The Uganda Development Bank (UDB), is set to convene the inaugural Uganda Development Finance Summit, scheduled for 1–2 September 2025 at the Speke Resort Convention Centre, Kampala.
Held under the theme “Transforming Africa through National Development Finance Architecture,” the highly anticipated summit will bring together over 400 high-level participants.
These will include representatives from government, national financial institutions, the private sector, academia, and global finance practitioners.
The flagship event seeks to address the need for new financing options and innovative approaches to unlock Africa’s economic potential.
Through inclusive dialogue and strategic collaboration, the summit aims to accelerate sustainable growth, address urgent development priorities, and chart a bold and pragmatic path forward for African economies.
According to the conveners, the urgency of this initiative stems from shrinking traditional funding sources—such as aid and concessional financing—forcing many African nations to increasingly rely on global debt markets to meet their development needs.
However, accessing these international financial markets comes with challenges, including limited access and high interest rates relative to other sovereign borrowers.
This dynamic has further widened the financing gap, making it difficult to mobilize capital for both public and private sector initiatives—ultimately constraining economic transformation across the continent.
Dr. Patricia Ojangole, Managing Director of UDB, emphasized the strategic importance of the summit.
She stated that hosting the Development Finance Summit underscores UDB’s commitment to catalysing the development finance agenda on the African continent.
Ojangole noted that the summit will serve as a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and partnership building—focusing on fostering inclusive growth, financing sustainable projects, and addressing the challenges faced by national development banks in Africa.
Participants at the summit will gain invaluable insights, explore innovative solutions, and forge new partnerships.
The discussions will center on key themes such as the role of national development banks in catalysing sustainable socio-economic development, financing industrial policy in Africa, creating agri-value chains, and making SMEs work for Africa.
The summit will also address the constraints and opportunities in green financing and explore how to catalyse investment through blended finance models.
By focusing on these areas, the Uganda Development Finance Summit is poised to become a pivotal convening point for reshaping the continent’s development finance landscape and unlocking long-term economic potential.
