The Government is considering proposals to establish an East African Trade Centre and a regional digital hub in Uganda as part of efforts to expand trade, investment and technological cooperation.
The proposals were presented to government officials by a delegation of investors led by Heritage Times Africa chief executive officer Moses Siloko Siasia during a meeting at the Ministry of East African Community Affairs in Kampala on Friday, July 17, 2026.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rebecca Kadaga welcomed the proposals but said they would have to be presented to the wider Government for further consideration.
She said establishing a regional digital hub in Uganda could strengthen the country’s information and communications technology sector and support trade and innovation across East Africa.
Kadaga told the delegation that investing in Uganda would give businesses access to the wider East African Community market. The bloc comprises eight partner states and has a combined population of more than 340 million people.
Somalia’s admission into the EAC has also extended the bloc’s access to the Indian Ocean. The country has a coastline of approximately 3,333 kilometres, the longest on mainland Africa.
Uganda is also linked to markets in the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving the regional bloc an economic corridor extending towards the Atlantic side of the continent.
Proposed November summit
The talks also covered a proposal for Uganda to host the inaugural East African Digital and Trade Transformation Summit in November 2026.
The proposed conference would bring together governments, investors, technology companies, entrepreneurs and international organisations to discuss digital transformation, regional trade and investment.
According to the promoters, the summit would focus on technology, financial technology, e-commerce, the creative economy, oil and gas, tourism and other investment opportunities.
Kadaga said the Government would consider the proposal and continue discussions with the organisers on the event’s financing, timetable and implementation framework.
Kadaga said Uganda’s membership in the EAC provides investors with access to a regional common market that allows the progressive movement of goods, people, labour, services and capital across partner states.
The supplied draft attributed those freedoms to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. However, COMESA’s Free Movement Protocol has not been fully implemented across its member states, and Uganda is not listed among the countries that have signed it. The freedom of movement described at the meeting is therefore more accurately linked to the EAC Common Market.
Digital hub proposal
Siasia said the proposed East African Digital Hub would support innovation, software development, entrepreneurship and digital-skills training, particularly among young people.
He said Africa’s economic advancement would require stronger partnerships among governments, private companies and investors.
Siasia also proposed the establishment of an East African Trade Centre to connect businesses in the region with continental and international markets.
He said information and communications technology had become central to the global knowledge economy and should be placed at the centre of Africa’s development programmes.
The investor delegation included representatives of Heritage Times Africa, Vagan Oil and Gas Limited and Black Pearl Global Investments.
ICT and National Guidance Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba said the proposals were aligned with Uganda’s digital-transformation agenda.
She said the Government was expanding the use of electronic services, e-procurement and digital records to improve public-service delivery and efficiency.
Minister of State for Trade Sanjay Tanna said Uganda’s youthful population and growing number of graduates provided a potential workforce and market for digital investments.
The investors said Uganda’s preparations for commercial oil production offered an opportunity to attract investment not only into petroleum but also into tourism, technology, agriculture and other sectors.
The East African Trade Centre, Digital Hub and November summit remain proposals subject to further consultations and approval by the Government and participating organisations.
