise into sectors the government considers central to its industrialisation drive.

The challenge will be to translate the investment discussions into concrete commitments that establish businesses, expand local production and create jobs.