Uganda's Museveni to investors: Exploit Africa’s untapped investment potential
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has told a group of African-American investors who are in the country to explore investment opportunities that investing in Uganda is a ‘sure deal’ to the success of their projects because of the prevailing excellent investment environment in the country.
The 16 member team was led by Senegalese-American celebrity and businessman Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam alias Akon who met the President earlier in the week before leaving his wife Rozina Negusei with the delegation which has been in the country for a week.
President Museveni told the African-American business group that Uganda is the right investment destination and boasts a skilled but cheap labor force, a large market from the East African region, Africa, the American market under AGOA and access to free markets in China and Europe.
He said government is working on reducing the cost of power as well as the cost of transportation to lower the cost of doing business.
The President, who was flanked by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni, urged the prospective investors to take keen interest in Africa which he said is their motherland, invest their resources in the continent because it has several business opportunities that are untapped.
“You need to study Africa your homeland closely and understand the cause of her under-development. Africa is the origin of man, pioneers of civilization, a host of traditional religions and has more natural resources than any other continent in the world but is the most underdeveloped of all continents,” he said.
He told his guests that Africa’s under-development can be attributed to several things including foreign interference through slave trade and colonialism, adding that having a small population in a large continent also contributed to its underdevelopment.
The 16 member team of African-American investors was led by Senegalese-American celebrity and businessman Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam alias Akon.
Mrs. Janet Museveni thanked business team for having the trust in Africa and Uganda and deciding to venture and invest in the continent despite the negative publicity it receives.
She said that the African continent suffered slavery in the last 400 years and the time is now for the continent to be free, develop and prosper and appealed to the African-American investors to invest in sports and sports facilities, a sector with a great potential as the country boasts the youngest population in the world.
The African-American investors expressed interest in investing in the sectors of education, health, music and recreation, housing, banking, manufacturing and tourism and hospitality.
The meeting was also attended by the Lands Minister Betty Kamya, State Minister for Investment Evelyne Anite and State Minister for Culture Peace Mutuuzo.
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