By Mulengera Reporters
Uganda’s push to turn raw agricultural and industrial output into higher-value products is gaining momentum, with more than 150 investors and business leaders from 10 countries touring local enterprises under Equity Bank’s 2026 Uganda Trade and Investment Roadshow.
The investors visited Zigoti Coffee Works Limited, Roofings Limited and RZ Innovations Limited on Tuesday, September 15, following the launch of the roadshow at the Marriott Hotel in Kampala a day earlier.
The site visits offered investors a close look at how financing, technology and access to regional markets could help Ugandan businesses move beyond raw commodity exports and expand local production.
At Zigoti Coffee Works, a third-generation coffee business established in 1984, the focus was on financing processing equipment, working capital and support for smallholder farmers.
The company, which became Uganda’s first licensed private coffee exporter following liberalisation of the coffee sector, is investing in wet processing and specialty coffee as it seeks to capture more value from its exports.
Charles Roscoe Nsubuga, Chairman of Zigoti Coffee Works, said access to long-term financing would be critical for local exporters seeking to compete in international markets.
Discussions also explored financing packages that would enable smallholder farmers to purchase agricultural inputs, with repayment linked to coffee sales.
Zigoti is also looking to strengthen its regional distribution network, including opportunities in markets such as South Sudan.
Irene Irungu, Senior Manager of Trade Relations at Equity Group, said the roadshow was designed to connect African producers directly with buyers and markets across the continent.
“The journey started because of overwhelming demand from our customers who wanted to explore different parts of Africa,” she said. “It was about regional integration, directly matching our producers with buyers across our subsidiary markets so they could conduct direct trade rather than struggling to find new markets on their own.”
The value-addition push was also on display at RZ Innovations and its parent company, Royikems Industries.
What began as a motorcycle spare-parts business in 2005 has grown into a manufacturer of motorcycle tyres, inner tubes and brake shoes, employing about 650 people.
The company supplies products to markets across East and Central Africa and is investing in circular manufacturing, including recycling scrap aluminium and rubber for use in production.
But the manufacturing ambitions come with significant cost pressures. Management cited high production costs, foreign exchange fluctuations, logistics challenges and unreliable electricity among the obstacles confronting local manufacturers.
Mark Ssempijja, General Manager of RZ Innovations, said unstable power supplies remain a major concern for the factory.
“Unreliable grid voltage directly impacts sensitive machinery and hot rubber processing,” he said.
The company has also invested in improving its access road to protect production from dust and maintain quality standards.
During the visit, investors explored commercial solar power as one potential solution for manufacturers seeking greater energy reliability while keeping operating costs under control.
Across the companies visited, a common theme emerged: Uganda’s ambitions to earn more from its exports will depend not only on producing more, but on processing more locally, financing expansion and connecting businesses to larger regional markets.
For Equity Bank, the roadshow is intended to turn those opportunities into direct connections between businesses, investors, buyers and financial institutions.
The initiative also feeds into the broader push to deepen intra-African trade by helping Ugandan businesses identify new markets, customers and partnerships beyond the domestic economy.
The visits to Zigoti Coffee Works and RZ Innovations offered investors a glimpse of what that transformation could look like—from processing coffee into specialty products to manufacturing motorcycle components for regional markets.
As Uganda seeks to increase exports and retain more value from its agricultural and industrial output, businesses such as Zigoti and RZ Innovations are betting that local production, backed by financing and regional market access, can unlock the next phase of growth. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
