When asked what an Industry is, it is defined as an economic activity concerning with the processing of raw materials and the manufacturing of goods in factories.
However, as the country Uganda grows and evolves, there have been quiet a number of industries which have played a significant role in the country’s economic development and below are some of the biggest industries Uganda holds.
1. Agricultural Sector
Uganda’s Economy is made up of Agriculture at 24.2% which includes fisheries, animal husbandry, dairy and crop sub-sectors and in this case, most investors consider the country’s Agricultural sector to be among the best in Africa with low temperature variability, fertile soils alongside two rainy seasons over much of the country leading to multiple crop harvests per year.
The UBOS however estimates that 68% of Uganda’s working population is employed in the agricultural sector and the country produces a wide range of Agricultural products including sugar, coffee, tea livestock, fish, edible oils to mention but a few.
2. Energy
Uganda’s energy sector has developed whereby the electricity sub sector has rapidly expanded since the year 2021, from three generation plants to over 40 and still increasing.
It should be noted that the total installed generation capacity started at 60 MW in 1954, increased to 400MW in 2000, 800MW in 2013 and about 2000 MW by 2021.
3. Information And Communication Technology
While driving business and entrepreneurship, ICT has helped to play a pivotal role in fostering entrepreneurship and business development in Uganda.
In this case, with the internet becoming more accessible, many small and medium enterprises have therefore found new opportunities to reach the national and international markets.
4. Manufacturing
The manufacturing sector in Uganda consists of predominantly the last stage of the end product assembly and raw material processing.
In this case, there’s a high share of food, which consists of food processing both of the low and value added activities and Agri processing firms account for about 39% of manufacturing establishments.
5. Tourism
Focused on Uganda’s landscape and wild life, it is a majorly driven by employment, investment and foreign exchange. There are also tourism companies which employ people directly as drivers, guides, secretaries accountants among others which has help cub poverty reduction and unemployment.
6. Mining And Quarrying
The current contribution to GDP from the mining and quarrying for the financial year 2020-2021 was 1.8%.
This sector employs approximately 26.5% of the country’s population which is dominated by Artisanal and small scale miners who use rudimentary methods of mining.
7. Petroleum
Western Uganda has approximately 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves with at least 1.5billion estimated to be economically recoverable.
And there are five sedimentary basins in Uganda, the Albertine Graben, Hoima basin, lake Wamala basin and Kadam Moroto basin.
With the above part of the Country’s industrial sector, they have significantly contributed to Uganda’s economic development and helped to provide employment opportunities to the citizens.
