At least 50 Ugandan companies are expected to attend a three-day East African Investment Conference from 26th to 28th June in Kigali, Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) says. So far 20 Ugandan companies had confirmed their participation and are expected to register, a UIA official said. The Uganda business community sees the forum as a way of creating linkages within the region in order to expand their business. Some businesses are already operating in Rwanda. More intend to move to Rwanda as a regional distribution centre for their goods and services because of its central location. Sheilla Mugyenzi, a senior Investment Executive at UIA said, “With the upcoming (East African Community) Custom’s Union it will be easier for the business community to operate in different countries in the region.” The conference expected to attract more than 700 world business executives has been organised by Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA) in partnership with the EAC secretariat. Regional Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) are also fully involved. “We are working closely with Rwanda Investment Authority. We have already contacted all the 50 companies that appeared on the list complied by RIEPA,” Mugyenzi said in an interview with The New Times on Thursday. The theme of the conference organized to highlight the region’s potential as a commercial platform for servicing the continent is, ‘Leveraging the East African Market through Trade and Investment.’ She said the region is looking for technologies that will help it advance and add value to products. Topics to be discussed include trade and investment opportunities, finance, agro-business, tourism and energy. Others are mining, telecoms, leather goods production, information communication technology and manufacturing. The EAC will be marketed as a bloc partly because big investors prefer investing where there is a huge market. Plans are also under way for joint missions abroad of the different investment boards to attract huge investment in the region. Ends
