Vice President Jessica Alupo has launched the Greater Luwero Investment Forum (GLIF), a platform aimed at bringing together industrialists, investors, entrepreneurs, and key stakeholders to promote inclusive and sustainable development in the Greater Luwero region.
The forum, established in March 2025, is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation dedicated to driving investment-led growth across Luwero, Nakaseke, and Nakasongola districts.
Speaking at the launch held in Luwero District on Tuesday, Alupo urged Ugandans to invest in the country’s four key wealth and job creation sectors—commercial agriculture, industry and manufacturing, services, and information and communication technology (ICT)—to achieve economic independence and national growth.
Delivering the message on behalf of President Museveni, who is currently traversing the country ahead of next week’s general elections as the NRM presidential flag bearer, Alupo encouraged citizens to become producers and entrepreneurs rather than relying solely on government employment or subsistence livelihoods.
She said transitioning from subsistence to profitable enterprises, embracing value addition, and effectively utilising existing infrastructure at the household level are critical to fighting poverty and building a modern economy.
On commercial agriculture, the Vice President emphasised the need to move from food-only production to market-oriented farming, citing the President’s Four-Acre Model, which promotes high-value crops such as coffee, fruits, vegetables, and livestock—including poultry, fish, and piggery where culturally appropriate—as a pathway to wealth and job creation.
In the industry and manufacturing sector, Alupo urged communities to add value to raw materials, noting that processing agricultural produce such as maize into flour or animal feed creates more employment opportunities than primary production alone.
She also highlighted the importance of the services sector, including hotels, transport, retail, and professional services, as a growing source of income and employment.
In ICT, she encouraged Ugandans—particularly the youth—to leverage digital innovation and global opportunities such as business process outsourcing, online auditing, and remote professional work.
Alupo noted that the Greater Luwero region currently hosts more than 500 factories and industries, urging residents, especially young people, to take advantage of employment opportunities within the region.
She added that government will continue improving road networks and other infrastructure to facilitate trade, reduce production costs, and stimulate economic activity.
She recalled that when the NRM came to power in 1986, Uganda had only about 80 factories, underscoring the progress made since then. On this basis, she urged residents of Greater Luwero to support President Museveni in the forthcoming general elections to safeguard these gains.
While Uganda’s exact number of factories varies depending on definitions and sources, recent reports from 2024 and late 2025 estimate that the country hosts between 7,000 and over 9,000 factories.
The Vice President congratulated the people of Luwero for their industrious achievements, saying there was “every reason for them to thank God.”
She added that Uganda is now secure across all border points and that government is investing heavily in transport infrastructure, including roads, railways, water, and air transport, to ensure efficient movement of goods to markets.
She also highlighted government efforts to improve human capital, urging continued support for Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE), and skills development through vocational education and training to ensure a steady supply of skilled labour for industries.
On access to affordable credit, Alupo said government has lowered interest rates on funds aimed at wealth and job creation. She cited the GROW Fund, Agriculture Credit Facility, and Small Scale Business Recovery Fund, each offered at about 10 percent annually; Emyooga SACCO loans at 9 percent; Parish Development Model (PDM) funds at 6 percent; and large-scale investment financing at zero percent interest, compared to higher commercial bank rates.
“These interventions are meant to enable Ugandans to access affordable credit and create wealth and jobs across the country,” she said.
Alupo further revealed that government has reduced electricity tariffs for factories and industries from 13.8 US cents per kilowatt-hour to 8.6 cents, with a target of 5 cents. She noted that large and extra-large factories currently pay about 5 cents during off-peak hours and 5.7 cents during peak hours.
“As government, we are moving progressively and will continue investing in policies that support Ugandans to fully participate in the money economy,” she said.
The Vice President also disclosed that government plans to engage stakeholders on the introduction of a minimum wage, aimed at protecting workers from exploitation, reducing poverty and inequality, boosting consumer spending, and improving overall economic stability.
State Minister for Luwero Affairs Alice Kaboyo commended the region for its achievements and called for an affirmative action plan to ensure that residents of the Luwero Triangle benefit from employment opportunities in factories and industries operating in the region.
NRM Deputy Secretary General Rose Namayanja urged residents to vote for President Museveni and all NRM flag bearers in the upcoming general elections.
The launch of the Greater Luwero Investment Forum featured an annual investment expo, a thanksgiving mass, and a conference that brought together stakeholders to discuss development strategies, investment opportunities, corporate social responsibility, and factory sales.
The activities were organised by Herbert Ndiwalana, Personal Assistant to Salim Saleh, in collaboration with the Born-Again fraternity led by Bishop Gabriel Kijjambu, overseer of the National Fellowship of Born Again and Pentecostal Churches of Uganda. Religious leaders at the event praised President Museveni for what they described as visionary leadership marked by peace and stability across the country.