Ugandan companies should form partnerships with United Kingdom (UK) firms in trade export finance, finance technology and capital markets to manage their business efficiently.
Speaking in a high level meeting over Uganda’s Financial Services Sector and Capital Markets at Kampala Serena Hotel last week, Mr Liam Fox, the MP, Secretary of State for International Trade and UK Business Associates, said there is need for UK companies to form long-term strategic relationships with companies in Uganda.
He noted that such partnerships create trade opportunities between both countries.
“We want to see more UK companies in Uganda and Africa providing trade finance,” Mr Fox who was meeting UK Cabinet ministers, government officials, Bank of Uganda, finance and manufacturing companies in Uganda, said.
Mr Fox said in the UK, they have capital investment finance, UK trade finance, which companies in Uganda can tap into it.
The UK Trade and Investment is a government organisation which offers assistance to overseas business. They have knowledge, a global network of business facilitators and staff in embassies.
They provide business information, detail of UK environment and access to UK business networks to help foreign investors to make informed decisions.
Mr Fox said there are 22 UK experts in the world providing direct market information contact.
In an interview with Daily Monitor, the head of growth and economic Management at Department for International Development, Mr Adrian Green, said Ugandan companies should move fast in forming partnership and signing agreements with UK companies like it has been done in other African countries such as South Africa and Kenya.
Mr Adrian said: “Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg stock exchange have all signed an agreement with London stock aimed at making investment opportunities available to companies in UK and in these African countries.”
The chairperson of Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU), Ms Gertrude Wamala Karugaba, said people in Uganda still lack access to long-term financial services. “However, with the help of Financial Sector Deepening Uganda, we have helped 0.5 million people in Uganda to access financial services,” she said.
Ms Karugaba said more than 2,000 women are among those who have got access to financial services.
At the continent level, Ms Karugaba said in 2015, FSD Africa provided a £5m first loss facility to catalyse the launch of the £120m Frontier Clearing Fund to energise interbank lending markets in developing countries and boost bank lending to the economy;

Source: Daily Monitor

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