As part of the U.S. government’s ongoing commitment to building trade and investment opportunities within Uganda, the U.S. Embassy held a three-day Agricultural Trade Mission in Kampala. Hosted along with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Uganda and the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda, this event brought together 21 American agribusinesses and 24 Ugandan firms to meet and boost bilateral trade.
The trade mission created business linkages between world-class American technology and services and Uganda’s strong agricultural climate. Ugandan companies gained valuable insights about entering the world’s largest market and also learned about affordable financing options for purchasing American-made equipment and services.
As a result, nearly $2 million in prospective business deals were set in motion, paving the way for further opportunities to bring improved grain storage and value-added processing for Ugandan farmers. One attending Ugandan company, Agricultural Business Initiative Trust (aBi Trust), is in talks with American firm Heartland Global to provide 20 professional agribusiness managers annually to farmer organizations around Uganda. In addition, the company is planning to partner with 12 American investors to improve Uganda’s agricultural value chains.
U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Deborah R. Malac highlighted the mutual benefits of the U.S. partnering with Uganda in growing their agricultural sector: “Tapping into the enormous potential of Uganda’s agricultural sector, and linking it to the vast American markets – these are winning combinations. Together, I have no doubt that both our countries can profit from them,” she noted. “The representatives of the Ugandan and U.S. private sectors at this trade mission are laying the foundation for shared prosperity and continued partnership for many years to come.”
For the third consecutive year, the U.S. Embassy has partnered with the AmCham Uganda to hold events like this trade mission in efforts to support Uganda and America’s shared trade and investment goals in the agricultural sector. The U.S. government remains committed to supporting bilateral trade and investment between the United States and Uganda so its citizens can prosper and grow together.
Our partnership proves a core truth: that the private sectors in both the United States and Uganda have a shared interest in building Uganda’s agricultural sector, and in growing the levels of trade and investment between our two countries. The U.S. government is ready and willing to assist Uganda in expanding these partnerships so that our countries and our citizens can prosper and grow together.
