Overall, trading was quiet after the festive period with the unit opening Tuesday’s session trading at the 3720/3730 levels, briefly weakening marginally to trade at the 3740/3750 levels and then later settling to trade at the 3725/3735 levels on Friday morning.

Corporates were remitting mid-month taxes during the week and therefore there was limited activity on the demand side whereas inflows from NGOs, commodity exporters and other sectors remained healthy, keeping the unit within a narrow range throughout the week. Looking ahead, we are still within the window for dividend payments (April – June) and therefore still anticipate some demand pockets. On the other hand, the supply side is still likely to see the usual flows and this is likely to continue keeping the unit within the 3680 – 3800 levels in the coming days.

Catherine Kijjagulwe- Head of Trading at Absa Bank Uganda said Money Markets were liquid during the week despite mid-month tax remittances due to healthy government securities maturities on Thursday, overnight yields traded at averages of 11.36%. Bank of Uganda held a Treasury Bill auction and yields in the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors cleared at averages of 10.384%, 10.512% and 12.502% respectively. Bank of Uganda is scheduled to hold a UGX 400 billion 2-year and 10-year Treasury Bond auction on Wednesday 19th April 2023.

Flows were seen during the week in the Kenyan Market, and this helped service some of the demand tickets. Though overall, there are still outstanding demand tickets that need to be serviced. The currency traded within the 133.00 – 137.00 overall, still weak, and though the market still awaits some Kes strength as the interbank market slowly starts to trade actively.

“The dollar was under pressure on Thursday as jobless claims data printed at 239k – slightly higher than market expectation of 232k. US inflation printed at 5% it’s lowest since 2021 further cementing sentiments that the Fed is likely to end its hiking cycle,” she said.

The Euro appreciated on Thursday to touch highs of $1.1067 (Shs4127) as the dollar weakened and it closed the session at $1.1044 (Shs4118).

The Pound followed suit and also touched highs of $1.2537 (Shs4675) with positive sentiment about the UK Economy. It closed the day at $1.2520 (Shs4668).

Brent Crude traded at $86.24 (Shs321606) a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $82.37 (Shs307174) a barrel driven by a weak dollar, supply cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and increased demand from the European and Asian markets.

Gold traded at $2040.86 (Shs7.6 Million) an ounce.

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6300 young women and men in Nwoya district, northern Uganda have been trained in fruit farming, modern agricultural practices as well as financial literacy, and entrepreneurial skills.

The beneficiaries were part of the Delight with the Youth project implemented by Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Delight Uganda Limited and supported by the Mastercard Foundation. They were identified from the community and underwent two and half years of theoretical and practical lessons from the Delight Farm Institute in Lungulu Sub County, Nwoya district.

Stephen Asiimwe, the PSFU Chief Executive Officer disclosed that the beneficiaries were supported under the Lead Firm Structure Young Africa Works Project which aims at transforming the economic livelihoods of individuals.

“I am excited to be here to witness the transformation that has happened in this place, thanks to our partnership with Delight Uganda. We are celebrating the founders of Delight Uganda, local authority and the community for embracing the project and making it work. But more importantly, we are celebrating giving value to primary products such as fruits and crops so that our people can earn a living and transform their communities,” Mr. Asiimwe said.

Apollo Mayanja, the Lead Firm Structure Project Lead said that the beneficiaries gained skills in growing fruits, mindset change, commercial agriculture, value addition, marketing, and managing finances. He further disclosed that the Lead Firm Structure project has so far unlocked at-least 90,000 new work opportunities for the youth out of the intended 300,000 jobs targeted by the end of 2025.

“We are looking at directing creating 300,000 jobs but remember for every job, we create, it also unlocks other opportunities. We believe that the 300,000 we will create will also create thousands of other jobs. That is our humble contribution to addressing the unemployment issue in Uganda,” Mr. Mbaziira said.

Dr. Julian Adyeri, the chief executive officer of Delight Uganda noted that the project that sits on two square miles in Anaka, Nwoya district now supports a community school, fruits & trees nurseries, and cereals plantations, in addition to dormitories, irrigation schemes and silos storage facilities.

“We thank PSFU and Mastercard Foundation for this intervention. The hundreds of young women and men that have benefited from this project continue to transform their communities in different ways. We nonetheless acknowledge that this is just the start and much more deliberate efforts must be implemented if our country is to achieve total transformation,” Dr. Adyeri said.

Minus the over 6,000 job opportunities created by this project, Delight Uganda has a skilling institute where 12,167 (71 per cent being women) have received practical/hands-on training on selected business development modules.

Twenty-Six-year-old Milly Oroma, one of the direct beneficiaries from this project testified that the knowledge she attained from the Delight Uganda project has transformed her from a poor single mother into a confident, self-sustaining and productive business lady.

“I am now able to take care of myself, pay my kid’s school fees, support my parents and live calmly without worrying about what to eat tomorrow. My dream is to become as successful as Dr. Adyeri and create opportunities for hundreds of youth that are suffering like I used to,” Oroma said.

The Guest of Honour, Col. Charles Okello Engola, the state minister for Labour and Gender applauded Delight Uganda, PSFU and Mastercard Foundation for their contribution to Uganda’s economic transformation. He pledged the government’s support towards interventions aimed at addressing unemployment and closing the poverty gap.

“We are all inspired by how Dr. Adyeri and her team have transformed this place from a poor unknown village into an income generating hub. The impact this project has had on young people is wonderful. The Nwoya youth are very lucky for this project. We now need to recreate similar projects across the country. As a government, we are ready to partner with all stakeholders on matters of youth empowerment, jobs creation and poverty alleviation. We are committed to creating a conducive working environment for our Youth and Women.”

Brendah Ankunda, the PSFU Investment Specialist in charge of crops noted that 56 per cent of those that took part in this training were women, adding that the beneficiaries will now be primary producers of mangoes, citrus, and guavas for the Delight Factory that will process them in to juice and other value added products. She disclosed that the training was done in cohorts of between 100 to 200 trainees within the two and half years.

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