Uganda’s rapid shift towards digital banking and electronic payments is creating a new front in the financial sector’s battle against fraud, with banks increasingly turning to customer awareness as a critical layer of defence against cyber-enabled financial crime.

Stanbic Bank Uganda has launched its ‘Stay Switched On’ campaign, positioning customer vigilance alongside technology and institutional controls as part of the industry’s response to increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.

The campaign comes against a backdrop of rapid expansion in digital financial services, which has made banking more convenient and accessible but has also created new opportunities for fraudsters to exploit weaknesses in customer behaviour.

Stephen Adatu, Vice Chairperson of the Fraud and Forgery Subcommittee at the Uganda Bankers Association, said digital and cyber-related fraud now accounts for nearly one-third of fraud cases reported within the banking industry.

The figure highlights the growing importance of fraud prevention as banks migrate more services to digital channels and customers increasingly rely on mobile and online platforms for financial transactions.

For the banking industry however, the challenge is increasingly moving beyond protecting the technology infrastructure itself.

Fraudsters are targeting customers through phishing, social engineering, SIM-swap schemes and other techniques designed to manipulate people into surrendering sensitive information or authorising transactions themselves.

Stanbic Bank Head of Fraud Risk Sophia Nakazibwe said fraudsters were increasingly exploiting human behaviour rather than attempting to breach banking systems directly.

“They exploit trust, fear, urgency and even people’s willingness to help others,” she said, noting that criminals can sometimes obtain passwords, PINs and one-time passwords by manipulating customers rather than hacking into bank systems.

This makes customer behaviour an increasingly important component of the financial sector’s cybersecurity architecture.

The shift also changes the nature of the industry’s fraud-prevention challenge. While banks continue to invest in security systems, transaction monitoring and other technological safeguards, the effectiveness of those investments can be undermined when customers are persuaded to disclose confidential credentials or approve fraudulent transactions.

Stanbic Bank Head of Coverage Sam Bulenzi said protecting customers’ finances was therefore part of the bank’s wider contribution to Uganda’s economic transformation.

The bank’s argument is that financial-sector growth cannot be measured solely by the expansion of credit, digital transactions or access to banking services. The ability to protect the financial assets moving through those systems is becoming equally important.

“Fraud is an industry-wide challenge,” Adatu said, arguing that prevention should be viewed as a shared responsibility between financial institutions and their customers.

That position points to an emerging industry model in which cybersecurity is no longer solely an issue for banks’ technology and risk departments, but also a matter of customer education.

The ‘Stay Switched On’ campaign seeks to reinforce basic security practices, including keeping PINs, passwords and one-time passwords confidential, independently verifying unexpected requests for money or personal information and promptly reporting suspicious activity.

At the centre of the campaign is the Stanbic Bank Uganda Security Centre, an online resource providing guidance on common fraud risks, including phishing, SIM swaps, ATM fraud and social engineering.

The initiative reflects a wider reality facing financial institutions, as the cost and sophistication of attacking banking systems increases, criminals can achieve similar results by attacking the weakest link — the customer.

For banks, this creates a dual requirement. They must continue strengthening the security of their digital infrastructure while ensuring customers understand how seemingly innocuous calls, messages or requests can be used to compromise their accounts.

The issue is particularly significant as Uganda pushes towards greater digitalisation of its economy. More transactions conducted electronically mean greater efficiency for businesses and consumers, but also increase the potential financial impact of successful fraud.

Stanbic says its campaign is therefore intended to encourage customers to pause, verify and report before responding to unexpected financial requests.

The broader industry lesson is that digital financial inclusion and financial security must advance together. Expanding access to digital banking without corresponding investment in consumer awareness could leave new users increasingly exposed to sophisticated forms of financial crime.

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HCH Financial Services is taking a stab at Uganda’s business-financing market, bringing a non-bank model aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises unlock working capital tied up in invoices, contracts and purchase orders.

The new offer points to a gradual deepening of Uganda’s notoriously shallow financial system, where commercial banks have traditionally dominated formal lending while loan sharks have filled some of the gaps left by conventional finance.

The company, which began operations in Uganda in 2019, is offering invoice discounting, contract financing, local purchase order (LPO) financing and bridge financing, targeting businesses that need cash to execute contracts or bridge the gap between supplying goods and receiving payment.

For businesses, the significance of this diversification lies not simply in having another source of credit, but in the emergence of financing instruments tailored to the way companies actually generate cash.

Instead of requiring a borrower to rely primarily on conventional collateral and a standard term loan, supply-chain finance can use an existing invoice, contract or purchase order as the basis for unlocking working capital.

This can be particularly important for SMEs that have won business but lack the liquidity required to fulfil the contract.

HCH’s invoice-discounting product, for example, enables businesses to raise cash against invoices owed by their customers, while its contract-financing facility provides funding against qualifying contracts. LPO financing similarly targets suppliers that have secured orders but need working capital to execute them.

The model addresses the mismatch between when expenditure has to be made and when revenue is ultimately received; one of the persistent challenges facing smaller businesses.

A contractor may have a signed contract but still need money for labour and materials. A supplier may have delivered goods but have to wait weeks or months for payment. A company caught in that cycle can be profitable on paper while remaining cash-strapped in practice.

Specialised financial intermediaries such as HCH seek to turn those future receivables into immediate liquidity.

The company is also placing technology at the centre of its model, allowing customers to apply online and submit financing documentation for appraisal and verification. HCH says successful applications can be processed and funded within 24 to 72 hours, depending on completion of the required documentation.

Its target market cuts across sectors including information technology, telecommunications, transport and logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, wholesale, medical supplies, energy and oil and gas, construction and donor-funded projects.

The breadth of the target market reflects the wider opportunity for specialised financial services as Uganda’s economy becomes more formalised and businesses increasingly participate in structured supply chains.

For the financial sector, the significance of such players could extend beyond the individual loans they provide.

Financial sector deepening is not simply about increasing the amount of money in circulation but also the range of institutions, products and risk-management mechanisms through which capital moves from those with funds to those who can productively deploy them.

Uganda’s financial system remains heavily bank-centred, making the development of specialised lenders potentially important for improving access to finance for businesses that do not fit neatly into traditional bank-credit models.

HCH’s proposition consequently puts it in a growing space between conventional banking and informal credit — seeking to provide structured financing based on the underlying strength of a transaction rather than simply the borrower’s balance sheet.

That distinction could become increasingly important as SMEs seek financing to participate in larger corporate, government and regional supply chains.

The challenge for HCH and similar alternative financiers, however, will be to scale without compromising credit discipline. Financing invoices and contracts still carries risks around the quality of the underlying customer, contract execution, payment delays and fraud.

The ability to manage those risks while delivering faster and more flexible financing will determine whether alternative finance can move beyond being a niche complement to banks and become a meaningful component of Uganda’s financial architecture.

HCH’s arrival therefore part of a broader shift towards a deeper financial ecosystem in which banks, specialised finance companies and other intermediaries serve different segments of the economy and different forms of commercial risk.

For Uganda’s SMEs, that could ultimately mean that access to finance depends less on finding a conventional loan and more on finding the financial instrument that best matches the business opportunity at hand.

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A Joint Report 

It is 1991.

Kampala Road is paved with tarmac. The buildings lining both sides of the road are mostly single-story structures, housing modest businesses such as video libraries, black-and-white photo studios, hairdressing salons, and even dairy shops.

On one side of this road – where Mapeera House and Kampala Boulevard Building now sit – stand two buildings whose walls were blown away by explosions in the 1979 war that resulted in the overthrow of President Idi Amin, leaving openings large enough for people to walk through.

Businesses along other roads such as Nkrumah and Nasser are struggling to attract customers as the routes are riddled with gaping potholes. It takes three hours to travel a 45km distance between Kampala and Lugazi town by car – not because of traffic jams, but because of many potholes along the road.

Everyday goods are still in short supply. The once-bustling industrial towns of Mbale and Jinja are quiet as factories closed a few years earlier. Production of coffee, once a major source of foreign exchange, has significantly dropped.

Just five years ago, a band of armed Ugandans shot its way into power and is now struggling to reestablish peace nationwide and repair an economy broken by years of conflict and mismanagement.

A large part of the country is calm but, in the north, guns are still blazing, drowning out any hope for peace and recovery. Hundreds of workers have been put out of work by a package of economic recovery reforms.

A banking crisis that would later bring down five indigenous financial institutions and leave some international banks limping on is unfolding.

“We started to see international banks closing branches in major towns and concentrating in Kampala,” Michael Wakabi, who was a journalist in his 20s at the time, says. “Some of these towns were former industrial towns that lost factories during Amin’s time and were now in bad shape.”

To make matters worse—at the time, Uganda is not only experiencing some of the highest poverty levels in its history, but also the highest infection levels from a strange, virulent disease – HIV/AIDS. With families losing breadwinners to the new disease and the war in the north raging on, Ugandans are unsure of the future.

“People had lost hope, and saw no need of long-term planning,” Wakabi remembers. “My father worked at Kakira Sugar Works, and I would see company trucks taking home three or five bodies of workers who had died of HIV/AIDS. The rebels were active in the north and, travelling there was dangerous.”

Out Grindlays, enter Standard Bank Group

From a century old structure along Kampala Road, Stanbic Bank became the anchor tenant at Crested Towers reflecting both growth and intent

Yet, in the same year, 1991/92, Standard Bank Group (Stanbic) acquires Grindlays Bank of East Africa and enters the Ugandan market that many companies are unwilling to venture into, seeing an opportunity to contribute to the recovery and growth of a country it was determined to make its home.

“Unless you were a long-term thinker, you would not invest in Uganda at that time,” Wakabi says. “Many companies saw no future here. But Stanbic knew things would settle and that Uganda needed financial services to recover and grow.”

To understand the decision by the bank to enter a fragile market at the time, it helps to appreciate the institution that made it. Standard Bank’s history on the African continent stretches back more than 160 years.

Across different eras, economic cycles and political environments, the Group has often expanded not into places where success was guaranteed, but into markets where it believed long-term fundamentals justified patience and commitment.

As Estranelle Lubbe, Head of Heritage Governance at Standard Bank Group, observes, Uganda’s story fits neatly within that tradition.

“When you study the Group’s history, you find a recurring willingness to think beyond current conditions and focus on long-term potential,” Lubbe says. “Uganda represented exactly that kind of opportunity. The institution saw a country rebuilding itself and believed it could contribute to that journey.”

Redefining Standard Bank’s role

Against popular sentiment, the Government in 2002, completed the privatisation of Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) one of the most consequential economic reforms.

The decision generated national debate, attracted intense public interest and fundamentally transformed the country’s banking landscape. For Stanbic, it represented an opportunity that would redefine its role in Uganda’s economy.

Until then, Stanbic had largely been viewed as a niche institution, drawing heavily on the legacy inherited from Grindlays. Its acquisition of UCB changed that almost overnight, enabling the bank to participate more deeply in the country’s development.

At the time, the country’s reconstruction effort was paying off. The economy was expanding, and Uganda’s entrepreneurial spirit was coming alive. But key sectors of the economy such as education and health required capital to sustain the momentum of growth.

It was during this time that Stanbic crystalized an idea that continues to define it today – Uganda is Home. We Drive Her Growth. Many companies adopt purpose statements, but few are tested by them.

Patrick Mweheire, who later became Stanbic Bank Uganda’s first Ugandan Chief Executive before assuming broader leadership responsibilities within Standard Bank Group, believes that the significance of the statement lay in the obligations it created for the institution rather than the words themselves.

“If Uganda is truly your home, then your relationship with the country cannot be transactional,” he reflects. “A home is somewhere you invest, a place whose success becomes intertwined with your own. The purpose challenged us to think beyond banking products and focus on how we could contribute to Uganda’s broader growth story.”

Financing productive sectors

Thirty-five years on, Stanbic is one of the country’s leading financiers of productive sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, trade and energy.

Along the way, the bank has broken financial barriers for women entrepreneurs, brought the unbanked rural folks into the formal banking systems through unsecured, low-interest loans to savings organisations, helped businesses transition from informal to formal enterprises, and equipped young people with entrepreneurship and innovation skills.

And by so doing, the bank has transformed the lives of segments of the population that Uganda needs to drive and sustain growth – women, youth and farmers.

One of Stanbic’s most interesting features is that, as the country evolves, the bank evolves alongside it.

Francis Karuhanga, Regional Chief Executive for Central and Southern Africa at Standard Bank Group, and a former Chief Executive of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited, sees this linkage as central to understanding the institution’s history.

“What makes the story compelling is that it mirrors Uganda’s own development journey,” he says. “The bank grew because Uganda was growing. Every major phase in our evolution corresponded with a broader phase in the country’s economic progress. It has always been a shared story rather than two separate ones.”

That shared story has been carried forward by successive generations of leadership. During its first decade in Uganda between 1991 and 2000, the institution was overseen by a succession of Country Chief Executives from Standard Bank Group, including AB Myers, Dave Edgar, John Murray, John Miller, and Anthony Klensmitch, who laid the groundwork for the bank’s early operations.

Francis Karuhanga welcomes Mumba Kalifungwa as the new Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda at the start of 2025. Karuhanga now serves as Regional Chief Executive for Central & Southern Africa

In 2001 the lender received its first African Chief Executive, Kitili Mbathi, who steered the bank through the all-important acquisition and merger process of the Uganda Commercial Bank. He would later be succeeded by Philip Odera who was in charge from 2007 to 2014 before being succeeded Patrick Mweheire—the first Ugandan to be trusted to helm the lender, followed by Anne Juuko—its first female Chief Executive, Samuel Mwogeza—who served in the interim transition after Juuko until the substantive appointment of Mumba Kenneth Kalifungwa in 2025.

Different chief executives have confronted different challenges, from integration and expansion to digital transformation and sustainability but guided by a single purpose: driving Uganda’s growth.

Kalifungwa views the anniversary less as a celebration of longevity than an affirmation of conviction. “Thirty-five years ago, our predecessors made a choice that required confidence in Uganda’s future,” he says. “Looking back, that confidence was justified. Looking ahead, our responsibility is to continue earning the trust that has been built over three and a half decades and to remain a meaningful partner in Uganda’s next phase of growth.”

A Shared Journey of Transformation

The future may present opportunities every bit as significant as those that existed in the 1990s. Uganda stands on the threshold of major economic shifts driven by industrialization, energy development, deeper regional integration and demographic expansion.

The questions confronting policymakers today are different from those that dominated the early years of recovery, but they revolve around a familiar theme: how to convert potential into prosperity. For Mark Ociiti Ongom, Chief Executive of Stanbic Uganda Holding Limited, this is what makes the milestone worth reflecting on in the first place.

“The real story isn’t that a bank has been operating in Uganda for 35 years,” he says. “The real story is that Uganda has undergone one of the most remarkable transformations on the continent during that period. Stanbic’s journey only becomes meaningful when viewed alongside the country’s journey. That is why the purpose continues to resonate.”

Perhaps that is the most interesting lesson from the past three and a half decades. The story begins with a bank entering a recovering economy at a moment when many observers remained uncertain about its prospects. It ends, at least for now, with that economy standing among Africa’s more resilient growth stories and the bank having grown into its largest financial institution.

Thirty-five years ago, Standard Bank Group looked at Uganda and made a choice. It chose commitment over caution, partnership over distance and long-term possibility over short-term uncertainty.

Today, one can debate growth projections, economic forecasts and the challenges that still lie ahead. But the proposition that brought Standard Bank Group to Uganda three and a half decades ago appears harder to dispute with each passing year: Uganda was worth believing in.

And some of the most consequential investments are not made in markets alone, but in futures. Wakabi agrees. “The decision Standard Bank Group made to come to Uganda in 1991 showed that it was a long-term thinker,” he says. “I want to believe it still is. The new Government had laid out its reconstruction plan, and the bank bought into it. And here we are.”

The post How Stanbic Took a Leap of Faith to Bet on Uganda 35 Years Ago appeared first on 256 Business News.

Rising dollar demand from oil-sector companies and fuel importers is putting renewed pressure on the Uganda shilling, with the currency vulnerable around UGX3,740-3,750 to the dollar as demand for hard currency outpaces available supply.

The pressure is part of a broader divergence across African foreign-exchange markets, where currencies are increasingly being shaped by the strength, timing and reliability of dollar inflows rather than by a common regional trend.

London-based market intelligence and news platform Allen Dreyfus says Uganda is experiencing a familiar mismatch between demand for dollars and available foreign-currency supply, with fuel importers and commercial banks among those competing for hard currency.

The demand comes as Uganda continues to prepare for oil production, creating additional foreign-exchange requirements for companies involved in the sector, while the wider import bill adds to pressure on the local currency.

“The bigger message? Africa’s currencies are increasingly separating into those supported by dependable dollar inflows and those scrambling to ration scarce ones,” Dreyfus said.

For Uganda, the immediate concern is whether dollar supply can keep pace with corporate and import-related demand without placing further pressure on the shilling.

The currency is therefore approaching the UGX3,740-3,750 per dollar range identified by Dreyfus as a key pressure point.

Ghana faces corporate FX backlog

Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama Governort Bank of Ghana

Ghana is confronting a similar imbalance, although the sources of pressure differ. The cedi has weakened from about 11.05 to around 11.15 to the dollar amid a growing backlog of corporate foreign-exchange orders.

According to Dreyfus, energy-sector demand, coupon and dividend repatriation are colliding with insufficient inflows from the extractive sector.

Heavy bidding at Bank of Ghana foreign-exchange auctions is another indication that demand for dollars remains strong.

The relatively modest movement in the cedi therefore masks a potentially more significant problem beneath the surface; of persistent demand for foreign currency that is not being fully met through normal market supply.

Nigeria gets support from oil flows and foreign investors

Nigeria offers a contrasting picture to Uganda and Ghana, with stronger dollar inflows helping support the naira, which was trading at about 1,344 to the dollar officially.

The country’s oil sector has received an unexpected boost from the disruption to global fuel markets following the Gulf crisis, particularly through the rapid expansion of Dangote Refinery’s exports of refined products.

European buyers have increasingly turned to Nigeria for aviation fuel as disruptions to traditional Middle Eastern supply routes forced refiners and traders to seek alternative sources. Dangote Refinery has emerged as one of the main beneficiaries, becoming Europe’s largest jet-fuel supplier in June and July.

Yemi Cardoso, Governor Centrl Bank of Nigeria

The shift has helped strengthen Nigeria’s position in the international refined-products market. Nigerian seaborne petroleum-product exports have increased seven-fold since 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration, with the Dangote refinery accounting for much of the increase.

For the naira, the stronger oil and refined-product flows are being reinforced by foreign investors buying high-yielding domestic securities. The currency was trading at around 1,344 to the dollar officially, with further gains possible as long as elevated interest rates continue to attract foreign capital.

Dreyfus sees room for further gains, but cautions that the naira’s strength remains dependent not only on oil-related dollar inflows but also on the continued willingness of foreign investors to hold high-yielding Nigerian assets, making the rally potentially expensive to sustain if the interest-rate advantage narrows.

Nigeria illustrates the other side of Africa’s FX divide. While Uganda and Ghana are dealing with periods in which dollar demand is outstripping supply, Nigeria is benefiting from stronger foreign-exchange inflows generated by its expanding role in the global refined-fuel trade.

Remittances offer Kenya support, Kwacha faces political headwinds

Kamau Thugge Governor Central Bank of Kenya

Kenya’s shilling could also strengthen modestly as diaspora remittances increase dollar supply and month-end demand for foreign currency eases.

The Kenyan case again highlights the importance of predictable inflows. Remittances have become a significant source of foreign exchange for the country, providing support when corporate and import demand increases.

Zambia, meanwhile, is showing a different pattern. Political tensions surrounding President Hakainde Hichilema’s disputed re-election have interrupted the kwacha’s recent appreciation, but the copper-producing economy has not yet entered a significant currency retreat.

Dreyfus expects the kwacha to consolidate around 19.18 to the dollar rather than resume a sharp decline.

Flows matter more than headline rates

The divergent performances across Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia point to a broader shift in how African currencies are being driven.

Countries with dependable sources of dollar earnings—whether from oil, minerals or remittances—have greater capacity to absorb periods of strong demand for foreign currency.

Those with weaker or less predictable inflows are more exposed when importers, corporates and investors simultaneously increase their demand for dollars.

For Uganda, the immediate test will be whether oil-related and other foreign-exchange inflows can eventually provide sufficient supply to offset the growing demand generated by the country’s investment and import requirements.

For investors, Dreyfus argues, exchange-rate movements alone may not tell the full story.

“Watch the flows — they may tell you more than the exchange rate itself,” he said.

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A poultry feed-processing machine designed by students at Sedes Sapientiae Academiae in Kiruhura District has won the 11th Stanbic National Schools Championship, highlighting the growing emphasis on practical innovation in Uganda’s education system.

The student team developed a multi-purpose machine that can chop and grind different types of animal feed, targeting a common challenge faced by small-scale poultry farmers who have access to raw feed materials but incur additional costs when processing them.

Steven Turyamwesiimire, one of the students behind the innovation, said the team was motivated by the high cost of processed poultry feed.

“Farmers have the poultry feeds but lack ways of processing them, which becomes costly. So, we decided to make a machine that can help farmers process their feeds at home without buying processed feed,” he said.

According to Turyamwesiimire, the machine could reduce feeding costs by up to 60% and improve farmers’ monthly profits, although the figures are based on the students’ assessment of the innovation.

The machine is designed to provide farmers with an alternative to commercial feed-processing services while allowing them to process different feed materials at the farm level.

Sedes Sapientiae emerged ahead of Iganga Secondary School, which was the first runner-up. St Kizito High School Namugongo finished second runner-up, while Aga Khan High School was third runner-up.

The competition comes as Uganda seeks to give practical skills and problem-solving a greater role in education, particularly through the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC).

Speaking at the championship finale, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Jonard Asiimwe said the shift towards hands-on learning should enable students to apply classroom knowledge to real economic and social challenges.

He said Uganda needs young people with practical STEM skills, digital literacy and competencies relevant to sectors such as agriculture, industry, healthcare and finance.

Asiimwe also urged young innovators to embrace emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, while strengthening intellectual property protection and pathways for commercialising promising innovations.

The Minister called for stronger links between schools, government institutions and the private sector so that promising student innovations can receive technical support and opportunities to move beyond competitions.

The championship’s organisers said this year’s edition attracted applications from more than 1,000 schools. The number of schools participating in the boot camp increased from 150 in 2024 to 200 this year.

The competition has two main components: the Student Spark Challenge, which focuses on innovative ideas from schools, and the Business Fellowship, which supports alumni students and teachers seeking to refine and scale businesses developed through earlier editions.

Stanbic Bank Uganda Chief Executive Mumba Kalifungwa said the championship had evolved from a quiz competition into a platform focused on skills including problem-solving, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, teamwork and leadership.

The bank said it has invested more than UGX7 billion in the programme over the past decade, with the initiative reaching more than half a million learners, teachers and community members.

This year’s prize pool exceeds UGX100 million, with support directed towards participating students and schools and the development of their entrepreneurial ideas.

For the winning students, however, the significance of the poultry machine will ultimately depend on whether it can move beyond the school competition and become a practical, affordable product for farmers.

That transition—from student prototype to commercially viable agricultural technology—could provide the more important test of whether school-based innovation can translate into solutions for Uganda’s farming economy.

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The Madi-West Nile Diocese of the Church of Uganda is looking beyond conventional banking to turn its land, institutions and community networks into engines of sustainable economic development across the West Nile region.

The diocese and Equity Bank Uganda are working towards a formal partnership that would provide a framework for developing church assets in agriculture, education, healthcare, energy, environmental conservation and enterprise development.

The proposed partnership, to be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marks an evolution in a relationship that has traditionally centred on banking services but has increasingly expanded into financing, financial literacy and community development.

For the diocese, which operates across 12 districts and 13 archdeaconries, the scale of its institutional footprint provides a significant platform for economic activity. It has 150 parishes, 685 churches and 221 active clergy, alongside schools, health facilities and substantial land holdings.

The opportunity now is to make those assets more productive without losing their underlying social and religious purpose.

Equity Bank Managing Director Gift Shoko said the bank’s role would be to bring financial and technical expertise to projects capable of making church institutions more economically sustainable.

“Our purpose as a Bank is to transform lives, give dignity and expand opportunities for wealth creation,” Shoko said.

He said the partnership could help church institutions, schools and land become “self-sustaining, financially independent entities”.

That approach shifts the relationship from one based primarily on the provision of banking services to one centred on capital mobilisation and asset development.

Among the opportunities under consideration are commercial agriculture and forestry projects on church land, as well as financing for the renovation and expansion of schools and health facilities.

The partnership would also have a grassroots financial inclusion component, targeting savings groups in communities that include refugees and their host populations. Financial literacy and appropriate financing products would be used to strengthen the capacity of these groups to save, invest and grow enterprises.

Geoffrey Nasser, the diocesan secretary, said Equity’s engagement with the diocese had already moved beyond conventional corporate banking.

The Diocesan Secretary Geoffrey Nasser secretary of the Madi West Diocese receives a gift hamper from Catherine Psomgen, the Director for Public Sector Social Investments at Equity Bank after a strategic engagement

The bank has supported clergy and church workers, while also providing financing and financial literacy initiatives targeting graduates, youth and community groups.

“Equity Bank’s support extends far beyond corporate banking into the very heart of our community,” Nasser said.

The relationship has also produced a significant physical asset for the diocese. Equity Bank has provided about UGX4 billion towards construction of the Jubilee Administrative Building, conceived as part of the diocese’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Bishop Rt Rev Dr Charles Collins Andaku said the building was intended to provide the diocese with a permanent administrative home.

The proposed wider partnership could now build on that investment by creating a more systematic approach to financing and developing diocesan assets.

This is particularly significant in a region where land, institutional infrastructure and community networks represent potentially valuable economic resources, but where access to long-term capital and technical expertise can constrain their development.

For Equity, the arrangement also provides an avenue to deepen financial inclusion and enterprise development among communities that already interact with the church through its extensive institutional network.

The partnership comes amid a broader shift among faith-based organisations towards developing sustainable revenue streams to support their social missions.

For Madi-West Nile Diocese, the central proposition is that productive assets should help finance the institutions and services through which the church serves its communities.

If successfully structured, the relationship with Equity could therefore turn church land and institutions into a more deliberate development portfolio—generating income, creating jobs and supporting education, healthcare and community initiatives while strengthening the diocese’s financial independence.

The post Equity, Madi-West Nile Diocese Move to Unlock Church Assets for Regional Growth appeared first on 256 Business News.

Moses K. Mugalu

Every August 10, the world celebrates the lion, an animal associated with strength, courage, leadership and protection. But beyond its imposing presence, perhaps the most important lesson the lion offers is one of preparedness.

A pride survives not because it can predict every threat, but because it is prepared to protect its territory and those within it.

There is a powerful financial lesson in this. Building wealth is important, but protecting that wealth is what makes it sustainable.

For individuals, families and businesses, financial security requires the same deliberate mindset: protect your income, safeguard your savings, manage risk and prepare for unexpected events before they arrive.

The need for such preparation is particularly relevant in Uganda, where many households have limited financial buffers. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, only about 12 percent of Ugandan households had access to formal financial services in 2021, while a significant proportion continued to rely on informal mechanisms for managing financial needs. This highlights the importance of strengthening household resilience and planning for financial shocks.

The biggest financial threats are often the ones we do not see coming. A sudden illness, loss of income, accident, death of a breadwinner or major business disruption can quickly erode years of financial progress. Without a safety net, families may be forced to sell assets, deplete savings or borrow heavily simply to meet basic needs.

This is why financial protection should not be an afterthought. It should be part of the plan from the beginning. A lion does not begin protecting its pride after a threat has entered its territory. Protection is an ongoing responsibility.

The same principle applies to personal finance. Financial security starts with understanding what could disrupt your income and identifying ways to reduce the impact. It means building emergency savings, protecting income, investing prudently, planning for retirement and ensuring that loved ones are financially supported if the unexpected happens.

Insurance plays an important role in this equation. Life insurance can provide financial support to dependants following the loss of a breadwinner. Health insurance can help families manage medical expenses without completely draining their savings. Education plans can help parents prepare for their children’s future, while investment and retirement solutions can support long-term financial goals. For business owners, protecting key assets, employees and operations can make the difference between recovering from a setback and losing years of investment.

For many Ugandans, wealth creation is a long journey. It may begin with a salary, a small business, a piece of land, a farm or a modest investment. Over time, these become the foundations on which families build homes, educate children, support parents and create better lives.

But accumulating assets is only half the journey. The other half is protecting them from the risks that can undermine years of hard work.

This is where financial planning becomes more than simply saving money. It is about creating layers of protection around the things that matter most.

At ICEA LION Uganda, this philosophy is reflected in the company’s broader approach to helping individuals, families and businesses manage risk and build financial resilience. With more than five decades of experience in the East African insurance market and a presence across the region, ICEA LION has built its proposition around providing insurance and financial solutions designed to protect people, assets and livelihoods.

Its experience reinforces an important principle: financial protection should evolve with an individual’s life and responsibilities. Whether protecting a young family, preparing for children’s education, planning for retirement, safeguarding health or protecting a business and its assets, the objective is the same: to help people remain financially resilient when life does not go according to plan.

One of the most expensive mistakes people make is assuming that financial protection can be arranged when a crisis occurs. It cannot.

You cannot wait for an accident before buying accident cover, or wait for a financial crisis before deciding that an emergency fund is necessary. Protection works because it is put in place before the risk materializes.

This is particularly important in an environment where many households operate with limited financial buffers. The World Bank has consistently highlighted the vulnerability of households to economic shocks, reinforcing the need for stronger financial resilience and access to mechanisms that help families manage unexpected events.

The answer is not to live in fear of what might happen. It is to prepare intelligently for what could happen.

That means taking an honest look at your income, expenses, savings, debts, dependants and assets and asking a simple question: If my income stopped tomorrow, how long could my family maintain its current way of life? The answer may reveal gaps that need attention.

The lion’s greatest strength is not simply its power. It is its instinct to protect its pride. For a family, that pride may be a spouse, children, parents or dependants. For an entrepreneur, it may be employees, customers, assets and a business built over many years.

World Lion Day therefore offers more than an opportunity to celebrate one of nature’s most magnificent animals. It is also a timely reminder about responsibility.

True financial strength is not measured only by how much you earn or accumulate. It is measured by how well you are prepared to protect what you have built.

This August 10, as the world celebrated the lion, individuals and families can take a moment to review their financial protection, speak to a qualified financial adviser and identify gaps in their plans. The strongest families and businesses are not those that avoid challenges. They are those that prepare for them.

Moses K. Mugalu is the Marketing and Communications Head at ICEA LION Life Assurance Uganda. 

The post What World Lion Day Teaches us About Protecting our Financial Future  appeared first on 256 Business News.

Eight schools are through to the grand finale of the Stanbic National Schools Championship (NSC), setting the stage for a final contest that will pit some of Uganda’s most promising young innovators against each other on August 28.

The finalists emerged from 913 schools that took part in the 11th edition of the annual championship, which seeks to equip young people with the entrepreneurial, creative and problem-solving skills needed to tackle challenges in their communities.

Beyond the multi-million-shilling cash prize at stake, the competition offers the finalists an opportunity to turn ideas developed in school into practical solutions with potential social and commercial impact.

Diana Ondoga, Manager Corporate Social Investment (CSI) at Stanbic Bank Uganda, said the programme is intended to build a pipeline of entrepreneurs, employees and leaders capable of contributing to Uganda’s future growth.

“We see this programme as our contribution to building Uganda’s next entrepreneurs, employees and leaders,” Ondoga said.

Aga Khan School students showing their product

She said Stanbic engaged 913 participating schools through a nationwide innovation challenge, with students required to work with fellow learners to develop solutions to practical problem scenarios before entering the boot camp selection process.

According to Ondoga, between 90% and 95% of participating schools benefited directly from entrepreneurship and innovation learning, even where their teams did not advance to the boot camp stage.

The programme also supports Uganda’s competency-based curriculum by emphasising Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving.

Following a competitive one-week boot camp hosted by Gayaza High School in May, 12 regional finalist teams advanced to the appraisal stage.

The schools were given seed capital to further develop and refine their ideas, with judges assessing the progress, viability, potential impact and scalability of the innovations before selecting the eight finalists.

The projects span construction, agriculture, environmental conservation, healthcare and digital technology, highlighting the breadth of challenges being tackled by the students.

At Aga Khan High School, students are developing Renewablock Interlocking Blocks, which combine plastic waste and sand to produce durable interlocking bricks.

The innovation seeks to provide a lower-cost alternative construction material while tackling plastic pollution.

“This is to help every Ugandan regardless of their income status because we have people in informal settlements and people in rural areas who wish for better homes that are actually presentable,” said John Arinaitwe, a Senior Five student.

St. Kizito High School, Namugongo, is competing with Tunza Organics, an agribusiness project focused on sustainable food production, value addition and reducing food waste within the school ecosystem.

Barbra Ntunde, a Senior Five student, said the project has challenged students to embrace new approaches to solving everyday problems.

“The projects teach us that we don’t have to always look up to the same things each and every time, but rather accept change, because it’s one of the ways we can change our lives, and also save our environment,” she said.

At Kyebambe Girls Secondary School, the team has developed a Smart Solar Irrigation System designed to help vegetable farmers automate irrigation while reducing water wastage and manual labour.

The solar-powered system regulates watering according to crop requirements and is already functioning, although the students say further development is needed.

“At the moment, we have already developed a smart irrigation kit that is not manually operated. It is a system that works on its own and irrigates automatically,” said Marian Owembabazi.

St. Theresa Girls SS, Nsenyi, is taking a healthcare-oriented approach with its Terra Menstrual Pain Relief Belt, a wearable device designed to help women manage menstrual pain through controlled heat.

Senior Two student Catherine Kabhogwe said the innovation has potential beyond Uganda.

“I know many girls need this solution, and I believe this project can go beyond the borders of Uganda,” she said.

The belt is designed to generate heat of up to 40 degrees Celsius, which the students say is intended to provide relief while remaining safe for the user.

St.Kizito Secondary School students having a taste of one of their products

Iganga Secondary School has developed the Iga Bank Cooler, a post-harvest storage solution aimed at reducing food spoilage and losses among small-scale vegetable farmers and market vendors.

The project responds to a persistent challenge in agricultural value chains, where farmers can lose a substantial share of their produce before it reaches consumers.

“You can’t harvest 50 kilograms of tomatoes then make a loss of 45 kilograms. It means you are not going anywhere,” said Bartha Okurut.

Kakira Secondary School is targeting another labour-intensive part of farming with its Seed Planting Machine, an affordable tool designed to reduce the time and cost involved in planting.

The students say traditional planting methods can take up to eight hours to cover an acre and may require casual labour costing about Shs60,000 per acre.

“Our research showed that planting remains one of the most labour-intensive activities for farmers. We wanted to develop a simple tool that any farmer can afford and use to save both time and money,” said Splendour Tusabe, a Senior Two student.

Bishop Dunstan Nsubuga Memorial SS is showcasing BFC Eco-Drop, or Bottle For Cash, a smart recycling machine that combines waste collection with financial incentives.

Users deposit plastic bottles into the collection unit, which verifies the disposal and credits a small monetary reward to a linked digital account.

The project seeks to demonstrate how technology and incentives can be combined to encourage better plastic waste management.

The eighth finalist, Sedes Sapientiae Academiae, has developed an agro-feed processing machine aimed at helping poultry farmers process their own feed and cut production costs.

Steven Turyamwesiimire said many farmers have access to feed ingredients but lack affordable equipment to process them.

“We decided to make a machine that can help farmers to process their feeds at home without buying processed feed, and this helps them reduce 60% in feeding costs and increase their monthly profits,” he said.

For Stanbic Bank, the championship represents more than a competition for prize money. As the bank marks 35 years of operations in Uganda, the programme is also being positioned as an investment in a generation expected to drive the country’s economic transformation.

Ondoga said the National Schools Championship demonstrates the bank’s belief that Uganda’s economic growth is closely linked to developing the capabilities of its people.

The August 28 finale will therefore determine not only the winning school but also which of the eight student-led innovations can make the strongest case for turning a school project into a viable solution to a real-world problem.

The championship continues to provide a platform where young Ugandans can move beyond identifying community challenges to designing, testing and refining solutions that could ultimately have a life beyond the classroom.

The post Eight Schools in Race to the Wire for Stanbic National Schools Championship Multi-Million-Shilling Prize appeared first on 256 Business News.

Equity Group’s strategy of spreading its earnings base beyond Kenya is beginning to deliver measurable results, with stronger loan growth in East and Central Africa, rising non-funded income and deeper digital adoption combining to lift the lender’s half-year profit by 32pc.

The Group reported Profit After Tax of KSh45.5 billion for the six months to June 2026, up from KSh34.6 billion a year earlier, while Profit Before Tax rose 39% to KSh57.8 billion from KSh41.5 billion.

The results point to a financial institution increasingly deriving growth from the breadth of its regional operations rather than relying predominantly on its Kenyan franchise.

Net loans across the Group expanded 19pc year-on-year to KSh981 billion, with Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda among the strongest contributors. At the same time, customer deposits increased 21pc to KSh1.59 trillion, helping push the overall balance sheet 20pc higher to KSh2.16 trillion.

The regional subsidiaries now account for 42pc of the Group’s banking profitability and 52pc of banking revenue, while contributing 51pc of Group deposits, 54pc of loans and 52pc of banking assets.

The shift is particularly visible in Tanzania and the DRC, where Profit After Tax increased 82pc and 30pc respectively. Equity BCDC posted KSh11.8 billion in Profit After Tax, while Tanzania contributed KSh2 billion. Rwanda also recorded 12pc growth in Profit After Tax to KSh2.9 billion.

For Uganda, the development is significant because the country is among the markets identified by Equity as making a strong contribution to Group loan growth. It also reinforces the increasingly integrated nature of the bank’s East African operations, where growth in individual markets feeds into a broader regional earnings base.

Equity Bank Kenya, meanwhile, continued its recovery, with Profit After Tax rising 32pc to KSh25.7 billion. Its balance sheet grew 13pc, supported by a 24pc increase in customer deposits and 8pc growth in loans.

More significantly, the Kenyan bank recorded 11pc quarter-on-quarter loan growth, its first double-digit quarterly expansion since the third quarter of 2021, suggesting that the recovery in its core market is gaining traction alongside the Group’s regional expansion.

The earnings growth is also being supported by a changing revenue mix.

Non-funded income increased 36pc to KSh55.6 billion from KSh40.9 billion, raising its contribution to total Group income to 44.5pc, compared with 40.8pc in the first half of 2025.

That helped lift total income 25pc to KSh124.9 billion, while net interest income increased 17pc to KSh69.3 billion.

The shift towards non-funded income gives Equity a broader earnings base, reducing dependence on traditional interest income and reflecting the Group’s expansion into payments, insurance and other financial services.

Equity Insurance Group recorded a 24pc increase in gross written premiums to KSh6.4 billion, while Profit Before Tax rose 34pc to KSh1.25 billion. Insurance is consequently becoming a more material contributor to the Group alongside banking and payments.

Technology is reinforcing this diversification. Equity said 98.3pc of all transactions now take place outside branches, with 89.7pc processed through digital platforms.

The Group serves 23.3 million customers through its digital and physical ecosystem, including Equity Online, Eazzy FX, the Equity Mobile App, *247# and Equitel, alongside 410 branches, 886 ATMs, 92,572 agency outlets and 1.4 million merchants.

The digital shift is also changing the economics of the business. The Group’s cost-to-income ratio improved to 48.6pc from 51.7pc, which Equity attributed to productivity gains, shared services and increased migration of customers to digital channels.

At the same time, asset quality improved materially. Non-performing loans fell to 9.5pc from 13.7pc, while NPL coverage increased to 70pc from 68pc. Cost of risk also declined to 1.4pc from 1.7pc, with loan-loss provisions falling 6pc year-on-year.

The combination of stronger growth and better asset quality helped produce a 26.5pc return on equity and 4.5pc return on assets.

Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr James Mwangi said the performance reflected a multi-year transformation focused on resilience, diversification and technology enablement.

He said the Group’s operating environment remained supportive, with Kenya projected to grow by 4.5-5pc, DRC by 5.6pc, Tanzania by 5.9pc, Uganda by 6.4pc, Rwanda by 6.8pc and South Sudan by 20pc.

The broader economic outlook, however, is only part of the story. Equity’s half-year performance suggests that its expansion strategy is creating a more diversified financial institution in which regional markets, digital channels and non-banking businesses increasingly provide alternative sources of growth.

The Group is also investing in the capabilities needed to sustain that model. About 82pc of staff have completed a business-focused generative AI course, while 55pc have undertaken additional training through the Huawei ICT Academy. Staff completed 119,980 hours of guided AI instruction, while 406 employees were admitted to Masters programmes in Financial Engineering and Applied AI through WorldQuant University.

while the immediate result is stronger earnings, the longer-term consequence could be a less Kenya-dependent institution whose growth increasingly reflects the expansion of the wider African economies in which it operates.

That trajectory places the Group’s KSh45.5 billion half-year profit in a broader context where the earnings growth is not only a recovery story, but evidence that regional diversification, technology and a broader financial-services model are becoming increasingly central to Equity’s growth engine.

The post Equity’s Regional Expansion Bet Starts to Reshape Earnings map as H1 Profit Jumps 32pc appeared first on 256 Business News.

For Ugandan manufacturers seeking to expand into regional markets, the ability to move money as efficiently as they move goods is becoming an increasingly important part of export competitiveness.

Mbale-based manufacturer, importer and exporter UKI Uganda Limited is seeking to address one of the practical obstacles to its expansion into East and Central Africa by leveraging Equity Bank’s regional banking network.

The company says delays and complexity in cross-border payments, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have affected the ease with which it can serve customers and manage liquidity as it expands its distribution footprint.

Through Equity Bank’s interconnected operations in Uganda, Kenya and the DRC, UKI is seeking to reduce its reliance on third-party payment agents and multiple financial institutions, potentially shortening settlement times and lowering transaction costs.

Faster settlement can improve cash flow, allow businesses to replenish stock more quickly and provide greater flexibility to respond to demand in regional markets.

Equity Bank Uganda Managing Director Gift Shoko said the bank’s expanding regional footprint provides an advantage to businesses seeking to trade across African markets.

The bank is also positioning its regional infrastructure as a tool for helping Ugandan exporters manage collections in overseas markets.

Olivia Mugaba, Head of SME at Equity Bank Uganda, said exporters can use non-resident collection accounts to collect local sales proceeds in markets such as the DRC and transfer funds back to Uganda, subject to applicable export licences and regulatory requirements.

For UKI, simplifying how customers in the DRC pay for its products is a priority.

“Our customers in the DRC need a simpler way to pay for their supplies. Relying on local payment agents takes time and slows down business,” said Anant Kumar Manjithia, Managing Director of UKI Uganda Limited.

“We want to test a direct model where buyers in Congo can deposit funds into our account seamlessly, quickly and without extra charges,” he said.

The proposed approach could reduce one of the less visible costs of intra-African trade: payment friction between buyers and sellers operating in different financial jurisdictions.

While the movement of goods across African borders has received considerable attention through initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, the financial infrastructure supporting those transactions remains an important part of whether businesses can successfully scale.

For Ugandan manufacturers, access to regional banking services can therefore become an extension of their export strategy rather than simply a financial service.

The Equity-UKI relationship also extends beyond cross-border payments, with the bank providing customised financial solutions and capacity-building support for UKI’s broader business ecosystem, including distributors and employees.

The experience of UKI illustrates the importance of financial connectivity as Ugandan companies seek to convert regional market opportunities into sustainable export growth.

The DRC, in particular, represents a significant market for Ugandan businesses, but operating successfully there requires more than identifying customers. Companies must also be able to collect revenues efficiently, maintain liquidity and keep their supply chains moving.

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