THE FIRST UGANDA-ITALY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT FORUM 2026 IN ROME

The First Uganda-Italy Business & Investment Forum 2026, under the theme ‘Unlocking Shared Prosperity’ shall take place in Rome, Italy, from October 13-14, 2026. It is being organized by Uganda Embassy in Rome, in partnership with Confindustria (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDA ITPO), Beck Italia and the Italian Trade Agency. 

This announcement was made by the Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to Italy, Her Excellency, Ambassador Elizabeth Paula Napeyok, who was accompanied by Ambassador Henry Mayega, Head of International Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), during a press briefing held at Uganda Media Centre on Monday, September 28, 2026.

“Uganda and Italy are very strong partners. Recently, Italy announced that Uganda is now a priority                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     country, it’s among 23 countries that Italy takes as a priority. In East Africa it was Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania and now we have been added to the list,” Napeyok began.

The forum’s working language shall be English, with Italian interpretation. On the second day of the forum, Ugandan business people will tour some factories in Rome. 

“The forum is intended to move the Ugandan-Italian relationship, beyond the traditional diplomatic relationship, towards measurable economic outcomes. Therefore, the forum will bring together Italian and Ugandan government representatives, investors, business leaders, financial institutions, development partners and private sector actors, to explore opportunities for increased investment, job exports, trade, promote technology and knowledge transfer and business partnerships between the two countries,” she said.

“Uganda and Italy recently signed a corporation agreement, where Italy is going to support our SMEs. We want to strengthen this relationship with Italy. Italy has a strong tradition of family-owned enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specialised in manufacturing, industrial clusters and technical craftmanship; creating opportunities for partnerships with Uganda’s growing private sector. Uganda has a youthful, growing population, agricultural potential, a strong raw material base, opportunities for value addition and agro-industrialisation, access to regional markets, through the East African community; opportunities associated with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), growing infrastructure and urbanisation needs, renewable energy potential, tourism and hospitality opportunities. We are trying to attract the Italians into ecotourism, oil & gas development, a growing private sector, the entrepreneurial community and public-private partnerships (PPPs),” Napeyok revealed.

The objective is not simply to increase the volume of products exchanged between Uganda and Italy, but to combine Italian capital and Italian technology with Ugandan resources. The forum aims to attract Italian investment into Uganda, hold business-to-business meetings between Ugandan and Italian companies, connect Ugandan and Italian companies for joint ventures and strategic partnerships, encourage Italian companies to establish or expand operations in Uganda, promote Ugandan products and services in the Italian market and increase the visibility of Ugandan products in Italy that are already on Italian supermarket shelves. 

Italy is one of Europe’s major industrial and manufacturing economies that has extensive expertise in areas, which are relevant to Uganda’s development priorities. The forum will highlight investment opportunities in sectors where Uganda has potential and where Italian expertise can add value, encouraging Italian companies to explore opportunities to establish manufacturing and processing operations in Uganda, particularly where raw materials can support production for domestic and regional markets, to promote ‘Made with Italy in Uganda.’

Uganda has significant agricultural potential, to move from the export of raw materials towards value-added production, food processing and packaging; branding in coffee, cocoa, fruits and vegetables, diary, grain processing, meat and livestock value chains, cotton and textiles and horticulture. 

“We are also trying to attract them to come to our industrial parks; identify opportunities for financing and investment partnerships, promote Uganda’s priority sectors and bankable investment opportunities,” she said. 

Uganda’s energy sector presents opportunities in renewable energy, solar energy, hydropower, energy efficiency, rural electrification, industrial energy solutions and waste-to-energy technologies.

Uganda’s natural assets, including its national parks, wildlife, landscape and cultural heritage, provide opportunities for Italian investment in hotels and lodges, ecotourism, adventure tourism, cultural tourism, tourism infrastructure, hospitality training and services.

“We are working very, very hard on getting visas (for Ugandan companies to travel to Rome). Originally, about 256 Ugandan companies had applied to attend the forum. The Italian Embassy was quite strict with visa issuance, but with the support of MoFA, we managed to squeeze to give us 100 plus visas, because he told us there was a quota for 50 visas. Eventually, they did due diligence. They told us we could submit the properly registered companies. So far, we have submitted 150 names or companies to the Italian Embassy and we hope they will give them visas,” she clarified. 

She added, “As we talk now, Italy is funding two green cities in Uganda; Kampala and Hoima.”

“The most important product Uganda sells to Italy is raw coffee, which is 15% of their imports and they buy most of it from Uganda; cocoa is gaining ground now and vegetables and fruits, flowers—mostly agricultural products. The balance of trade with Italy is in our favour,” Napeyok concluded.

The writer works for Uganda Media Centre