Third Annual Doing Business Forum

Uganda's Tenfold Growth Strategy aims to take GDP from about US$65 billion to US$500 billion. None of its anchor areas — agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals and oil and gas, and science, technology and innovation — can scale without roads, factories, warehouses, hotels and housing. Construction grew 12.2% in FY 2025/26 and contributes about 6.6% of GDP, but it is held back by informality, permitting delays, mortgage finance under 1% of GDP and formal land registration of about 30%.

The Forum treats this as a value chain problem. Uganda imported about US$232 million of iron and steel in 2024 and over US$150 million of cement clinker; inland freight costs US$2,000–3,500 per container; only 8.9% of the construction workforce has formal TVET training; and construction firms borrow at 18–21% against a Central Bank Rate near 9.75%. Indigenous contractors take about 15% of the work while employing some 40% of the workforce.

The Ankole sub-region is the case study: 3.61 million people across ten districts, with Mbarara City as its commercial hub, a dairy corridor producing over 1.2 billion litres of milk a year, and fast-rising demand for housing, industrial space, logistics and hospitality. The dialogue also asks how recent reforms — the Building Control (Amendment) Act, 2026, the Mortgage Refinance Institutions Act, 2026 and the Valuation Act, 2025 — can be put into practice.

Focus areas

• Import substitution and local value chain development
• Construction finance and investment enablement
• Leveraging the private sector to drive skills and workforce competitiveness
• Regulatory efficiency and reform

Programme

• 8:00 a.m. Arrival and registration
• 8:20 a.m. Opening session: welcoming remarks by the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury, keynote address by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and lessons on service delivery from Mbarara District Local Government
• 10:00 a.m. Building capacity for local participation in the construction value chain
• 11:20 a.m. Addressing compliance constraints in the construction value chain
• 12:45 p.m. Implications for the FY 2027/28 budget, NDP IV and the Tenfold Growth Strategy
• 1:20 p.m. Closing remarks by the Minister of State for Finance (Privatisation and Investment), followed by lunch and networking until 2:00 p.m.

The Forum is convened by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development through the Department of Economic Affairs, for about 150–200 participants from government, construction firms, materials manufacturers, financial institutions, business and professional associations, and development partners. Programme details come from the concept note and may change. To raise an issue ahead of the Forum, use the issues and helpdesk service.

The Forum is expected to produce proposals to cut administrative delays, improve land administration and widen access to real estate finance; regional investment opportunities across commercial, industrial and real estate sectors; initiatives to process more construction materials locally and reduce imports; stronger public–private partnerships for infrastructure and real estate; and practical inputs for government planning and the FY 2027/28 budget. As with previous editions, agreed actions will be published and monitored on the Reforms Tracker.