Cairo, Egypt | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) have entered a deal aimed at boosting support to the private sector. The Joint Project Preparation Facility Framework Agreement will provide early project preparatory financing and technical support services to public and private sector entities.
The facility worth 25 million dollars (93 billion Shillings) is aimed at boosting Uganda’s industrialization and export development activities, by way of funding the preparation of projects for investments in Uganda. UDB is Uganda’s only development bank, and is increasingly focusing on promoting youth, women and small and medium enterprises in government’s priority sectors.
The Framework Agreement establishes a joint project preparation facility to unlock investments in priority sectors, such as, energy, transport and logistics, special economic zones/industrial parks, manufacturing, agro-processing, hospitality and tourism, mining, solid minerals and service sectors.
Some of the sectors in focus are those that other lenders see as risky to lend to, hence leaving them underserved. The facility will assist in de-risking projects and rapidly advance their development from concept stage to bankability by covering the preparation of feasibility studies, project development and advisory services, and related costs.
Kanayo Awani, the Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development Bank (Afreximbank), signed on behalf of the Pan-African bank. “The JPPF is a critical collaborative tool through which the Bank and its partners pool resources to prepare bankable projects, given that one of the major challenges in developing projects was moving commercially viable projects to financial close,” she said.
She added that through this partnership, Afreximbank intended to work alongside UDB to prepare quality, bankable projects to attract investments from both the public and private sector. Samuel Edem Maitum, Director of Credit at UDB noted that several transformative project ideas remain unimplemented in Uganda due to the limited availability of technical and financial support to ensure Bankability.
“This collaboration through the Joint Project Preparation Facility shall unlock several transformative private and public sector-led projects,” he said, adding that the deal shall also enable the flow of capital to the jointly prepared projects. The implementation of the agreement is expected to help accelerate economic growth in Uganda through increased private sector investments in the targeted sectors and to help position Uganda as an attractive investment destination through the supply of a steady stream of investment ready projects
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