Uganda Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in uganda, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to Government

The Public Procurement Disposal of Assets Act requires that all public procurement be based on key principles including non-discrimination, transparency, accountability and fairness, competition, confidentiality, economy, efficiency, and ethical conduct. Except for situations where exigency or other factors demand otherwise, the law requires that all government procurements are sourced through a public tendering process. In some instances, large infrastructure contracts are awarded without a competitive process. The Act takes precedence over any regional or international agreements on procurement to which Uganda is a party. 

Procurement applications are handled by procurement and disposal committees established at both the central and local government levels.

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority audits government procurements, oversees the public procurement processes, and monitors compliance by all government entities at both the central and local levels. Government procurement requests must include: a procurement schedule for every bid notice issued; standard formats for invitation of bidders (bid notices); and specified time frames for all government procurement activities. All bid evaluations must begin within 14 working days from the date of closing the bid. In practice, bid decisions often take several months, and several businesses have accused officials of soliciting, or being influenced by, bribes while analyzing bids. More information about PPDA is located on its website.

Laws regulating the petroleum sector include “national content” provisions that require contractors to employ a certain percentage of Ugandans and prioritize the use of local goods and services. Specific national content requirements are provided in The Petroleum (Exploration, Development, and Production) Regulations, 2016. The government requires companies engaged in the petroleum sector to submit an annual report documenting compliance with the local content provisions. 

Uganda often finances public works projects through borrowing from multilateral development banks and individual country export-import banks. Please refer to the “Project Financing” section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information. Uganda is not a party to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO - Parties, observers, and accessions). 

U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. Within

the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S.

Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign

government projects or procurement opportunities. The Advocacy Center works closely with a network of the

U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services

have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often

involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters

directly to the foreign government. Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional

information.

Financing of Projects 

The government generally finances major projects with debt from multilateral development banks, individual country export-import banks, and grants from international donor agencies. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government negotiated semi- and non-concessional loans from the Export and Import Bank of China for the construction of hydropower dams, roads, and upgrades to the Entebbe International Airport. With the pandemic ravaging tax revenue, the government has returned to concessional loans from multilateral donors. While existing loans from the Export and Import Bank of China are at below market terms, they are more costly than loans from multilateral donors. U.S. companies’ project proposals are often disadvantaged due to a lack of readily available financing. Following passage of the Public-Private Partnership Act (2015), private contractors may also finance projects undertaken in collaboration with the Ugandan government. 

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales. Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from multilateral development banks (MDBs). The Guide to Doing Business with Multilateral

Development Banks overviews how to work with MDBs. The International Trade Administration (ITA) has a

Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks

(MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and

Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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