By Leonard Kamugisha Akida
KAMPALA
More than 500 business players from 10 African countries are expected to attend the third annual Regional Industrialisation Conference (RIC) scheduled for August 18-19, 2026, at Serena Hotel, in Kampala.
The two-day conference, organised by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) in partnership with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, will focus on unlocking industrial competitiveness through innovation and regional value chain integration.
PSFU chief executive officer Stephen Asiimwe said the conference will bring together about 40 regional speakers and players from various industrial value chains to explore opportunities for trade, investment and joint ventures.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday, Asiimwe said the conference will provide a platform for industries to engage directly, identify investment opportunities and address policy challenges affecting regional trade.
“We want industries to speak to each other, willing buyer, willing seller. We have invited the top players in the East African region,” Asiimwe said.
He said the conference will feature plenary sessions, business-to-business meetings, an investment forum and an exhibition and trade fair where manufacturers and processors will showcase their products and technologies.
Asiimwe said the conference comes at a time when East Africa has a combined population of about 400 million people, but only about 20% of the region’s agricultural output is processed locally.
He said Uganda will use its chairmanship of the East African Community to strengthen regional industrial cooperation and value-chain integration.
Simon Kaheru, a representative of the East African Business Council, said the conference would help businesses combine capital, resources and expertise to increase production, manufacturing, employment and prosperity.
State Minister for Trade in charge of Cooperatives Sanjay Tana urged the business community to attend the conference, saying the Government is ready to facilitate investment.
Tana said Uganda’s development strategy targets increasing the country’s GDP from about $69 billion to $500 billion by 2040 through agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals and science, technology and innovation.
He urged investors to tap into opportunities in agro-processing, tourism, mining and technology.
Uganda Tourism Board official Samora Marshal said the tourism sector would use the conference to link tourism with other industries and encourage delegates to extend their stay and explore the country’s attractions.
