COP28: $400-million green investment commitments announced for Uganda

Dubai, UAE | THE INDEPENDENT |  Over $400 million  in green investment commitments have been announced for Uganda at the climate change conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The green investment commitments, current and future, are for the next four years in the areas of renewable energy, water filtration and forestry, Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) said in a statement.

The commitments, by Mandulis Energy, Spouts International, 1MTN and Nexus Green, were announced at the Uganda Investment Authority’s (UIA) green investment session in the Green Investment Room at the Uganda Pavilion.

All four green investors are UIA-licensed and have commenced operations and are at different stages of green project development and execution.

The green investors provided testimonies to an audience of prospective investors and other actors regarding the status of their investments, experiences and a broader overview of the investment environment in Uganda.

The co-founder of Mandulis Energy, Peter Nyeko, said their company develops renewable energy infrastructure using innovative technology that converts agricultural waste into low carbon electricity and biogas for households and small businesses.

Mandulis Energy is developing over 24 off-grid power systems across rural Uganda, each 0.5 megawatt, and to be scaled to two megawatts. They will power agricultural processing facilities and serve over 120,000 farmers in low-income communities.

The chief executive of Spouts international, Daniel Yin, said they have invested around over 10 million dollars and, in the next four years, will invest an addition 80 to 100 million dollars.

Spouts International is the largest manufacturer of ceramic water filters in Africa. It produces Purifaaya, a ceramic water filter made from clay and other locally sourced materials. Currently, it has reached 200,000 households, aiming to reach six million households by 2030.

“We make sure that all people have access to safe clean drinking water for the lowest price possible, and this empowers communities and also saves trees from being burnt to boil water for drinking”, said Yin.

The co-founder and chief executive of 1MTN, Christian Raude, said they have so far invested 1.5 million dollars and plan to invest another 100 million dollars in the next four years.

The 1MTN is a high-quality nature-based carbon removal project developer in Africa.  Its mission is to restore one million hectares of degraded land by 2030 through the planting of polyculture native bamboo with an emphasis on biodiversity management.

“There is a lot of bamboo in Uganda and East Africa and not only does it make good investment sense but is also good for the environment and does not need too much water”, said Raude.

Nexus Green is a solar energy company that manufactures and supplies affordable solar-powered solutions designed for hundreds of millions of people (estimated at 458 million) in east and central Africa without access to reliable energy.

Its founder and chief executive, Rikki Verma, said they have, with financing from United Kingdom Export Fund, invested 100 million dollars in the factory and employ 200 people directly and over 1,000 people indirectly.

Verma said investing in Uganda has been made easy since UIA is now a one-stop centre for key investment and business support services.