Uganda has more power—but why is access still a problem?

Uganda is generating more electricity than ever before—but if that’s the case, why do so many households and businesses still lack reliable, affordable, and safe energy?

Is the real challenge no longer supply, but access—and affordability?

That’s what ABSA Bank Uganda and the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalization Company are now trying to address through a new green energy line of credit.

With up to 11 billion shillings in concessional financing, the facility will support clean energy companies to scale solar and other solutions, especially in underserved markets.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Uganda has more power, but why is Africa still a problem? From over 2,200 cities and 138 countries, we bring you Good Morning Africa Podcast. Good morning Africa, welcome aboard your health on everything business in Africa. I am with the Dong for more follow us on Twitter at the K5 National News, and you can find me at Ruth Dong. Uganda's generating more electricity than ever before. But if that's the case, why do so many households and businesses still lack reliable, affordable, and safe energy? Is the real challenge no longer supply but access and affordability? That's why Absa Bank Uganda and the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalization Company are now trying to address this through a new green energy line of credit.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Absolutely Uganda is pleased to partner with UECCC to launch a dedicated green energy line of credit that will support clean energy companies to import, distribute, install, and scale solar and other clean energy solutions across the country. So when you travel, uh I like the view when I got to the village in Fort Porto, and as you enter or as you turn off the roads, there are small shops, and all you're seeing are solar panels and batteries. Solar panels and batteries. I like that story. I think today we're going to be part of that story in a much bigger way. The partnership we are getting into reflects what is possible when the public and private institutions work together with a shared purpose. UECCC brings a stroke development mandate, access to concessional capital, and ABSA brings banking scale, network, structured risk management, and the ability to deploy capital where it is needed at scale. Together we are translating national energy ambitions into practical, investable solutions that include lives and livelihoods. Importantly, this collaboration is aligned, fully aligned with the direction of Uganda's financial sector. The Bank of Uganda has been clear. Environmental, social, and governance considerations must now be embedded into our lending decisions, into our risk assessment, into our reporting frameworks. ESG is no longer on the edges, it's no longer peripheral. It is core to how financial institutions should allocate capital and support sustainable economic growth. This facility has been deliberately structured with those principles in mind. Under the arrangement, UACCC has extended concessional line of credit of up to 11 billion shillings, and APSA Bank will, under Government of Uganda's electric access scalar project, be able to only those funds to qualifying energy service companies, including Greenlight Planet Uganda Limited, to finance solar home systems, productive use equipment, institutional solar installations, on-grid solutions, and clean cooking technologies. For many clean energy enterprises, particularly those operating at the last mile level, access to affordable working capital is one of the biggest challenges and barriers for them to scale their businesses. This facility directly addresses that constraint. By lowering the cost of capital and providing longer-term structured financing, we are able to help these businesses expand, expand operations, improve affordability to the end users, and build more sustainable business models. From a governance and risk perspective, the facility is tightly structured and fully ESG aligned. Beyond pricing, cheap pricing, the structure includes clearly defined eligibility criteria, performance thresholds, robust reporting obligations, and ESG safeguards aligned with international best practice, including the World Bank standards. And why is this important? Because there has to be accountability. We have to show and drive accountability all the way through the government chain because that's one of the key requirements for us to build a sustainable society. From a governance and risk perspective, the facility is uh fully ESG aligned, and there should be transparency, accountability, and integrity throughout the value chain, allowing the bank to extend credit to a growing but historically unserved sector without compromising credit discipline or risk management. It's our job as banks to manage risk, that's what we do every day, and that's what we're going to be doing through this. The impact of this approach is most clearly seen in productivity. Energy access alone does not transform the economies, it's the productive use of that energy that does. And when clean energy solutions power micro and small enterprises, agro processing, coal chains, health facilities, schools, commercial services, the economy multiplies. The returns and the businesses multiply. Businesses are able to extend operating hours, reduce cost, improve resilience, and increase income generation. Across agriculture, retail, and services, clean energy becomes a driver of inclusive growth. When clean cooking and efficient energy technologies are part of enterprise solutions, the benefits extend further. Reducing pressure on natural resources, charcoal and wood usage, improving health outcomes, normal smoke inhalation, and lower long-term energy costs for households. At its core, this facility is about supporting enterprise-led delivery of commercially viable, environmentally sustainable, responsible solutions. For APSA, this partnership reflects a deliberate evolution on how we are growing as a bank. And our role here, whilst commercial, is catalytic. The facility extends and expands our learning portfolio, deepen our relationship with growing enterprises, and delivers measurable development outcomes consistent with Uganda's sustainability ambitions and policies. Most definitely and broadly, it reflects the shift in how we define value. ESG considerations are now embedded in how we assess credit risk, allocate capital, and measure performance, and not just as a compliance exercise, but as part of our core business strategy and responsibility as a financial security institution. This partnership is about building resilient energy enterprises, strengthening inclusion, accelerating Uganda's transition to a more productive, low-carbon, and sustainable economy.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

And a quick look at the markets. Policymakers noted that while inflation remained contained during the first quarter, risks to the outlook askewed to the upside driven by administered price pressures, exitant rate volatility, and developers from prolonged Middle East conflict. The early inflation rate eased to 2.1% in March, the lowest since July 2020 from 2.4% in the prime month, marking a consecutive month of slowdown. Looking ahead, inflation has projected to rise notably in quarter two, averaging 3.7% for the year versus 3.5% in February before gradually moderating to 3.4% in 2027. Meanwhile, domestic activity remains subdued. Real growth is expected at 2.6% in 2026 and 2.9% in 2027, both below December's estimates of 3.8% and 4.3% respectively. And a quick look at the other stories. For weeks, there has been a rise in xenophobic attacks against blacks living in South Africa, including Nigerians. In its response, the Nigerian government through NIBCOM is demanding for key measures from the South African government, stronger security in affected areas, scared prosecution of offenders, coordinated Nigeria's South Africa engagement and public condemnation of xenophobia. The only inflation rate in Kenya has picked up to 5.6% in up in 2026, the highest since March 2024 from 4.4% in the prime month. The spike in inflation reflects rising costs of petroleum products amid the Middle East conflict, which has pushed up transport prices. Additional upward pressure came mostly from food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, utilities, education, and selling these goods. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 1.4%. The most since every 2022, after a 0.5% increase in March, with transportation prices surging 6.5%. Inflation is expected to quicken further in the coming months, despite government measures to push on consumers, including a reduction in fuel prices. Thank you for always waking up with us and running out of the product.