By Ambrose Gahene,
KAMPALA
Uganda Development Bank (UDB), the country’s national Development Finance Institution and the recipient of the prestigious title’ Best Bank in East Africa 2024 due to its contribution to the growth and development of Africa’s banking sector, has released its 2023 Development Impact Report. The Bank conducts ex-post development impact assessments annually, culminating in a Development Impact Report.
According to UDB 2023 Report launched on Friday, at the Bank’s Head Office located on Rwenzori Towers in Kampala, under the theme, “Transforming Lives: The Role of UDB in Driving Socio-economic Transformation in Uganda,” underscores the impressive and reassuring socioeconomic outcomes of the Bank’s interventions across various sectors through job creation, output value, forex, and tax generated by enterprises supported by the Bank.
Prior to the Press briefing, UDB conducted a training session for Journalists on Climate Change reporting and business management for both large and medium enterprises.
In 2023, UDB-funded projects created and maintained a total of 51,841 jobs. The Bank champions climate action through targeted approaches. Report highlights inclusion for the Youth, Women, and PWDs
It also emphasizes the Bank’s pivotal role in fostering the country’s sustainable socio-economic transformation and growth. It serves as a beacon of hope, reflecting UDB’s unwavering optimism about Uganda’s future and instilling confidence in its potential.
“The 2023 Development Impact Report underscores the substantial impact of our strategic investments and interventions. We are steadfast in our support for Uganda’s economic growth and job creation, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and regional trade. Our financial and non-financial interventions are designed to deliver high socio-economic value, including job creation, increased production output, and foreign exchange earnings while contributing to government revenues through tax,” said Ms. Patricia Ojangole, the Managing Director UDB during the launch.
In the intervening period, the Bank’s investment created and maintained 51,841 jobs, and a total output value of UGX5.8 trillion was realized. This output value contributed UGX236.1 billion in tax revenue to the government, which will be used for the country’s social development and forex earnings of UGX953 billion.
UDB’s Key findings show; on Employment that It’s worth noting the enterprises the Bank financed saw a significant increase in job creation and maintenance, with a total of 51,841 jobs compared to 51,439 in 2022. Of these, 41.21 per cent were permanent and 58.78 percent were temporary. The highest proportion of temporary employment, 41.5 percent or 12,633 jobs, was in primary agriculture.
“This may be attributed to the nature of the sector, where activities peak during the planting, weeding, and harvesting seasons and are low during other seasons. Therefore, farmers follow the same patterns in employing workers,” Dr Francis Mwesigye, the Director of Economic Research and Knowledge Management, explained, providing a clear understanding of the impact of the seasonal nature on employment.
According to UDB, the youth have been a driving force in the job market, filling 64 percent of the Contributed 0.25 percent. The Bank noted that 33 percent of the youth, 39 percent of women, and 0.2 percent of PWDs are among the shareholders, as per the report.
“Women accounted for 13,727 jobs and held 39 percent of shareholding, up from 27 percent the previous year. This increase can be attributed to the Bank’s deliberate effort towards women’s inclusion through tailored products. Women constituted 43 percent of the senior management teams in these enterprises, up from 37 percent in 2022”, reads the UDB report in part.
As for PWD (Persons living with Disabilities) the bank took up 130 jobs and UDB-supported enterprises posted over UGX 869.05 billion in profitability in 2023, indicating continued growth in financial strength and viability.
“Sectoral profit margins varied, with sectors like health and primary agriculture demonstrating higher profit margins than tourism and hospitality. Tax Contribution Supported enterprises contribute
