The newly appointed World Bank’s Country Director for Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Somalia, Mr. Qimiao Fan, has called for the simplification of investment and business processes and reduction of business regulation to ease doing business and reduce costs, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises which employ the most people.
Mr. Fan made the call while visiting the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and sister agencies in the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre (UBFC) in Kampala.
The UBFC is a Government of Uganda building that houses offices of key investment and business-related agencies: UIA, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and the Presidential CEO Forum.
Its construction was funded by the World Bank under the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP) to improve the ease of doing business and economic competitiveness. The aim of the one-stop shop is also to increase its effectiveness and to improve service delivery to the business community.
The UBFC also houses UIA-operated One-Stop Centre for Investors, that comprises representatives of key investment and business facilitating agencies, namely UIA, URSB, Uganda Revenue Authority, Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, National Environment Management Authority, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, power utility Umeme, tourism promoter Giants, and Federation of Ugandan Employers.
In his remarks, Mr. Fan said there is a need for the government to look at various laws, policies, and regulations that constrain ease of doing business and streamline or reduce them or update them in order to improve the investment and business climate.
Mr. Fan said accessible and cost-effective investment and business processes, in addition to ease of doing business, also encourage formalisation of MSMEs, hence greater benefits to the economy. He said most MSMEs stay informal because of red tape and formalization costs.
He said the World Bank focuses on supporting MSMEs because not only do they need the most support but also the easier they operate, the greater the benefits for the economy.
Mr. Fan said priority should be placed on making Uganda’s broader investment and business climate, adding that the business environment still needs some support.
The Registrar General of URSB, Mercy Kainobwisho, expressed gratitude to the World Bank for funding the construction of the UBFC and other initiatives that have transformed business registration services.
UIA’s Director Domestic Investment Division, Richard Nuwenyesiga, who represented the Director General, Robert Mukiza, said the World Bank support is translating into increasing investments, noting that foreign direct investment in the year up to August 2024 stood at $3.01 billion.
He said Uganda is solidifying its position as the best investment destination not only in East Africa but Africa as a whole.
