When the history of the Bank of Uganda is discussed, the name Joseph Mubiru, the institution’s first Governor, is rightly celebrated. However, one figure whose contribution is often overlooked is Ian D. Lewis, the Bank’s first Deputy Governor-designate, whose leadership laid much of the foundation upon which Uganda’s central bank was built. Before his secondment…
On 15 August 1966, a warm and dry day, the Bank of Uganda—the country’s long-awaited central bank—officially opened its doors and issued Uganda’s national currency, initially in the form of banknotes. By all accounts, it was an auspicious occasion. The event also marked the laying of the foundation stone for the Bank’s headquarters at Plot…
Few people know that the creation of the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) was driven by a critical gap in Uganda’s financial system during the late 1950s and early 1960s. At the time, the country’s only indigenous banking institution was the Uganda Credit and Savings Bank (UCSB), established in 1950 by the government. While UCSB played…
Uganda’s banking industry is older than the Bank of Uganda itself. Commercial banking operations in Uganda began in 1906 when the National and Grindlays Bank of Calcutta, India, opened a branch in Entebbe and later Kampala Road currently housed by Bank of Uganda Over the next six decades, several foreign-owned banks established operations in Uganda….
Aliko Dangote’s story is unique on the global stage. He is the only African and the only Black billionaire to have built his fortune almost entirely through indigenous manufacturing. Unlike many billionaires whose wealth stems from tech, finance, or global distribution networks, Dangote’s empire is rooted in producing goods locally: cement, sugar, flour, salt, and…
Yet, against all odds, the refinery stands today as one of the most ambitious industrial undertakings in Africa’s history. Aliko Dangote didn’t just build an oil refinery — he built belief. In May 2007, just days after President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was sworn in as Nigeria’s new leader, a dramatic reversal shook the business world….
On May 29, 1999, history was made in Nigeria. The retired military general, Olusegun Obasanjo, was sworn in as the nation’s second executive president, marking the dawn of a new civilian era after years of military rule. For many Nigerians, it was a moment of hope—a chance to rebuild a country long weighed down by…
The Temangalo deal was supposed to be simple:sell a few acres to National Social Security Fund NSSF, raise cash & buyout an incapacitated Asian shareholder from the National Bank of Commerce (NBC). A noble cause, right? Well…the media didn’t get that memo. Nzeyi, the bona fide landowner, teamed up with Minister Amama Mbabazi & offered…
When Prof Ezra Suruma arrived at Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) in 1993, the World Bank had one message: “We’re here to help…but also, we’re bringing our people.” Their financial credit terms required Uganda to accept a COO, Deputy MD, CFO and Credit Manager almost an entire leadership tier from without the country. As Chairman and…
Gen Z and a late Millennials might be oblivious of the fact that Uganda at one time had a locally owned Commercial Bank – The Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB). By 1993, it had grown to over 3,000 staff & 189 branches from just 60 branches five years earlier. However, losses began to mount given the…
