Ugandans in the diaspora now have a platform and coordinated network to facilitate their comprehensive and meaningful participation in the development of the agricultural sector in Uganda. FAO supported the establishment and inauguration of the Uganda Diaspora in Agribusiness Network (UDAN) and held the first-ever Uganda diaspora-youth agribusiness matchmaking conference in July 2022 in Kampala. The event was attended by Ugandans living in the diaspora, youth agripreneurs, officials from United Nations agencies, Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, Uganda Export Promotion Board, Uganda Investment Authority, the private sector and agribusiness incubators such as CURAD.

Registered as a company limited by guarantee, UDAN is an independent member-based agribusiness network of Ugandans in the diaspora that links the latter to stakeholders in migration and agriculture in Uganda. Currently, the Network comprises about 60 Ugandan agripreneurs living in Africa, Europe, Japan and the United States of America. UDAN has an executive committee, country chapters with focal persons, a global chapter and a secretariat that manages day-to-day operations, including partnerships with development partners and government entities.

In many African countries, including Uganda, there is limited attention to diaspora investments in agribusiness, agriculture and rural development, due to bottlenecks such as poor infrastructure, limited knowledge of available investment opportunities in agribusiness and absent or poor coordination among Ugandans living abroad and with agriculture stakeholders. However, it is recognized that diaspora communities contribute significantly to national economic growth, for instance through remittances, investments, innovations, knowledge, skills and technology transfer. In Uganda, a number of diaspora networks exist; but none is dedicated to agriculture development and agribusiness. UDAN will therefore serve to fix this missing link, enabling Ugandans living abroad to explore opportunities along the agri-food systems chain and advocate for relevant actions.

Officiating at the launch of UDAN, Ambassador Johnny Muhindo- Head of the Diaspora Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) commended the launch of UDAN and expressed Government’s commitment to supporting Ugandans in the diaspora to invest back home.

“Whereas Ugandans in the diaspora can benefit from different government initiatives that facilitate diaspora investments, UDAN will enable the government to coordinate better with Ugandans in the diaspora, especially in agribusiness”, he said.

“Linking Uganda’s youth agripreneurs to current and potential diaspora investors will enhance knowledge sharing, business linkages and investments in Uganda’s agribusiness sector. The government is keen to see the results of this matchmaking exercise, he added.  

Antonio Querido, the FAO Representative in Uganda, thanked the government of Uganda for supporting the diaspora community to invest in agribusiness, mainly through a multi-stakeholder Technical Working Group (TWG) - a platform to coordinate emerging diaspora-related issues, and achievements and contribute to the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration in Uganda.

“The formation of UDAN is timely because the Network will represent the voices of the diaspora in national decision-making processes around agri-food systems, promote Ugandan agribusiness opportunities abroad, facilitate diaspora financial and non-financial contributions to the agri-food sector and increase the visibility of the contribution of Ugandans living abroad, to national economic development, particularly in agribusiness”, he said.

“FAO is working with UDAN and MoFA to facilitate successful linkages between the diaspora and youth in agribusiness, by piloting the match-making programme, which we hope to scale up in the future”, he added. At the event, 10 youth agripreneurs were identified and invited to pitch their businesses to prospecting investors in the diaspora. By the end of the event, two matches had been made, while other collaborations are under discussion. The successful matches are Greeco Organic Farm from Kyenjojo district and Waribe Limited from the UK, for a monthly supply of solar-dried vegetables to the UK and a loan to Greeco Organic Farm to construct a solar drying tunnel. The second match is Imani Grain Millers from Nebbi District and Wisegates Company Limited- registered in Kenya and Uganda, for the provision of cassava starch.

FAO and UDAN will continue to support the formalization of partnership agreements among the matches at the initiation and advanced stages. FAO is supporting UDAN and activities to promote linkages between the diaspora and youth, through the project “Strengthening Capacity to Harness Positive Effects of Migration”. The project aims at strengthening the enabling environment for Ugandan diaspora contributions back home while empowering diaspora agripreneurs and their networks.