Ecobank urges Uganda to go beyond digging for mineral wealth

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda will make more money from its mineral wealth if it moves beyond digging and exporting raw minerals to processing and manufacturing, Ecobank Uganda Managing Director Grace Muliisa has said.

Speaking at an Ecobank CEO Breakfast during the 15th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Muliisa said Uganda has the minerals, but needs financing and partnerships to turn them into industries and jobs.

“Beneath the surface of every great mine lies much more than ore. There is a value chain. There is a partnership. And there is a financing structure,” she said.

The conference, organised by the Uganda Chamber of Energy and Minerals, brought together government officials, mining companies, investors and financial institutions to discuss how Uganda can attract more investment into the sector.

Muliisa said Uganda should focus on what happens after minerals are extracted.

She pointed to the global battery industry, where she said mining raw minerals is worth about US$11 billion, compared with about US$44 billion for refining, US$271 billion for battery components and more than US$1.2 trillion for equipment and electric vehicles.

“Put simply, the mine earns less than one cent of every dollar that chain creates,” she said.

For Uganda, this means increasing investment in processing, refining and manufacturing instead of relying mainly on exports of raw minerals.

Muliisa said the East African market and the African Continental Free Trade Area give Uganda an opportunity to sell processed products within Africa.

Ecobank wants to finance the value chain and says it is ready to play a bigger role in financing Uganda’s mining industry.

Muliisa said the bank has committed more than US$1 billion to Africa’s mineral value chain over the past five years.

The bank has financed mining operations and businesses linked to mining in countries including Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Zimbabwe.

It has also financed smelters and other processing businesses.

“We can bring the partners to one table and arrange financing no single lender could carry alone,” Muliisa said.

She said this could include financing mining companies, contractors, suppliers and processors.

For Uganda, this approach could help local businesses benefit from the growth of the mining industry rather than leaving most of the business to large foreign companies.

Muliisa also called for greater use of domestic savings to finance long-term investment.

She cited the National Social Security Fund, whose assets she said had reached Shs32.8 trillion by June 2026.

She said pension funds should not be exposed to exploration risks but could invest in mature projects through carefully designed structures.

These could include infrastructure bonds, local-currency financing and partnerships between banks, pension funds and development finance institutions.

“Ugandans would then own a stake in their own resource story,” she said.

The government says better regulation will be important if Uganda is to attract the investment needed to develop its mineral resources.

State Minister for Energy and Mineral Development Sidronius Opolot Okasai said Uganda needs an independent regulator for the minerals sector.

“In energy we have an electricity regulator, in petroleum we have a regulator, and minerals does not have a standalone regulator,” Okasai said.

The government plans to strengthen the institutional structure of the sector, including the creation of a standalone minerals regulator.

The European Union is also increasing its support for Uganda’s mining sector.

EU Ambassador to Uganda Jan Sadek said the EU was preparing more than €16 million in additional funding for the sector.

“Mining needs power, and it needs people,” Sadek said.

He said the funding would support the formalisation of artisanal mining and help Uganda meet international standards.

The focus on formalisation is important because much of Uganda’s mining activity is carried out by small-scale and artisanal miners.

For Ecobank, however, the bigger opportunity is to connect all these players miners, suppliers, processors, investors and government through financing.

Muliisa said Uganda’s mineral wealth should ultimately create more businesses, jobs and industries.

“Africa’s next mining powerhouse will not be defined only by what lies beneath its soil. It will be defined by what it builds on top of it: value chains, partnerships and capital,” she said.

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