Overview:
Pride Bank has appointed Beatrice Lugalambi, a banker with more than 30 years’ experience at Centenary, Barclays and Bank of Africa, as executive director
Uganda’s Pride Bank has appointed Beatrice Lugalambi, a banker with more than three decades in the industry, as executive director. The former microfinance lender is turning to seasoned commercial leadership as it expands into mainstream banking.
Lugalambi’s career has taken her through Centenary Bank, Barclays Bank Uganda and Bank of Africa. Pride Bank Limited said in a statement that her experience spans business development, corporate banking, marketing, customer experience and institutional leadership.
At Centenary Bank, one of Uganda’s largest lenders, she held several senior management positions. These included general manager for corporate communications and marketing, and general manager for business development and marketing.
Her appointment comes about a year after the central bank, the Bank of Uganda, granted Pride Microfinance a credit institution licence on November 26, 2024. The institution rebranded as Pride Bank Limited, a Tier II credit institution, on April 29, 2025.
According to the bank, the upgrade has expanded its capacity to mobilise deposits and offer a broader range of financial products to individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses.
Speaking at the launch, Mackay Aomu, Director of the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Department at the Bank of Uganda, said Pride was only the second institution in the country to move from Tier III to Tier II status, after Equity Bank. In June 2025, the lender unveiled SME loans, home improvement loans, mortgages, forex services and trade finance.
Pride Bank Managing Director Veronicah Gladys Namagembe said Lugalambi’s experience and understanding of the market would be valuable as the institution pursues its next phase of growth.
“Beatrice joins us at a particularly exciting time when we have built a strong foundation in financial inclusion, earned the trust of communities across Uganda and taken important steps towards becoming a more competitive and diversified financial institution,” Namagembe said.
“Our next chapter calls for experienced leadership that can translate this foundation into greater value for our customers and sustainable growth for the bank,” she added.
Namagembe described Lugalambi as bringing “a deep understanding of the market, a strong commercial perspective and a proven ability to build relationships that drive business”. She said the bank was “delighted to welcome her to the leadership team”.
Lugalambi holds a Master of Business Administration from the Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI), a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Uganda Management Institute and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Makerere University.
Outside banking, she is involved in community service and mentorship, including leadership roles in Rotary.
Pride was founded in 1995 as Pride Microfinance Limited. The Ugandan government acquired full ownership of the institution in 2003, and it became a Tier III microfinance deposit-taking institution in 2005.
The bank says it is building on its microfinance roots while positioning itself as a broader financial services provider, and that it remains focused on extending accessible and relevant financial services to more Ugandans.