Uganda has officially launched a Business Centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to help local exporters and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain a stronger foothold in Gulf markets.
The announcement was made by Uganda’s Ambassador to the UAE, Kibedi Zaake, during the opening of the Fourth Uganda, UAE Business Forum held on Tuesday at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.
According to Kibedi, the new centre jointly established by the Uganda Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai, will serve as a one stop hub providing exporters with market access support, product certification guidance, export readiness training and business networking opportunities.
“We have set up a Business Centre to support exporters and SMEs helping them expand markets, improve product quality and access tailored assistance,” Kibedi said, adding that close collaboration with the facility could “dramatically increase Uganda’s export numbers.”
Boosting Trade with the Gulf
Officials say the centre is designed to close the information gaps that have long hindered Ugandan exporters from fully benefiting from the UAE’s expanding appetite for African goods. It will particularly focus on agriculture, manufacturing and services, providing access to reliable market data, distribution contacts, and quality-compliance insights.
Kibedi noted that many Ugandan traders continue to face challenges with consistency, quality and volume in exports issues the new centre intends to address head-on.
Trade on the Rise
Trade between Uganda and the UAE has soared from US $600 million in 2018 to US $2.85 billion in 2024, making the UAE Uganda’s top export destination. Major exports include coffee, gold, fish, and fresh produce.
Similarly, the UAE has emerged as a leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Uganda, growing from US $100 million in 2018 to US $3.5 billion in 2024, with investments in renewable energy, real estate, logistics and agro-industry.
Kibedi said the new initiatives complement Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which aims to transform the country into a US $500 billion economy by 2040 through industrialisation and export diversification.
“The UAE’s rise from a small desert economy to a global hub worth over US $530 billion shows what strategic partnerships can achieve. Uganda can follow a similar path through innovation and disciplined collaboration,” he remarked.
Expanding Economic Ties
The deepening relationship between the two nations has been supported by an increase in daily flights between Entebbe and Dubai, now six per day compared to two in 2018, operated by Emirates, Fly Dubai, Air Arabia and Uganda Airlines.
Meanwhile, the number of Ugandans living in the UAE has quadrupled to over 160,000, driving remittance inflows from US $50 million to US $350 million annually.E