A French business delegation of more than 25 companies will visit Uganda for two days from the 25th to the 26th of November, 2019 to scout for partnerships and opportunities.
This initiative is led by MEDEF International – the French Business Confederation of over 170,000 member companies the support of various Ugandan Ministries and agencies, the Ugandas embassy in Paris and the French embassy in Kampala.
This delegation will be led by Mr. Momar NGUER, Chairman of the Africa Committee of MEDEF International. He is also the President Marketing Services and a member of the Executive Committee of Total S.A, the French oil giant.
The 25 companies have interests and will be looking for opportunities in transport, infrastructure, industrial projects, aeronautics, utilities, logistics, and energy (including renewable energy), ICT, water management, banking and financial services as well as government services.
During a two-day program, the French business leaders with the support of MEDEF International’s counterpart, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU) will have the opportunity to meet with the highest Ugandan authorities and private sector leaders.
According to a statement from the French Embassy, the French companies have been attracted by and are convinced of Uganda’s economic potential and investment opportunities.
“They are committed to initiate more and strong win-win partnership opportunities between French and Ugandan companies and to contribute to achieving long-term development objectives and growth. To achieve these goals, the French companies offer high value technologies, transfer of technologies and capacity building, project engineering, socially responsible practices and sustainable development solutions,” read the statement.
“The visit of the MEDEF International delegation demonstrates the confidence of the French private sector in the French-Ugandan partnership and their will to strengthen further the quality of these relationships in a conducive business climate for foreign investors,” further read the statement.
Some of the confirmed companies include: Airbus Helicopters (Helicopters Manufacturer), Thalès (Aeronautic, space, defense & security), Société Générale (Banking and Financial services) and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Banking and Financial services) among others.
Vivo Puts Two Downtown Kampala Shell Stations up for Sale Amid Congestion ConcernsBelow is a list of companies that have confirmed participation so far:
| Company/ Institution | Economic Sector | |
| 1 | Airbus Helicopters | Helicopters Manufacturer |
| 2 | Bolloré Transport & Logistics | Logistics |
| 3 | BRL Ingénierie | Consulting services in water and environmental areas |
| 4 | Cobasa | Investment consulting service |
| 5 | Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank | Banking and Financial services |
| 6 | Egis | Engineering infrastructures (transport, water, environment) |
| 7 | Eiffage Instructures | Construction and public work |
| 8 | Laboratoires Servier | Pharmaceutical industry |
| 9 | Meridiam | Investment and Asset management in infrastructures |
| 10 | French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs | Economic Diplomacy |
| 11 | Omexom Major Projects | Production and transmission of electricity |
| 12 | Ponticelli Frères | Construction and Maintenance in Oil&Gas, power, steel and other industries |
| 13 | Ragni SAS | Public lightning and solar street lightning |
| 14 | Société Générale | Banking and Financial services |
| 15 | Sogea Satom | Construction and public work |
| 16 | Suez International | Water and waste management |
| 17 | Thalès, | Aeronautic, space, defense & security |
| 18 | Total marketing & services | Supply & marketing of petroleum products |
| 19 | Vinci Concessions | Construction and maintenance for infrastructure and public network projects |
In an earlier statement, last month by the French Ambassador to Uganda, His Excellency Jules – Armand Aniambossou, the trade mission is to enable French business leaders to prospect and identify potential local partners in Uganda- an economy he said, offers significant business opportunities.
“This will be a tremendous opportunity for all French business leaders who will be taking part in this mission; it will be an opportunity to know more about the projects and sectors of activities pushed forward by the Ugandan government, in particular understanding the government’s vision for the coming months, discuss with Ugandan authorities, their projects, their ongoing activities, difficulties and have a conversation on the business environment in Uganda,” H.E Aniambossou told journalists, at a media breakfast at his residence in Nakasero.
France is one of Uganda’s top 10 FDI contributors to Uganda
Although Uganda enjoys a fairly balanced trade position with the European Union (USD494 million) in exports to the EU in 2018 versus USD574.6 million in imports from EU- there still exists an imbalanced trade between France and Uganda in favour of France. According to 2018 statistics from Bank of Uganda, Uganda in 2018 imported goods worth some USD40 million from France, compared to USD6.2 million, Ugandan exports to France.
However, France, according to the Private Sector Investment Survey Report (PSIS) 2018 by Bank of Uganda, Uganda Bureau of Standards (UBOS) and Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is among Uganda’s top 10 sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), registering UGX531 billion worth of investments in 2017, up from UGX463 billion in 2016.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the basis of FDI stock data through 2017, France continues to be the largest foreign investor in Africa both due to its historical links with a number of countries on the continent and due to large investments in major hydrocarbon-producing economies, particularly Nigeria and Angola.
France, under president, Emmanuel Macron has sought to redefine its foreign policy on Africa, built on mutual respect, equality and reciprocity.
