Uganda Development Bank, the country’s National Development Finance Institution released its 2021 Direct Impact Report highlighting the fundamental role that the Bank continues to play toward Uganda’s sustainable socio-economic transformation and growth. This Direct Impact Report reflects UDB’s work and coverage through job creation, output value, forex, and tax generated by enterprises supported by the Bank.
“In the intervening period, the Bank’s investment created and maintained a total of 41,338 jobs, and a total output value of UGX 2.445 trillion was realized. This output value contributed UGX84 billion in form of tax revenue to the government, and forex earnings of UGX405 billion,” the report reads in part.
Job creation
The share of jobs created and maintained per sector was highest inAgro-processing at 41%, followed by Primary Agriculture at 30%. The Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Tourism sectors contributed 17%, 6%, and 3% respectively while other sectors that the Bank supports, including health and education accounted for 4%.
Output value
Of the total output value reported in 2021, the Agro-processing sector contributed 42%, followed by the Manufacturing sector at 33%, and Primary Agriculture at 17%. Other sectors contributed; Infrastructure – 3%, Health – 3%, and Tourism – 2%.
Profits
The Bank through its investments continues to facilitate the growth of a vibrant and sustainable private sector. The enterprises funded by UDB generated profitability amounting to UGX314Bn. By 2021, the highest profits being posted by enterprises in the Manufacturing sector which contributed 39%, followed by Agro-processing at 32%, and 21% from Primary Agriculture sectors respectively. The tourism and health sectors contributed 4% and 2% respectively.
Tax
Of the tax contributions reported, the Manufacturing sector contributed the highest share of 45%. Agro-processing followed this at 25%, Primary agriculture at 23%, and 3% for both Infrastructure and Tourism respectively. The health sector contributed 1% of the total share of tax revenue reported whereas the Education sector had no contribution in light of the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown measures.
Foreign Exchange
The share of foreign exchange earnings among the enterprises was highest in the Agro-processing sector at 50%, followed by the manufacturing sector at 33%. Health contributed 14% of the forex earnings contributions.
Gender
In line with the Bank’s effort to democratize economic participation, the DI report notes positively that over 30% of companies funded by UDB are owned by women. The dedicated funding program for Women and Youth known as Special Programs launched in 2021 shall however be expanded to reinforce these targets as women and youth together constitute the most active segments in the economy as well as the most numerous.
“These results reflect the Bank’s sustained contribution to the economy, augmenting the production of essential commodities amidst the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic which affected all the sectors, increased the cost of living, and disrupted global trade and markets. This Direct Impact Report 2021 demonstrates that UDB’s presence in the economy has had an overall positive impact,” Dr Francis Mwesigye, the Director of Economic Research and Knowledge Management at Uganda Development Bank said during the launch of the report.
“I would like to thank our customers, with whom we partner to deliver these results. I do reiterate our commitment as UDB, to deliver our mandate by deliberately focusing our efforts on interventions that create sustainable impact, thereby improving the quality of life of Ugandans.”
The Direct Impact report tracks the Bank’s socio-economic footprint against its Strategic Plan and the country’s national development priorities. In addition, the Bank looks at its High Impact Goals which are aligned with engendering wholistic sustainability, inclusion, community development, and environmental protection.
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