KAMPALA .
Bank of Uganda has revealed that the country’s mobile money market is steadily growing , giving hope of a stable sector in the near future .
According to BoU , Uganda is currently ranking second ,among the fastest-growing mobile money market in Sub-Saharan Africa
In its quarterly financial stability review for March 2025, the central bank reported a remarkable 166 percent increase in active mobile money accounts in Uganda , reaching 33.7 million users nationwide. Transaction volumes and values also rose sharply by 20.9 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively.
A substantial 92.2 percent of mobile money transactions were low-value, under Shs50,000, underscoring the platform’s role in broadening access to basic financial services.
Speaking at Opportunity International’s Agriculture Finance conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo on August 11, Dr Michael Atingi-Ego, Governor of the Bank of Uganda, emphasized the strategic importance of mobile money in transforming Uganda’s financial landscape. “Uganda is the second fastest growing mobile money market in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a tremendous asset. Our challenge is to take this digital footprint and turn it into digital capital,” Dr Atingi-Ego said.
He outlined a framework based on four key pillars essential for financial service providers and regulators to foster sustainable growth aligned with Uganda’s national strategies.
The first pillar is trust, achieved through digital transformation, particularly focusing on how farmers are integrated into the financial system.
The second pillar emphasizes resilience, advocating smarter blended finance solutions to de-risk agriculture, which is often seen as risky by lenders.
Since the establishment of Uganda’s Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) in 2009, more than Shs1.12 trillion has been disbursed, with a notably low non-performing loan rate of 1 percent, three times better than the broader banking sector.
Dr Atingi-Ego cautioned that lending alone is insufficient and called for a more comprehensive system to address persistent economic disparities.
The third pillar focuses on abundance — promoting productive and sustainable agricultural technologies as “the second seed of abundance.”
The final pillar aims to create value by better connecting farmers to markets and strengthening their institutions.
“To propagate is to spread life, to make small multiply into many. We stand at a rare moment when technology, finance, and political will can converge,” Dr Atingi-Ego added, noting that: “When these pillars are achieved, Uganda’s capacity to attract international financing to drive agribusiness will be enormous.”
The governor projected that private sector credit could rise from Shs26 trillion to Shs260 trillion shillings by 2040, stressing that innovative “out-of-the-box” financial solutions are vital.
Echoing these sentiments, Mr Owen Amanya, CEO of Opportunity Bank Uganda, highlighted the critical role of agriculture in the country’s economy.
“With over 70 percent of Uganda’s workforce employed in agriculture, smallholder farmers remain underserved and underfunded,” Amanya said.
“At Opportunity Bank, over 40 percent of our loan portfolio targets agriculture, serving more than 21,500 smallholders across Uganda through individuals, solidarity groups, and village savings associations,” he added.
Amanya emphasized their commitment to “reaching farmers at the last mile with tailored financial solutions” and contributing to poverty reduction and rural development.
Atul Tandon, CEO of Opportunity International, underscored the urgency of supporting smallholder farmers globally.
“Smallholder farmers are the backbone of food security worldwide. It is a global imperative to ensure they can grow and earn more,” he said, emphasizing collaborative innovation to strengthen food systems and combat poverty.