UK pledges support for investor protection in Uganda

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The head of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU), Col Edith Nakalema, has met the British High Commissioner to Uganda, Lisa Chesney, to discuss ways of strengthening investor confidence and safeguarding foreign investments.

Col. Edith Nakalema used the meeting at SHIPU’s offices in Nakasero, Kampala, on Monday, August 11, to outline the Unit's role in removing bureaucratic delays that hinder investors.

State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU) head Col. Edith Nakema delivers her speech as the visiting British High Commissioner to Uganda Lisa Chesneyon attentively looks on. (Photo by PPU/Tony Rujuta)

“Whether it is access to land in industrial parks or activating tax incentives or formalising business registration or expediting an environmental impact assessment or securing power supply, SHIPU is at the forefront of levelling the landscape of these procedures,” she said.

She noted Uganda’s recent global accolades for investment appeal, including being named Africa’s best investment destination at the Global Annual Investment Meeting in 2024 and ranking first in the EAC in the Africa Risk-Reward Index.

Such recognition, she said, reinforces SHIPU’s drive to strengthen investor confidence.

Col Nakalema also underscored the role of the Uganda Electronic Investors Protection Portal in providing verified information and shielding investors from fraud.

The British High Commissioner to Uganda Lisa Chesneyon delivers her speech during her official visit at the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU) headquarters in Nakasero, Kampala. (Photo by PPU/Tony Rujuta)

Chesney hailed SHIPU’s anti-corruption work and affirmed the UK’s support in attracting more British investors.

“We are going to work together with SHIPU to give investors confidence that they are being protected because they contribute to the economic development of Uganda,” she said.

State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU) head Col. Edith Nakema (center) in a group photo with the British High Commissioner to Uganda Lisa Chesneyon (left) and British High Commission's Trade and Prosperity officer Crosby Kate (right) during an official visit. (Photo by PPU/Tony Rujuta)

Chesney further assured Uganda of more support for mutual benefits between the two countries.

“As the UK High Commission in Uganda, we are going to encourage the UK investors to invest more here.”