Jeffrey Sachs and Sybil Fares argue that the latest US sanctions against Iran are unlikely to force Tehran into submission, while risking higher global oil prices, tensions with China and further fragmentation of the international financial system.

Jeffrey D. Sachs & Sybil Fares

Sybil Fares

Last week, Pakistan announced that it will not comply with the latest sanctions the United States imposed on Iran and will continue trading with its neighbour. The news came just days after China made a similar statement.

The sanctions announced by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 24 under “Operation Economic Outcast “ are supposed to be “the toughest sanctions in history” designed to impose “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world”.

Earlier, President Donald Trump called it in a social media post “ECONOMIC D-DAY.” He promised “tremendous economic consequences” for any nation that extended Iran “any type of lifeline”.

Six months of US bombing and naval blockade have produced no US victory, so the plan now is to starve Iran into capitulation. The new approach is illegal, cruel and will fail for several reasons.

To begin with, there is the historical record. Economic sanctions do not bring down governments determined to survive them. Yes, sanctions can impoverish populations, empower the security services that control smuggling and hand the targeted nation a rallying point built on US malice. But they do not topple governments.

Consider, as well, the basic arithmetic of the world oil market. Bessent proposes to remove Iranian oil exports from a world that has already lost a fifth of its oil supply because the Strait of Hormuz is shut. The US proposes to deepen a stagflationary shock already being borne by Europe, Japan, and its other allies, and orders those countries to enforce sanctions that will throttle their economies.

Above all, the campaign is targeted against China, which buys more than 80 percent of Iran’s oil exports. If the US sanction the Bank of China or the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Beijing will not respond with a mild diplomatic note. It will restrict its rare earth exports, because it has already run this experiment once and won.

In April 2025, China imposed export licensing on heavy rare earths in response to Trump’s tarrifs and within weeks American and European automakers were idling assembly lines for want of rare-earth magnets. In October 2025, China announced a far more sweeping package and Washington folded, agreeing to pull back its own newly expanded restrictions on Chinese companies in exchange for a suspension of Beijing’s measures for a period of one year.

The April controls have never been lifted and the suspension of the October measures ends in November. So Bessent has chosen this moment, just over two months before China’s expanded rare earth regime returns and weeks before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due for a visit in Washington, to inform Beijing that it is either with the US or against it. This is a trap for the US of its own making.

Beijing has made its position clear. “China has made clear on many occasions its firm opposition to illicit unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law or the authorisation of the UN Security Council. Economic warfare and maximum pressure provide no solution,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian told journalists.

It is not just the opinion of the Chinese government that the US sanctions are illicit. Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The US repudiation of the UN Charter goes far beyond Iran.

Of all 193 UN member states, America is now the country least aligned with UN-based multilateralism. In January 2026, Washington withdrew from more than 60 international organisations. In 2025, it voted with the international majority in just five percent of recorded UNGA resolutions.

At this point, every government should draw three conclusions. First, the US has repudiated the UN Charter. Second, American security assurances are unreliable. Third, relying on dollar-based trade leaves states vulnerable to US sanctions.

Around the world, countries are turning to new defence arrangements, such as the Mecca Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. They are also predictably moving away from settlements in US dollars and reducing their holdings of US treasury debt in their foreign reserves.  They are also turning to China’s open-weight AI models to meet AI needs instead of paying for American proprietary models.

Thucydides’ ancient account of the Peloponnesian War is being read in our day as a mirror of the US–China rivalry. Its most famous line is the taunt Athenian generals gave to the people of Melos in 416 BC, that “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” Yet just a dozen years after the Athenian generals made their taunts, it was Athens that was defeated by Sparta.

The US now taunts Iran and other countries in the same tone. Pride goeth before the fall and no government today is more arrogant than the US under Trump and his enforcer Bessent.

Governments around the world will not follow the US blindly into disaster.

The post Jeffrey Sachs Sees Latest Package of US Sanctions Against Iran Failing 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.

By Sharon Byereta

Every parent knows the pressure that comes with a new school term. Tuition, books, uniforms, transport, meals and other requirements can quickly turn school reopening into a financial scramble.

In Uganda, the cost of education is becoming an increasingly important household financial consideration. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), average household expenditure on secondary education rose from Shs1.396 million in 2019/20 to Shs2.255 million in 2023/24. In Kampala, the average stood at Shs3.753 million.

For many families, school fees therefore become a recurring financial emergency. Parents borrow, dip into savings or postpone other commitments to keep their children in school.

But education should not be financed through panic. It should be planned for.

The school fees bill is not a surprise. Parents know it is coming. The question is whether they are preparing for it early enough. Instead of looking for a large sum when the deadline arrives, parents can spread the cost over several years by setting aside manageable amounts consistently. This can turn education from a recurring crisis into a predictable financial commitment.

An education plan goes beyond simply putting money aside. Parents also need to consider what happens if their financial circumstances change. Job loss, illness, business challenges or the death of a breadwinner can derail even the best savings plan.

This is where education insurance plans can provide an additional layer of protection. Depending on the product, they combine regular savings with life protection, helping safeguard a child’s education goal if an unexpected event affects the parent or policyholder.

For instance, ICEA LION’s Toto Education Plan allows parents to make regular contributions towards a child’s education while providing life protection. The plan can be structured over several years, allowing parents to build towards future education expenses rather than searching for a large amount when fees fall due.

The broader lesson is important: education planning is about saving for the goal while protecting the journey towards it.

It also introduces discipline. Money committed to a defined education plan is less likely to be diverted to everyday expenses, helping parents remain focused on the long-term objective.

Financial planning is not only for high-income families. The more important question is how much a parent can comfortably commit and sustain over time.

A parent does not necessarily need to find millions of shillings at once. Starting early with manageable regular contributions gives the family more time to build towards the eventual education cost.

Parents can also ask themselves practical questions: What level of education do I want for my child? When are the biggest expenses likely to arise? How much might education cost by then? What happens if my income changes?

These questions may be uncomfortable, but answering them early provides something every parent wants: greater financial certainty.

A good education can open doors to opportunities that extend far beyond the classroom. But for many Ugandan families, keeping those doors open requires financial preparation.

There will always be another school term, another fees bill and another set of requirements.

The difference is whether each one becomes a crisis or part of a plan.

Parents should therefore consider education planning before the school sends the fees circular, not after.

When the next term arrives, the goal should not be to ask, “Where will I find the money?”

It should be to say, “We planned for this.” Your child’s education is too important to leave to last-minute borrowing or financial improvisation. Start early. Start consistently. And make the future part of today’s financial plan.

Sharon Byereta is the Deputy Manager of Operations at ICEA LION Life Assurance Uganda.

The post Why Education Plans are a Smarter Way to Secure Your Child’s Future  appeared first on 256 Business News.

By Alan Turnley-Jones, CEO NTT DATA Middle East and Africa

Africa is scaling at pace. AI adoption is accelerating, digital infrastructure is expanding and industries from finance to public services are transforming. The opportunity is clear.

The real question is ownership. Who controls the platforms, the data and the value created along the way?

This is often framed as a trade-off between speed and sovereignty. It is not. The real risk lies in how growth is structured.

Growth and regulation are accelerating together

Across the continent, governments are moving quickly to define digital rules of the road. At a continental level, the African Union’s AI and data policy frameworks reflect a growing recognition that digital infrastructure is now economic infrastructure.

At a national level, AI policy development is taking shape in different ways across markets and jurisdictions.

South Africa’s recent review of its draft national AI policy reflects a broader global trend. Governments around the world are continuing to evaluate and refine their approaches to AI governance as the technology evolves rapidly. This highlights the complexity of developing policy frameworks that balance innovation, regulation and long-term societal objectives.

Control requires capability

Digital sovereignty is often reduced to a question of where data is stored. In practice, it is far broader.

AI does not exist in isolation. It depends on connectivity, secure cloud environments, compute power and strong operational oversight. Without these foundations, sovereignty remains theoretical.

Across South Africa and the wider continent, organisations are realising this shift in real time. Financial institutions are moving from testing to production-grade AI. They are adding governance, risk management and auditability to their AI platforms from the start. In regulated environments, trust is not a brake on innovation; it is what allows AI to scale responsibly.

The cost of getting it wrong

If Africa scales without structure, the consequences are clear.

Value will be extracted rather than retained. Local businesses will remain dependent on external platforms. Critical systems may sit outside national control.

We have seen similar patterns in global supply chains. Africa holds a significant share of critical minerals, yet much of the value is captured elsewhere. The same risk applies here.

AI is a leapfrog opportunity

There is, however, a window of opportunity.

Africa has already demonstrated its ability to leapfrog through mobile money. AI presents a similar moment. It can drive productivity, expand access and unlock new industries.

Importantly, the conversation has shifted. Organisations are no longer asking what AI is. They are asking how it will help them grow and compete.

The partnership model will decide the outcome

The defining factor is partnership.

Traditional models prioritise speed, often at the expense of long-term capability. The alternative is co-creation, combining global expertise with local execution.

This means building infrastructure for ownership, embedding skills transfer, and developing local ecosystems. It also requires coordination between governments, enterprises and technology partners.

Control is not about doing everything alone. It is about retaining agency within collaboration.

The way forward must be deliberate

Africa can scale at speed and retain control, but it requires deliberate choices.

Governments must accelerate practical, enabling regulation. Businesses must prioritise capability, not just deployment. Technology partners must commit to building, not extracting.

The continent is already scaling. The real challenge is ensuring that Africa’s AI future is shaped and owned collectively, through trusted partnerships that balance speed, control and shared value.

The post Can Africa Scale at Speed While Retaining Control? appeared first on 256 Business News.

Bob Twinomugisha

The budget for this fiscal year was released at a critical point in Uganda’s economic development journey as it prepares for the commencement of commercial oil production, deepen participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and pursue its ambitious goal of growing the economy from a baseline of nearly US$ 50 billion in 2025 to US$ 500 billion by 2040.

This budget supports the implementation of Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy through investments in agro-industrialization, tourism, mineral beneficiation, oil and gas, science, technology and innovation, and supporting infrastructure. Opportunities arising from strategic sector investments, oil production and AfCFTA market access have the potential to improve productivity, competitiveness, and export diversification.

However, the successful exploitation of these opportunities will require substantial investment and access to affordable medium-to-long-term financing.  According to Uganda Bankers Association (UBA), Agriculture, Tourism, Minerals, Oil and Gas, and Science, Technology and Innovation (ATMS) strategy response, achieving the Tenfold Growth Strategy will require private sector credit to increase from UGX 28.6 trillion in 2025 to UGX 490 trillion by 2040, while capital markets are expected to mobilize an additional UGX 440 trillion during the plan period. These resources will support not only priority sectors but also enabling sectors such as transport, energy, telecommunications, manufacturing, real estate, and services.

Over the last two decades, Uganda has strategically invested in foundations for development. The country increased electricity access to over 58 percent of the population in FY2023/24, expanded paved road networks (tarmac) to over 6,199km in 2025, improved digital connectivity with internet penetration and usage rising to 53% in 2022 from 1.8% in 2010 and invested in education and health leading to a rise in life expectancy to 68.2 years in FY2023/24 from 50.4 in FY2010/11, according to the latest reports by the National Planning Authority and Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

While these achievements have strengthened productive capacity and competitiveness, infrastructure alone cannot deliver economic transformation. Economic transformation will only happen when businesses invest strategically, adopt technology, expand production and productivity, engage in value addition to raw materials, access domestic, regional and international markets and generate productive jobs. At the Centre of this transformation process lies a critical factor: development finance.

According to Bank of Uganda’s latest statistics, personal and household loans accounted for 25.6 percent of the total private sector credit while building, mortgage, construction and real estate activities accounted for 18.6 percent.  In comparison, manufacturing accounted for 12.5 percent, agriculture 11.4 percent, and mining and quarrying only 2.0 percent. This implies that productive sectors central to structural transformation continue to require greater access to affordable medium-to-long-term financing.

Development finance plays a critical role in addressing this challenge by providing affordable patient capital and business advisory services, that supports productive investment in key growth sectors of the economy, benefiting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large-scale enterprises that have significant socio-economic impact. Through instruments such as long-term loans, asset finance, project finance, trade investment and assurance support, equity investments, development finance enables businesses to undertake investments that may not be adequately served by conventional financing. Notably, development finance institutions’ flexible funding arrangements and extended repayment terms give businesses enough time to generate cash flow, expand operations, enhance competitiveness, and achieve long-term sustainability. Further, beyond financing, development finance institutions also provide business advisory services to have professionally run businesses and enterprises which in result reduces the risk of default of financed projects.

International experience demonstrates that many countries have relied on national development banks to avail this type of financing and have successfully transformed their economies. Germany’s KfW supported post-war reconstruction and industrial modernization, Brazil’s BNDES financed infrastructure and industrial expansion, East Asian development banks supported export-oriented industrialization, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) continues to finance strategic infrastructure and regional integration projects. These experiences show that countries that successfully industrialized established institutions capable of mobilizing and deploying affordable long-term financing for productive investment.

In Uganda, priority sectors under the Tenfold Growth Strategy, including agro industrialization, tourism, mineral development, and science, technology and innovation, are capital intensive and require strong development finance support. Recognizing this challenge, Government continues to capitalize and revitalize institutions that support productive investment and structural transformation. Government has cumulatively capitalised UDB with Shs 1.96 trillion to provide patient capital to strategic sectors vital for industrialization and value addition. Notably, UDB has financed more than 100,000 beneficiaries either directly as projects, or through other innovative financial solutions.

The continued capitalization of UDB is therefore important not only because it expands access to affordable medium-to-long-term financing, but also because it strengthens the country’s capacity to finance strategic investments in sectors that are critical for industrialization, value addition, export growth and job creation.

Ultimately, achieving tenfold growth will require more than infrastructure and macroeconomic stability. Uganda must mobilize long-term capital, deepen capital markets, strengthen development finance institutions, expand blended and concessional financing, and increase private investment. Development finance is therefore not merely a supporting instrument but one of the critical pillars upon which the successful achievement of Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy depends.

The writer is Senior Economist, Macroeconomics and Trade, Uganda Development Bank Ltd

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Peter Wachira

East Africa is witnessing one of the most significant wealth transitions in its history. Across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, thousands of businesses founded in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are approaching a defining moment. The entrepreneurs who built these enterprises through determination, sacrifice and resilience are beginning to hand over leadership to a new generation.

This transition presents an enormous opportunity. It also carries enormous risk. The greatest threat facing family wealth today is not taxation, inflation, market volatility or even economic uncertainty. It is the failure to prepare families and institutions for continuity.

That message formed the centre piece of my remarks at the recent TARA Estate Planning Symposium in Kampala on July 16 2026 at Arirang Hotel, where stakeholders from the legal, financial and business communities gathered to launch; The Estate Planning Association (TEPA). The symposium reflected a growing recognition across Uganda and the region that estate planning is no longer simply a legal matter, it is an economic, governance and family imperative.

At ICEA LION Trust Company, which this year celebrates 40 years of helping families preserve and transfer wealth across generations, we have observed one recurring lesson: creating wealth and preserving it require two entirely different skill sets. Recently while presenting at the launch of the Tara Estate Association on July 16 2026 at Arirang Hotel in Kampala.

Building a successful business often depends on entrepreneurial instinct, personal relationships and decisive leadership. Preserving that success requires governance, systems, transparency and deliberate succession planning.

Unfortunately, many families devote decades to creating wealth but very little time preparing for what happens after the founder steps aside.

The consequences are visible throughout the region. Businesses that once employed hundreds collapse within a few years of the founder’s death. Families become embroiled in expensive legal disputes. Valuable land remains tied up in succession cases for years. Enterprises lose key customers because relationships were never transferred. Assets are divided, but the knowledge, leadership and vision that created them disappear.

These outcomes are not inevitable. They are usually the result of decisions that were postponed.

Global research consistently shows that nearly 70 percent of family wealth fails to survive the transition from the first generation to the second. By the third generation, most of what remains has disappeared.

The reasons are remarkably consistent across countries and cultures. Families often mistake assets for wealth.

Land, buildings, shares and bank accounts are important, but they represent only part of a family’s wealth. The greater value often lies in less visible assets, business relationships, institutional knowledge, governance structures, customer confidence, reputation and entrepreneurial capability.

A family business can inherit every building the founder owned yet lose much of its value if future leaders are unprepared to run it.

That is why succession planning must move beyond distributing assets. It must prepare people.

Successful family enterprises understand that continuity rests on three interconnected pillars; The first is the family itself.

Succession begins with honest conversations. Families must discuss expectations openly, define responsibilities clearly and prepare future leaders before transitions become urgent. Avoiding difficult conversations today often creates far greater conflict tomorrow.

The second pillar is values-Every enduring family possesses principles that define how decisions are made, how conflict is resolved and how success is measured. Integrity, stewardship, responsibility, service and entrepreneurship cannot simply be inherited. They must be intentionally taught and demonstrated across generations.

The third pillar is governance-Many founders successfully manage businesses through personal authority. Future generations cannot rely solely on personality.

Strong governance provides continuity regardless of who occupies leadership positions. It establishes decision-making processes, accountability, family councils, succession policies and mechanisms for resolving disagreements before they become destructive.

Governance transforms businesses from founder-dependent enterprises into enduring institutions. This distinction is becoming increasingly important across East Africa.

Many of today’s successful businesses are reaching second-generation transitions at a time of rapid technological change, expanding regional markets and growing investor expectations. Future leaders must preserve the values that built these enterprises while adapting them to entirely different economic realities.

That balance cannot be achieved through a will alone.

Estate planning is often misunderstood as a legal exercise that begins toward the end of life. In reality, it should begin much earlier.

Planning should start when entrepreneurs establish businesses, acquire significant assets, welcome children into the family or enter partnerships. It should evolve as businesses grow, investments diversify and family circumstances change.

Effective estate planning integrates legal, financial, governance and family considerations into one coherent strategy.

It is also important to recognise that succession is not solely about transferring ownership.  Leadership must be transferred. knowledge must be documented. Relationships must be nurtured.

Future generations must understand not only what they inherit but why it exists and the responsibilities that accompany it.

This is where professional trustees play an increasingly important role.

Independent trustees provide continuity beyond individual family members, help preserve agreed governance structures and ensure that decisions remain aligned with the long-term interests of beneficiaries. They create confidence during periods of uncertainty and help families separate emotion from governance.

As East Africa’s economies continue to mature, succession planning should become part of mainstream business planning rather than an afterthought.

Governments have invested heavily in creating environments that encourage entrepreneurship and investment. The next challenge is ensuring that the wealth created today continues generating employment, investment and opportunity long after its founders have left the stage.

No entrepreneur builds a business simply to see it disappear within one generation. Every founder hopes to leave something that endures. Ultimately, legacy is not measured by the size of an estate.

It is measured by whether future generations remain united, whether businesses continue creating value and whether families become stronger rather than divided because of the wealth they inherit. None of us will be here a century from now.

What will remain are the institutions we build, the values we pass on and the governance systems we establish today.

That is why estate planning is not about preparing for death. It is about preparing families to thrive for general

The writer is the Chief Executive Officer, ICEA LION Trust Company

The post The Greatest Threat to Family Wealth isn’t Death—It’s Failing to Prepare the Next Generation appeared first on 256 Business News.

By James Sserumaga

Uganda’s bancassurance industry is emerging as one of the strongest drivers of insurance penetration and financial inclusion, demonstrating remarkable growth as more individuals and businesses seek protection against an increasingly complex risk environment.

According to the latest industry performance report, Uganda’s 22 licensed bancassurance providers generated more than UGX 80.8 billion in Gross Written Premiums (GWP) during the first quarter of 2026. Equity Bank Uganda ranked fourth in the market, generating UGX 6.69 billion in premiums and capturing an 8.28 percent market share.

These figures reflect a broader shift in how Ugandans view insurance. Increasingly, insurance is no longer regarded as a product purchased only after a loss occurs. Instead, it is becoming an integral part of financial planning, helping individuals, families and businesses safeguard their future while recovering more quickly from unexpected setbacks.

Whether the risk arises from a medical emergency, an accident, business interruption, property damage, theft or cyber threats, insurance provides the financial resilience needed to preserve livelihoods, protect investments and sustain growth.

One of the key factors driving this transformation has been the rapid growth of bancassurance — the distribution of insurance products through banks. By bringing insurance closer to customers through institutions they already trust, bancassurance is helping overcome many of the barriers that have historically constrained insurance uptake, including limited access, low awareness and perceptions that insurance is complicated or only relevant to high-income earners.

The industry’s first-quarter performance illustrates this growing importance. Of the UGX 80.81 billion generated through bancassurance, UGX 62.89 billion, representing 78 percent, came from life insurance products, while UGX 17.92 billion, or 22 percent, was generated from general insurance. The trend suggests that both households and businesses are increasingly prioritising financial protection as part of their long-term planning.

For Equity Bank Uganda, bancassurance is more than an additional banking service. It is a strategic component of our broader mission to promote financial inclusion by helping customers not only build wealth but also protect it.

At Equity Bank Uganda, we believe that protecting what matters is just as important as creating wealth. Insurance enables customers to manage risk, absorb shocks and recover from unexpected events without losing years of financial progress.

Our own first-quarter performance reflects this growing demand. Of the UGX 6.69 billion generated in premiums, UGX 4.94 billion, representing 74 percent, came from life insurance products, while UGX 1.75 billion originated from general insurance solutions. This growing demand demonstrates that customers increasingly recognise the value of protecting income, assets, businesses and family wellbeing.

Over the past four years, Equity Bank Uganda has expanded access to insurance through its branch network, relationship managers, digital banking channels and the growing Equi-Duuka agency banking network. This integrated model allows customers to access insurance alongside savings, lending, payments and investment services, creating a more holistic approach to financial wellbeing.

Equally important has been the role of customer education. Insurance remains one of the least understood financial products across many developing markets. Yet as financial literacy improves, more customers are beginning to appreciate that insurance is not merely an expense but an investment in stability and resilience.

Today, customers require protection across a broad range of needs. Entrepreneurs seek cover for business assets and operations. Contractors require protection against project-related risks. Schools want safeguards for learners and staff. Families increasingly prioritise medical and life insurance to protect household finances.

To meet these evolving needs, Equity Bancassurance offers a wide range of solutions, including medical, life, personal accident, motor, property, burglary, fidelity guarantee, machinery breakdown, professional indemnity, contractors’ all-risk, public liability and specialised business risk protection products.

Demand is also growing among corporate clients. As Uganda’s economy becomes more sophisticated and interconnected, businesses are increasingly seeking comprehensive risk management solutions covering areas such as professional liability, cyber security, property protection, business interruption and employee medical benefits. These products are becoming essential tools for strengthening governance, protecting investments and enhancing organisational resilience.

Importantly, the role of banks in insurance distribution extends beyond policy sales. Financial institutions have a responsibility to help customers understand risk and make informed decisions about protecting their financial future. The objective is not simply to increase insurance uptake, but to improve financial security and economic resilience across households, enterprises and communities.

Looking ahead, technology is expected to accelerate the next phase of growth. Digital banking platforms, customer analytics and integrated financial ecosystems are making it easier to provide personalised insurance solutions that align with customers’ life stages, financial goals and risk profiles. Insurance is increasingly becoming a seamless component of the overall banking relationship rather than a standalone purchase.

The broader implication is significant. Bancassurance has the potential to play a central role in expanding insurance penetration across Uganda by leveraging trusted banking relationships to reach millions of customers who may otherwise remain underserved.

Financial wellbeing should not be measured solely by the ability to accumulate wealth. It should also be measured by the ability to protect it.

As Uganda’s bancassurance industry continues to mature, the opportunity before us is clear: to make financial protection more accessible, more affordable and more relevant to the needs of ordinary Ugandans. By doing so, we can help individuals, families and businesses build greater resilience, pursue opportunities with confidence and contribute to a more secure and inclusive economy.

 James Sserumaga is the Head of Bancassurance, Equity Bank Uganda

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Twenty years after the passing of former Principal Judge and Supreme Court Justice Arthur Haggai Okello Oder, family members, judicial officers and Uganda’s legal fraternity gathered to honour a man whose life remains synonymous with integrity, fairness and unwavering commitment to the rule of law.

The memorial service, held at All Saints’ Cathedral, Nakasero, on Sunday, June 28, was more than an occasion to remember a distinguished judge. It became a reflection on the values that sustain strong institutions and a reminder that the Judiciary’s greatest inheritance is the character of those who serve it.

In a tribute released to mark the anniversary, Justice Oder’s family described him as a jurist whose influence extended well beyond the courtroom.

“A distinguished Judge of the Supreme Court of Uganda, Justice Oder dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice, integrity and service to humanity,” the family said.

They remembered him not only as a respected judge, but also as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, mentor and friend whose compassion reached far beyond his immediate family.

“Though twenty years have passed since his departure, our father’s values remain firmly rooted in our hearts. The life lessons he imparted, his passion for uplifting others and his witty sense of humour are qualities we frequently draw from,” the family noted.

They added that his legacy of integrity, humility, service and commitment to doing what was right continues to inspire generations.

That message resonated throughout the memorial service.

Paying tribute, retired Justice Okumu Wengi Richard urged Ugandans to remember not only Justice Oder but also the generation of judicial pioneers who helped build the country’s legal institutions.

“As we remember Justice Arthur Haggai Okello Oder, we also remember other great justices, including Harold Platt, George W. Kanyeihamba and others who served this nation with distinction,” he said.

Justice Okumu also paid tribute to former Chief Justices Benjamin Odoki and Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, congratulating them for their service to the Judiciary and wishing them continued good health.

Justice Benjamin Odoki

His remarks reflected a broader concern that Uganda’s judicial history should be preserved alongside ongoing efforts to modernise the administration of justice.

Justice Oder occupies a unique place in that history.

Before serving on the Supreme Court, he chaired the Commission of Inquiry into Violations of Human Rights, which investigated abuses committed between 1962 and 1986. The commission’s work became a significant milestone in Uganda’s post-conflict efforts to strengthen constitutional governance, accountability and respect for human rights.

He later served as Principal Judge before joining the Supreme Court, where he participated in several landmark constitutional and presidential election petitions that helped shape Uganda’s jurisprudence. Throughout his judicial career, he earned a reputation for independence, intellectual rigour and principled decision-making.

Justice Oder died in June 2006 while still serving on the Supreme Court, bringing to an end a distinguished legal career that left a lasting imprint on Uganda’s justice system.

Yet messaging at the memorial suggested that his greatest legacy lies not only in the judgments he wrote, but in the example he set.

At a time when institutions around the world are increasingly judged by public trust, Justice Oder’s life was presented as evidence that the strength of a judiciary ultimately depends on the integrity, humility and courage of the individuals entrusted with dispensing justice.

As Uganda continues to reform its legal system and expand access to justice, the memorial served as a reminder that progress is measured not only by new laws or modern court infrastructure, but also by preserving the values of those who laid the foundations of the country’s constitutional order.

Twenty years after his passing, Justice Arthur Haggai Okello Oder’s legacy remains woven into the fabric of Uganda’s Judiciary—a testament to a life in which justice was not simply a profession, but a public trust faithfully upheld.

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By Asiya Muhammed

Uganda’s industrialisation story is compelling. Starting from Kampala Industrial to Business Park at Namanve, Jinja, Mbale, Mbarara, etc, factories are producing products ranging from medicine, steel, textiles, and food products at a scale that was difficult to imagine 20 years ago. As of the 2023/24 financial year, over 625 companies had been allocated land within Uganda Investment Authority’s industrial parks, with nearly 300 fully operational and more than 122,000 jobs created.

On this World Environment Day, with the UN’s #NowForClimate campaign urging every sector to send a signal back to an Earth already in crisis, Uganda’s industrial community faces a question its growth narrative often sidesteps: where is all the industrial waste going? Every factory that opens creates a waste stream. Every litre of effluent, every drum of solvents, every tonne of manufacturing residue must go somewhere. The question is whether it is going somewhere responsible or whether the cost of Uganda’s industrial ambition is being quietly transferred to its rivers, wetlands, and the communities living closest to its parks.

Namanve is instructive precisely because it is Uganda’s flagship zone. Studies indicate that industries in the park discharged effluents into the Namanve stream without adequate treatment, with contamination indicators flowing downstream toward the inner Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria a critical fishery and drinking water source for millions. The structural problem is familiar: waste management at the park has been largely individualised, each factory handling its own disposal, leading to inconsistency and predictable failures.

Uganda has a credible legal framework. The National Environment Act No. 5 of 2019 and the National Environment (Waste Management) Regulations S.I. No. 49 of 2020 place clear obligations on waste generators, with NEMA as the principal enforcement authority. The recent court conviction of PRO Industries for polluting the Ngaju wetland shows enforcement is possible. The challenge is scaling it commensurate with industrial expansion which requires funding, personnel, and political will to act against economically significant actors.

The Hidden Cost That Business Must Price In

Irresponsible industrial waste management is not simply an environmental failure it is a deferred cost that will eventually be paid, by someone. When effluents flows to Lake Victoria the fishing communities bear the immediate loss. When wetlands near industrial parks are degraded, the flood buffering and water filtration they provide disappear, raising costs for the broader urban economy. Workers in informal waste chain process industrial by-products without protection, they at a higher health risk. The regulatory frameworks for these waste streams are still catching up.

Uganda is moving forward with industrial and infrastructure expansion. The recently announced UGX 1.4 trillion (approximately $400 million) waste-to-power project at Namanve Industrial Park and is expected to process upto1,500 tonnes of waste daily and generate 45 megawatts for the national grid, once operational. It deserves both support and scrutiny: support because it demonstrates that waste management and economic value creation can be the same investment; scrutiny because waste-to-energy through incineration is only as clean as its emission standards, flue gas treatment, and ash management. The business community and civil society should insist on transparent, independently verified environmental monitoring as a non-negotiable condition of the project’s social licence.

For Uganda’s industrial parks, responsibility starts with infrastructure designed before investors arrive, not retrofitted after problems emerge. Each park needs a centralised effluent treatment facility with mandatory participation, independently monitored and publicly disclosed. Hazardous waste streams require digital chain-of-custody from generator to NEMA-licensed facility. At the firm level, waste audits type, volume, disposal route, compliance status should be standard practice and disclosed to investors. ESG expectations from international capital markets are moving in this direction regardless; Ugandan industry would be prudent to get ahead of it rather than be caught short.

Growth That Lasts

Uganda’s industrial ambition is legitimate. The jobs at Namanve and beyond are real improvements in real lives. The argument here is not against industrialisation it is for industrialisation built to last. Growth that contributes to contamination risk in Lake Victoria’s inflows, degrades Kampala’s flood-buffering wetlands, and externalises its costs onto fishing communities is not sustainable growth. It is growth that borrows from the future.

This World Environment Day, the #NowForClimate signal Uganda’s industrial sector has the opportunity to send is clear: that economic growth and environmental responsibility are not a trade-off, but a standard to be met simultaneously. Industrial growth without matched waste management infrastructure is not a development model. It is a debt ledger with the environment as the borrower and future generations as the guarantor.

About the Author

Asiya Muhammed Kochuveettil is associated with Mc Clelland Engineers Pvt Ltd. With a background in research and a commitment to sustainable industrial practices, she brings a cross-functional perspective to compliance, environmental safety, and operational infrastructure. She is also a Member of the Royal Society of Biology (UK).

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After another year of fast-paced innovation, media managers, experts and academics posed a few tough questions at this year’s Nordic AI in Media Summit (NAMS), hosted at the JP/Politikens former printing press. Both the ink-stained walls and the lyrics of Video Killed the Radio Star served as reminders that the news industry has survived previous rounds of technological changes. But Canadian AI expert Nikita Roy warned the audiences that survival is not a given: “Awareness is not immunity.”

The fourth edition of the summit, hosted in Copenhagen by the Nordic AI Journalism Network, shifted the focus from tools and experiments to some of the more fundamental issues AI is surfacing for the news industry. What will the news economy look like? What (and who) will be automated? What will journalism mean in the age of AI? Speakers and attendees agreed the jury is out for all of these questions. Or at least, no one has definitive answers for them yet.

NAMS is led by Olle Zachrison, head of news AI for BBC News, Kasper Lindskow and Sara Inkeri Vardar from JP/Politikens Media Group, and Agnes Stenbom Swedling from Schibsted, who until recently was a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute.

The summit included keynote lectures by experts such as Ezra Eeman from NPO, Nikita Roy from Newsroom Robots and our senior research associate Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, now at the University of Copenhagen. There were also presentations of AI projects and tools from many organisations, and breakout sessions targeting specific issues, with most of the latter held under Chatham House rules.

If you couldn’t be in Copenhagen this week, here are five key takeaways from the summit, ranging from broad questions on how AI will change the future of journalism to more practical takeaways from newsrooms navigating these changes. You will soon be able to catch up with the conference programme in full here.

1. It’s time for a radical reimagining of the news economy

The impact of AI will bring a fundamental restructuring of both the supply and demand side of the news economy, said Shuwei Fang, a Shorenstein Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. As she explained in this powerful essay we published in March, she predicts four paradigm shifts: scarcity to abundance, a human audience to a machine audience, attention to intention, and artefacts to liquid content.

She believes these shifts will result in significant changes for the news ecosystem. For example, news production could shift from a “stock model,” where a news product is first produced and subsequently consumed by users, to a “flow model” where content is crafted at the moment of consumption specifically for a particular user.

Another shift could be news going from a B2C product to B2A2C (business to agent to consumer). Here, the “A” layer includes multiple agents with different needs in their own right, depending on their purpose.

The ecosystem emerging can produce answers to extremely niche, detailed questions addressing individuals’ needs, Fang said. While this presents opportunities, the distance that AI creates between audiences and news organisations could alienate publishers from important information about what audiences need from them.

Fang also predicted that the market for news could start to bifurcate between luxury and commodity, with extremes at either end and a hollowed-out middle. The luxury end would be defined by intangible qualities like brand identity and trust, with offerings like member communities and shared live experiences. The commodity end will be defined by infrastructure and integration.

There would be AI and human presence across both ends of the spectrum. The middle, where most news organisations sit today, would be dangerous ground, Fang said.

Despite the risks inherent to the scenarios she painted, Fang is not a pessimist. “The market for knowledge could get much bigger,” she said, with possible expansion both on the supply and demand side. Opportunities include lower production costs and the possibility to use AI to reach underserved audiences.

However, the value brought by AI may not be evenly distributed, and power could concentrate in a handful of players. For news organisations thinking about how to position themselves for the future, Fang heeded a warning: “Be suspicious of solutions that require the least amount of change.”

2. It’s also time to rethink what journalism is

If the news industry is to reorient itself in light of AI, it will need to redefine itself. “People don’t want news, as in facts, but they might want sensemaking,” said Florent Daudens, CEO and co-founder of Mizal AI, a startup offering production agents for media companies. This is why Substack is growing even as other forms of media struggle, he said.

Facts might not be a great bet in a news ecosystem increasingly mediated by AI either, Daudens said, as tech companies could get them by striking a deal with a single newswire.

This thought was echoed by Fang: there’s so much free information online such as research and press releases that AI companies could draw from, and that, for some, may be indistinguishable from journalism by news organisations.

Nikita Roy suggested we are at a turning point that, if missed, could spell disaster for the news industry. “We are in our Nokia and Kodak moment, where we are looking at a new product but thinking with the metrics of an old product,” she warned. Instead of worrying about how to recover lost web traffic and otherwise defend the status quo, we need to leave behind old assumptions.

AI is disrupting something more fundamental, Roy said: how information moves, how value is captured, what it means to be a media company.

This is a bigger shift than the one from print to digital, as then the role of the publisher remained largely the same. To Roy, publishers may be approaching this from a loss perspective, feeling their losses but not considering what they could gain.

Echoing Fang, she also asked those present to consider the people they could reach that it had not been possible to serve before. “We mistake the container for journalism,” she said, referring to an article, a podcast episode or a newsletter issue. And then she asked a fundamental question: “If you knew nothing about websites, but you knew people still needed verified information to navigate their lives, what would you build?”

A slide from Nikita Roy’s presentation. Image courtesy of NAMS.

3. Agents might be the future

Agents took centre stage at this year’s summit. In a future when many people navigate the web with their own personal agent, as David Caswell outlined in an essay we published last year, publishers’ relationships with audiences would be mediated through this middle layer.

Florent Daudens described how agents would surf the web on behalf of the humans they serve, visiting websites, extracting and repackaging information according to their person’s wants and needs. They may even be authorised to pay for news, in a sort of micropayment system as suggested by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a recent conversation with the Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson.

For news publishers, this would mean learning how to embed instructions for agents on their websites, instructing them on how to use their content, and working out how to serve information to agents in a way that would preserve the organisation’s tone and identity.

Key to this is keeping your data in order, which isn’t something many news organisations have prioritised until now. “Very few news organisations structure their data properly, and that’s a huge problem,” said consultant Madhav Chinnappa, until recently a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute.

Roy described how this kind of future might work. In this new world, “you no longer need to be found, you need to be worth monitoring,” she said. Publishers would find themselves creating for two audiences: humans and agents. The latter wouldn’t only be the personal agents Daudens suggested, but also platform agents, newsroom agents, and even adversarial agents.

“By the time agents are reliable enough, it will be too late. We can’t wait and see. We need to experiment now, as much as we can,” Roy warned.

This might still seem far-fetched to some, but agents have already improved substantially over the last year, with the biggest impact on coding.

Agents also began playing a role in newsroom AI tools. Norwegian local media network Polaris Media Vest uses agentic as well as vibe coding for a range of journalistic tools and widgets, some of which non-coding reporters built, said Kaja Distad, head of editorial development.

In Schibsted, video experts taught an agent to work like them to develop a tool now used to convert any content from its subsidiary VG into a social-ready video. Football World Cup-focused chatbots developed by Swedish tabloid rivals Aftonbladet and Expressen both use agentic workflows. Danish publisher Bonnier’s new internal tool Flows allows journalists to set up their own agentic systems, combining research, extraction and planning, decision and writing. This tool is used, for example, to monitor, summarise and notify them of a story they may want to cover. In some ways, agents are already here.

4. Large legacy newsrooms send out nimble explorers

Characterised both as speedboats sailing ahead of a large ship and as light drones compared to heavy tanks, legacy newsrooms shared how they are using relatively small and fast-moving AI experiments to test out new ideas while protecting their core brand.

The military analogy was shared by Amalie Kestler, editor-in-chief of Politiken, the Danish newspaper in whose former printing press the meeting was held. Newsrooms can be run like tanks, heavy and slow with a centralised hierarchy, she explained. Or they can be run like drones, light and quick. The tank model has its place, but in some cases newsrooms should opt for the drone approach.

For Politiken, AI experimentation has expanded beyond data journalism and its multiuse tool Magna into the quick-paced vibe coding, leading to interactive widgets to encourage audiences to engage with news stories.

An eye-catching example was the “death machine”, which asks users to input information about their lifestyle and uses statistics to predict when they will die. At the same time, Politiken is also highlighting the human aspects to its journalism with video podcasts and live debates.

Gard Steiro, editor-in-chief and CEO of Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), built upon past NAMS presentations to make the case for moving on from experimentation to scaling. For him, this also means doubling down on the human touch that AI cannot replace in journalism. “There are people out there who need to be met at eye level and tell their stories, and rest assured that Sam Altman doesn’t give a damn about them,” he said.

Steiro also sees a great need for change to make the most of the opportunities afforded by AI. “If we don’t make an effort to change, the untapped potential will be so great that any startup will overtake us,” he said.

Legacy newsrooms are slow like large ships, so VG is sending out speedboats to test the waters. These include VG X, a new app-based news service that replaces articles with summarised information updated around the clock and managed almost entirely by AI, using a clustering algorithm to group together VG articles and videos into stories. As there is no CMS, editors can request changes directly in the product, akin to talking to it.

Another of these speedboats is VG Lab, an internal tool to quickly test ideas and get an assessment of whether VG could execute it, whether there’s a market for it, how much it would cost, and what similar offerings exist around the world. This is led by two people and a team of agents, and led to the creation of Norway’s fastest growing app last autumn, Steiro said.

Gard Steiro’s presentation. Image courtesy of NAMS.

5. What do audiences want?

An underlying motif pervaded the summit: the idea that AI could be used by publishers to get a better idea of what their audiences want and need through a new ability to ask direct questions.

Daudens mentioned this as an advantage of personal agents: by looking at what agents are seeking out from websites, publishers may figure out areas that require further reporting. Also by analysing how audiences use AI chatbots and the kinds of questions they ask, news organisations can know what kinds of stories they want more of.

In a panel discussion moderated by our researcher Felix Simon, the conversation turned to the importance of building relationships with the audience. “We can create as much journalism as we want, but if people don’t want to be sources, or don’t want to read us, there’s no point,” said Stine Thorsgaard Kjær, head of innovation and development at TV2 Østjylland.

There is a potential problem for journalists who use AI. In a closing keynote, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen asked a key question posed by the Reuters Institute’s survey data: audiences tend to be sceptical of AI in journalism.

It could be that journalists who want to use AI and be explicit about their use aren’t making a good case for this to the public, he suggested. If we want to both use AI and foster trust, there are many factors that contribute to trust that have very little if anything to do with technology. As our Trust in News Project found, it’s about brand, presentation, language, bias, factual accuracy.

“It remains really important that you, as a professional community of practice, continue to judge your own work by your own standards” when it comes to AI use, Nielsen said. But that’s only one leg of value and trust, and probably not the most important one. The second, he added, is a public test: the need to convince members of the public, “what is in it for us?”

Marina Adami writes articles on the future of journalism worldwide and occasionally works with the Reuters Institute’s research team. 

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