Uganda has set an ambitious target to raise UGX 37.2 trillion in domestic revenue in the Financial Year (FY) 2025/26, representing a sharp increase from the projected UGX 31.9 trillion in FY2024/25, as the government intensifies efforts to reduce dependence on debt and external financing. Delivering the budget speech at Kololo Independence Grounds, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said the domestic revenue target will account for 60% of the national budget, with the balance to be met through a mix of concessional loans, domestic borrowing, and grants. The government is banking on stronger tax administration, increased economic activity, and digitised systems…
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The insurance sector in Africa, particularly in Uganda, presents a remarkable opportunity for growth and innovation. With a penetration rate of only 0.85% in Uganda and under 3% across the continent, the market is vastly underdeveloped compared to global averages, where insurance penetration typically hovers around 7%. As of 2023, the African insurance market is valued at approximately $87.4 billion, projected to reach $153.9 billion by 2032, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% during this period. This stark contrast highlights the sector’s immense potential for expansion and innovation. Several factors drive this optimism, including a growing population…
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In the African startup ecosystem, acquisitions are rare. This is true for nascent ecosystems, and Uganda is no exception. An acquisition happens when one company, typically larger and more established, purchases another, usually smaller and newer. This can be driven by various factors, such as the acquiring company seeking to obtain innovative technology or intellectual property from the smaller firm, expanding into new markets where the smaller company has a strong foothold, eliminating a competitor to gain a stronger market position, or acquiring a talented team from the smaller company. Despite how our acquisitions are, there are a few that…
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Ugandan startups raised $19m in 2024, bouncing back from the lowly $4.8m that they raised in 2023 as per Africa: The Big Deal database. Africa: The Big Deal database is a database that captures African startups’ funding since 2019. For a startup to be classified as African, it must be operating in Africa with an HQ on the continent, or one with an HQ outside Africa but with African founders building for Africa. The database also captures publicly disclosed deals or those shared by investors/founders. It captures deals from $100k since 2021. The $19m raised in 2024 is way off…
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According to the International Financial Centre (IFC), Africa has a credit gap of $330 billion. Some estimates put this figure as high as $800 billion. Due to low banking penetration, many Africans are unbanked and thus lack sufficient financial history to pass traditional credit analysis. This has led to the emergency of digital instant loan apps. Uganda has become a battleground of instant online loan apps that do little due diligence before they disburse loans. Many of these apps then engage in public shaming tactics and abuse of private data to coerce people into paying back. One of their favourite…
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I visited the Victoria University website to make a few inquiries at around 4 AM in the early morning. When the page finished loading, I saw an AI assistant called Conan. Conan and I exchanged over ten messages as I inquired about Victoria University’s courses, tuition and study modes. At the end of the conversation, I had got what I wanted without speaking to a single human being. This is customer service in 2024, with businesses, nonprofits and organisations all turning to AI to answer customer queries and accumulate leads. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into customer service and…
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Jumia Technologies AG, Africa’s e-commerce giant, has reported its financial performance for the second quarter of 2024, revealing a complex interplay of challenges and strategic responses. The company’s revenue for Q2 2024 stood at $36.5 million, marking a significant decline of 25% from the previous quarter and 17% from the same period last year. This downturn is reflective of broader economic challenges, particularly currency devaluations in key markets like Nigeria and Egypt, which have adversely impacted both purchasing power and operational stability. Financial Performance Overview. Jumia’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) also showed a decline, falling to $170.1 million in Q2…
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The startup ecosystem in Uganda has experienced remarkable growth over the past five years, with an increasing number of entrepreneurs launching innovative ventures across various sectors. As these startups seek to scale their operations and drive impact, they have turned to investors for funding support. This analysis delves into the funding landscape of Ugandan startups from 2019 to 2024, uncovering key trends and insights that shed light on the startups that have raised the most funding. For a startup to be included on this list, we had a cut-off of at least $1m raised in its lifetime and 16 startups…
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“Do you know Christine Namara?” Godfrey Mutabazi, the founder of Karaa, an e-mobility startup in Uganda, asked me around 2022. “No, I don’t. Why do you ask?” I replied. “She wrote the investment memo of my startup as part of Dream VC!” Mutabazi explained. But this was the first time I had heard about Namara. I had been in venture capital for about two years and had built a strong database in my brain of people in venture capital, especially those in East Africa. But Namara was entirely unknown to me. I was intrigued. For starters, Namara was a Ugandan…
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