UDB launches development finance summit
The summit is set to gather over 400 high-level participants, including government officials, policymakers, national and international development finance institutions (DFIs), private sector actors, and civil society leaders
Dr Patricia Ojangole, the chief executive officer at UDB. (Courtesy photo)
By Ali Twaha
Journalists @New Vision
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Uganda Development Bank (UDB) has officially launched the Uganda Development Finance Summit, scheduled to take place from September 1st to 2nd, 2025, at the Speke Resort Convention Centre in Kampala.
The summit is set to gather over 400 high-level participants, including government officials, policymakers, national and international development finance institutions (DFIs), private sector actors, and civil society leaders, under the theme of “Transforming Africa through national development finance architecture”.
The summit is being convened as Uganda’s economy continues to demonstrate commendable resilience in the region. Uganda’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is estimated at 6.3% in 2024/25, and projections of as high as 10.8% with the commencement of oil production in financial year 2026.
The growth has been fueled by momentum in exports, industrial performance, and services. However, the broader African continent faces significant challenges in financing development, including tightening global financial markets, climate shocks, diminishing concessional funding, shrinking aid flows, and reduced access to concessional financing, which collectively complicate capital mobilisation.
Dr. Patricia Ojangole, the chief executive officer at UDB, given the global shift in donor funding priorities, the bank is actively engaging policymakers, regulators, and other partners domestically to unlock internal resources and leverage private capital for development projects.
She said the summit aims to explore new and blended financing models to unlock capital for infrastructure, industrialisation, and green initiatives, among others.
The two-day summit will delve into thematic issues such as advancing Africa's transformation through development finance, industrial policy, and private sector growth, commercialising agriculture, among others.
It seeks to generate policy recommendations supporting inclusive, climate-resilient, and innovative development, and to modernise national development finance architecture.