KCB Bank Uganda has joined the Uganda Coffee Group in a private sector-led initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s coffee value chain, expanding local processing and attracting investment into the industry.
The partnership was announced during the launch of the Uganda Coffee Group at Namunkekera Industrial Park in Kapeeka, where stakeholders called for greater investment in processing, manufacturing, branding and distribution to enable Uganda to retain more value from its coffee exports.
The initiative seeks to bring together farmers, cooperatives, processors, manufacturers, investors and financial institutions to strengthen the coffee industry and create more business opportunities along the value chain.
Chief Fundraiser General Salim Saleh, Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation and Senior Presidential Advisor, urged Ugandans and industry stakeholders to support the initiative and participate more actively in the commercialisation of coffee.
He emphasised the need to move beyond exporting raw coffee beans and expand domestic capacity to process, roast, package, brand and distribute Ugandan coffee to local and international markets.
According to figures attributed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda exported approximately 7.75 million 60-kilogramme bags of coffee in the 2024/25 financial year, generating about US$2.21 billion.
The figures highlight coffee’s contribution to the national economy and the potential to increase earnings through greater local processing and value addition.
The Uganda Coffee Group aims to accelerate this transformation by promoting climate-smart production, improving coffee quality, strengthening research and innovation, expanding local manufacturing and developing a globally competitive Ugandan coffee brand.
Speaking at the launch, Edgar Byamah, Managing Director of KCB Bank Uganda, said the bank would draw on its regional experience in agricultural financing, trade and value-chain development to support the initiative.
“Coffee transcends borders. It is a crop that is present in four or five of the countries in the East African Community, and we bring that experience on top of access to market, which is very critical,” Byamah said.
He noted that the bank’s experience in supporting agricultural aggregators and value addition in other sectors, including sugar, would inform its participation in the coffee industry.
“We are happy to be one of the partners, and we pledge to you that we will make that initial contribution that is expected of the members as part of this Uganda Coffee Group,” he added.
KCB Bank Uganda said access to finance would be critical to helping businesses across the coffee value chain increase production, acquire agricultural inputs, purchase produce, fulfil contracts and expand processing capacity.
Under its agricultural financing offering, the bank provides financing options for farmers, agricultural input dealers, aggregators and processors.
The bank highlighted unsecured contract financing of up to shs800 million and invoice financing of up to UGX1 billion for eligible aggregators and processors with qualifying contracts and invoices.
Agricultural input dealers can access financing of up to 80 per cent of eligible input-supply requirements, subject to the applicable facility terms.
Farmers and farmer groups can also access digital solutions for purchasing agricultural inputs and unsecured business loans of up to shs200 million, subject to the bank’s credit assessment and lending conditions.
Other support includes asset financing, advisory services and participation in the Agricultural Credit Facility, a financing arrangement involving participating financial institutions and the Bank of Uganda.
These financing options are intended to address capital constraints that often prevent agricultural businesses from expanding production, investing in equipment and accessing higher-value markets.
Moses Kawombe Tamale, Chairman of the Uganda Coffee Group, said the initiative represented a shift towards greater domestic participation in the coffee industry, from production and exports to processing, manufacturing, branding and international trade.
The Group’s guiding ambition, “From Green Bean to Global Value,” reflects its goal of increasing the value Uganda derives from its coffee resources.
The Group plans to mobilise shs30 billion in initial capital over two years and grow investment in Uganda’s coffee industry to shs1.57 trillion by 2040. It also aims to double the value farmers derive from the coffee value chain every two years.
Achieving these targets will require coordinated investment, improved production practices, stronger market access and sustained collaboration between public and private sector players.
Greater local processing could also create opportunities for entrepreneurs in coffee roasting, packaging, distribution and manufacturing, while generating employment and expanding Uganda’s industrial capacity.
KCB Bank Uganda’s participation in the initiative is expected to contribute to efforts to connect agricultural production with financing, trade and commercial infrastructure.
The broader objective is to strengthen Uganda’s position in the global coffee market while ensuring that farmers, businesses and the wider economy benefit more from the value generated along the coffee value chain.
