Why invest? When we talk about investment, we think about allocating money or resources in ventures with the expectation of making profits. “Investment” is a term mostly associated with developed nations since they have more resources and Fortune 500 companies that can generate more revenues. But the question that remains to be answered is whether it is viable to invest in developing countries.

LAPO Solutions LTD strongly believes that Uganda is one of the places with promising investment opportunities due to the following four reasons:

1. Fast growing economy:

According to the World Bank, Uganda has reached 5.1% growth in GDP per annum over the last 20 years and its population continues to grow and is expected to reach 45 million people by 2023 which will lead to high human capital.

1. Natural resource bases:

Uganda has a strong natural resource bases and has many unexploited minerals including but not limited to copper, gold, iron ore, and petroleum.

1. Flexibility and openness to foreign investment:

Uganda has no strict rules against foreign investment and offers 100% foreign ownership of investment.

1. Good Investment and Political climate:

Uganda is a peaceful country where it has always been referred to as “pearl of Africa’’ because of its hospitality and friendly people. In addition, Uganda is a highly entrepreneurial community because of its youthful population and continues to experience increased growth in agribusiness, tourism, and the infrastructure.

Which investment would benefit Uganda most: Private or Public? Uganda in general would benefit mostly from private equity. One can define private equity as investment/capital allocation into companies/firms that do not practice public exchange (public trading). Given that Uganda is a developing nation, encouraging private equity firms would introduce a stronger performance and management. Also, private equity firms give the economy/managers the leeway to focus on longer term, say five years as opposed to a one year horizon. Also, private equity investment encourages increased cash flows given the strong performance and reduced bureaucratic processes, hence economic growth. Also, given Uganda’s strong economic growth prospect, technology advancement, and lower costs of work/production, encouraging private equity would give businesses alternative investment that would deliver higher returns. Follow the news on Uganda’s private equity investment using this link