African Development Bank, Ugandan Gov’t Sign UGX1.8 Billion Grant To Fund MSMEs in The Petroleum Sector

The African Development Bank and the Government of Uganda have signed a grant agreement of USD$500,000 (roughly UGX1.8 billion) to finance Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to boost business linkages on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Technical Assistance project.

The project’s overall objective is to help develop capacity of local Uganda MSMEs along the East African crude oil pipeline, by enabling them to access new market opportunities, and building linkages with larger, national, regional and international companies.

The project aims to support inclusive private sector growth and the creation of an estimated 500 jobs along the pipeline.

Through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), the Bank is contributing USD$500,000 grant to the project while the Ugandan Government through the Petroleum Authority will provide counterpart funding. A similar project is being finalised on the Tanzanian side of the border.

The target is to have at least 100 local micro business in Uganda and Tanzania trained to do business on the pipeline project. It is also expected to link at least 70 business enterprises or other relevant business transactions undertaken on the pipeline.

With the increased number of enterprises joining petroleum supplier databases in both Uganda and Tanzania, new job opportunities would also be created for about 500 people.

FAPA is a multi-donor thematic trust fund which provides grant funding for technical assistance and capacity building to support implementation of the Bank’s Private Sector Development Strategy. It has to date provided over USD$69 million (roughly UGX255 billion) to 87 projects in over 38 countries across the African continent.