#OutToLunch Lessons from the British coronation for Uganda Tourism Board

By Denis Jjuuko

The British put up a memorable show during King Charles III’s coronation — the first such event in 70 years. Thousands of people lined up the streets while other converged in pubs and restaurants to make merry. Many people traveled to Britain and occupied many hotel rooms. The UK economy gained an estimated UK£ 1 billion on an investment of about UK£130 million.

Because they understand the significance of these national events, they put the coronation on a Saturday and made Monday a bank holiday as they call their public holidays. The English Premier League scheduled matches for Monday that start as early as possible. These guys know how to milk every coin from an event. I have argued in these posts before that we need to push our public holidays on either Mondays or Fridays so people can have long weekends, which are good for the economy.

But watching some of the events around the coronation reminded me of African tourism. Almost all the countries push for the same stuff — the safari or a visit to the wild. They talk about the big cats and all that. Granted, people want to see these animals but if I see them in South Africa or Kenya, there is no need to visit Uganda. May be only for the mountain gorillas.

Yet every country has its unique heritage that they can promote so that if one visits Kenya for its safari, they could come here for our cultural heritage or something else. Look at the Kabakanjagala Road or what is sometimes known as the royal mile between Bulange and the Mengo Palace which has been lined up with sculptures that depict each of the 56 clans. If we promoted them, there would be more people interested in learning about clans and Kiganda culture than waking up early to search for the ever-elusive lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

This year, Kabaka Mutebi II will mark his 30th coronation anniversary in July. In 1993 when he was crowned 36th Kabaka of Buganda, probably a million people gathered in Buddo and many others watched the event on television. Many visitors came from all over the world to witness this. In 1999, when he decided to get married, similar crowds turned up. All major international media houses sent in teams to cover the event. That shows the interest that people have in culture just like we have seen in Britain, Netherlands, Japan, Thailand every time there is a major event.

For CNN to cover our animals in Murchison or gorillas in Bwindi, we have to pay significant amounts of money (remember Gifted by Nature campaign?). For popular cultural events, they come on their own. BBC has even a program that interviews royals all over Africa. Cultural heritage can be a game changer for Uganda tourism.

King Oyo of Tooro has had similar interest but also if we marketed the Omukama of Bunyoro, people will turn up. They would want to know the Kingdom of Kabalega.

Sometime back, I visited a restaurant in Nairobi that has curated information about kingdoms all over Africa and people go there to learn about them as they dine and sip expensive wines. If you are into movies, you have probably watched Woman King about the Agojie, a unit of female warriors that was responsible for protecting the Dahomey Kingdom in Benin. It generated nearly USD100m when it was released in 2022. Shaka Zulu was even more famous. When are we engaging Hollywood to do one on Kabalega, Mwanga, Muteesa I, Kintu and all the others?

Jinja can be a major tourism town (or is it city?) for non-animalized tourism. When people come for the ever-popular Nyege Nyege, we shouldn’t so much focus on who is dancing with who for three days rather on what potential is there for local businesses and tourism. Instead of politicians get hysterical about the alleged immorality, they could instead push for visits to Itanda Falls, Source of the Nile, Kyabazinga Palace and other unique attractions Jinja offers.

Most of what we can promote is unique to us unlike zebras and giraffes that are everywhere one turns.

But these cultural events can’t be marketed by kingdoms on their own. Many cultural institutions have no meaningful income to do so. The Uganda Tourism Board needs to take them up.

They should not look at them as empowering Buganda, Bunyoro, Tooro or Teso rather other areas that can significantly bring in revenue for the economy. When a tourist comes for the Empango event, the hotel owner, transporter and the woman who makes some crafts will make money. They will pay taxes so the country will benefit. In fact, visa fees and the airport economy will be boosted.

We need to cast aside our usual parochialism when it comes to culture and look at them with wider progressive nationalistic lens and learn from British King Charles III’s coronation.

The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

Tags: CNN, Denis Jjuuko, Kabaka Mutebi II, King Charles III’s, King Charles III’s coronation, King Oyo, Omukama of Bunyoro, Out to Lunch, Prime Time Communications, Tooro, Uganda tourism.

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: English soccer fanaticism provides opportunities for business

By Denis Jjuuko The European soccer season is finally over after reaching its crescendo the other weekend with the Uefa Champions League final in Budapest. The soccer faithful are now bracing themselves for the FIFA World Cup that is kicked off yesterday in Mexico who will co-host alongside USA and Canada. Here, national teams will compete for the world’s biggest soccer prize. Given the time difference, expect emotions running really high late nights and early mornings. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport with an estimated 4 billion fans globally. Stars of the game like Diego Maradona and Pele (now both deceased) are even worshipped in their respective countries (Argentina and Brazil) and in many parts of the world. Current soccer gods, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal have hundreds of millions of followers all over the world. It will be both their last World Cup. Messi won it the last time the tournament was held four years ago. Ronaldo is looking forward to add it on his ever-growing list of achievements. In the regular season, the English Premier League is the most popular one in Uganda and indeed many parts of the world. English clubs particularly Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have millions of followers in Uganda. When Arsenal won the premiership title at the end of the season last month, its fans went hysterical. Church events were organised. Concerts were held. People matched several kilometres in mock trophy parades. Rival fans trolled Arsenal. Arsenal fans shot back. Memes were created. The banter has been in high gear. Some of the people trying to be different after watching huge crowds of Arsenal fans in several African capitals wondered why the people were celebrating a foreign team. They called it colonialism. Some of the loudest voices were journalists including those working for media houses that push for western hegemony. Such people argued that Africans must develop their own games or stop worshiping colonizers. Anyway, the globalization of the media (including social media) and the marketing capabilities of European leagues have made European soccer a must watch for many. It is easier to find a TV showing an English soccer match than a Ugandan one. The money involved also means that the development in terms of infrastructure and talent is many centuries ahead of countries like Uganda. Sometimes, a live match involving humans resembles a computer game in execution. The aesthetics of the English Premier League is hard to ignore. But after watching these huge crowds, one wonders what could be done? How can entrepreneurs in countries like Uganda tap in? There are millions of fans, who are so committed to their clubs and they remain faithful even when the titles are elusive for decades. Looking at the sheer numbers of Arsenal fans in Uganda and Kenya, one could tell that they were wearing counterfeit replica shirts. Indeed, very few fans in East Africa can afford a Pound Sterling 140 (approximately Shs711,000) shirt before even shipment and taxes. And many small shops sell these counterfeits for as little as Shs30,000. What if someone negotiated a deal with these clubs to make replica shirts that are affordable for countries like Uganda? The shirts would probably be Ugandan or African themed to make them a bit different from what they sell in Europe and elsewhere. Most fans would love to buy them because they would know that these are original shirts meant for the continent. The franchise owner would of course work with law enforcement to ensure cheap counterfeits aren’t shipped in. And then for those who can afford the European ones, could order from the franchise owner. Other merchandise items could be also be shipped in using the same concept. Soccer is best watched among peers and fans. At home, to the chagrin of most spouses especially the female ones, it can be boring. Rival fans can also be good to troll as the match goes on—those brave enough to go to a bar where they aren’t in the majority. Imagine an Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United themed bar? Fans of the particular club would be sure to catch the game on large screens in a friendly atmosphere. One of the challenges of Ugandan bars that show matches is inconsistence. You sometimes find them flipping channels trying to make everyone happy especially when several matches are being played at the same time. Some fans end up leaving to find a place where their team’s match is being shown. A themed bar will dedicate the club’s matches regardless of the opposition. They would also not be playing loud music when 95% of the people are watching soccer instead of commentary. Menus such as cocktails could be club themed as well. Betting company could sponsor some matches and parties. A loyal clientele could be easily established thereby guaranteeing good returns for the investor. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.

June 24, 2026

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Surging bank profitability offers critical lessons for small businesses

By Denis Jjuuko It is that time of the year again when commercial banks publish their financial results in the newspapers as part of fulfilling the regulations that govern them. Most of them have registered year on year increases in profitability, lending, deposits and total assets among other metrics. If you only read the commercial banks’ results and made conclusions on the economy, Uganda’s economy is in such great shape. All the commercial banks combined made more than Shs2.1 trillion in profits according to the figures they released. That translates to nearly US$6 billion. The shareholders must be smiling all the way to their banks. Those who haven’t invested in commercial banks, must be wondering how to get in. The good news is that several of these banks are listed on the stock exchange. A big chunk of the money banks reported to have made came from their loan books. It isn’t entirely surprising since the interest rates they charge are some of the highest in the world. Anyone who charges upwards of 16 percent in annual interest should be able to grow every quarter, half year and annually. But I think the steady growth in commercial banks profitability comes at the expenses of other sectors of the economy. Assets of defaulters on these commercial bank loans were advertised on the opposite pages of many of the results of the banks. One hand gives, another takes, isn’t that what we have always been told? However, there is no need to begrudge banks. They aren’t entirely responsible for the high interest rates in the country. The capital requirements to start a commercial bank are prohibitive and those who recently failed to meet them were downgraded to lower tiers. Also, the government borrows at such high rates giving banks carte blanche to charge similar and even higher rates. Those who borrow and default are also many. Banks tell us, lending to Ugandans is high risk. Probably it is. I believe you know somebody who castigated you for depositing money on their mobile money account on which they had renegaded to pay back. Anyway, what can we learn from the financial performance of the commercial banks? There many lessons especially for businesses. Commercial banks just like other big business that publish their results such as telecoms have one thing in common — repeat long term customers. When you sign up for a loan such as a mortgage, you commit to pay back for such a long period. If you borrow for say 10 years, the bank is nearly assured of making money from you for 120 months. Should you fail, they have a property you gave them as collateral to get their money bank. Some of the costs they incurred to sign a customer were a one off. And if you are a disciplined borrower, they almost incur no other costs to recover their money. Long term customers who pay periodically are a goldmine for any business. Unless otherwise, many people don’t change their bank accounts. So even those who don’t borrow, there is some monthly or usage fees they pay. A bank is therefore assured of income. Telecoms make money the same way. How many times have you changed your telephone line? Many people don’t change their telephone lines. That means that a telecom is assured of making money off you until you die. Repeat long term customer at its best. Even when you die, sometimes the family keeps the line so that there is some continuity especially for those involved in doing business. As small businesses, it may not be easy to have an assured customer for 10 years or a lifetime so there is need for them to work hard to attract repeat customers. It means improving the product all the time and constantly marketing so that customers can return regularly. Commercial banks and telecoms do that all the time because if they don’t, customers can move to other banks and telecoms respectively. There is a need to observe how they market, what they do to retain their customers and try to copy that even when small businesses don’t have unlimited budgets. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.

June 5, 2026

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Bank of Uganda’s small business fund good but….

By Denis Jjuuko Small and microbusinesses have always had issues of accessing capital either to grow or stay in business. Commercial lenders charge premiums and demand stuff that these small and microbusinesses can only dream of. In order not to sink, they usually stay off commercial loans preferring to remain small or turn to informal lenders if they really must borrow. Yet small businesses are the foundation on which economies are built. Collectively, they employ the majority of people in most economies. Look at the business near you, it is either small, medium or micro. The woman selling groceries near your home. The young man making street food. Your favourite boutique in the commercial complex near your office or even the eatery from which a young girl delivers food to your desk every lunch hour. It is perhaps under this background that the central bank decided to launch the small business fund (SBF). Of recent, the central bank has been advertising this facility. Under this fund, small businesses can borrow up to Shs500m at a maximum annual interest rate of 10% with a repayment period of up to four years. This sounds great. An annual interest rate of 10% sounds like manna from heaven in a market where the average rate is 20%. This kind of fund is designed to unlock the potential of small business and it is the right pathway for the economy to take. Access to capital by small businesses and individual entrepreneurs is one way through which Uganda can achieve its bold ambitions of being a US$500b economy by 2040. Currently, the country’s economy is around US$50b. Growing it by tenfold as the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development loves to proclaim nowadays is through strategic support to small and micro businesses among others. When the small businesses grow from a single employee to 10 or 100, that moves many people out of poverty. The Bank of Uganda must be commended for this step, at least for the idea. The challenge, however, with SBF is to find a bank that has this money or even willing to disburse it. The SBF brochure lists all the 21 commercial banks, 8 credit institutions, 2 microfinance deposit taking institutions and another 4 Saccos. When you contact most of these institutions, their staff will most likely feign ignorance or endlessly promise to get back to you which they don’t do. Sometimes, those which claim to have the money start changing goalposts halfway the application process. One of the promises they make is that they can get you the money immediately if you agree to forego the SBF and instead acquire one of their loans tailored for small businesses but at an annual interest rate of 20% or more. If you are desperate, this is most likely the road you will take. Remember, that application processes are not free. You have to pay commercial bank appointed lawyers and surveyors for verification and evaluation of the property or whatever will be acceptable as collateral. Usually, those lawyers and surveyors charge many times above the market rate. And then they have no shame in mentioning a low valuation as the forced sale rate. Sometimes a developed property is given a forced sale rate that is lower than an empty plot of land in the same neighbourhood. It is a fraudulent practice that the central bank must fight if it has good intentions for small and microbusinesses. There are so many other things commercial banks require which all cost money before money is or not even disbursed. I think that way their third-party service providers (lawyers, valuers etc.) get paid and keep in business. Anyway, the real reason commercial banks don’t want to disburse the SBF money to borrowers is a structural issue that the central bank must solve. The Bank of Uganda only provides 50% of the money under SBF with the commercial banks expected to provide the other half. If you borrow Shs100m, the small business fund only provides Shs50m and the commercial bank must provide the other Shs50m. The commercial bank has no interest in lending its 50% of the money at 10% annually when it can lend it at 20% while footing the cost of administration, marketing and recovery. The commercial banks aren’t charity organizations. The central bank should instead provide 100% of the money, allow banks to take 5% of the interest as their fees and remit the other 5% to the central bank. That way banks will be motivated to sell the SBF loans thereby enabling small business to access this credit. Otherwise, the current structure doesn’t solve the problems the central bank envisaged in creating the small business fund. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

June 5, 2026