President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni met and held discussions with Mr. Hassan Berkani, an investor from Morocco, at State House, Entebbe, on January 16, 2024.
Mr. Berkani is the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services of Casablanca-Settat, a professional public establishment with legal personality and financial autonomy under the supervision of the state.
During the meeting, President Museveni and Mr. Berkani centered their discussions on the exciting venture of adding value to Ugandan coffee, a move the former hailed as a significant stride towards breaking free from the shackles of raw-material dependency.
“I have been involved in the struggle against this modern slavery for Africa ─ the curse of producing raw materials for cleverer people in the world who add value to those resources and get much more value from them. A kilogram of bean coffee of good quality may go for US$2.5. The same quantity of coffee roasted, ground, and packaged may go for US$40. This is now where I want my brothers to liberate me from this slavery,” the President said, before encouraging the Moroccan investor to contribute to Uganda’s transformative journey of adding value to its raw materials.
Highlighting Uganda’s solid foundation in infrastructure, education, and health, President Museveni underscored the fertile ground for private businesses to thrive.
“There is an ancient heritage of people in Uganda; Ugandans are ancient producers of crops and livestock, so they do not import any food and instead export a lot of food. We face a significant challenge in finding the market for the food. So when the investor comes, he or she doesn’t have to grow the crop because people are already doing that traditionally. The investor only needs to add value to them to have a good market.”
On the other hand, Mr. Berkani pledged to export Ugandan coffee to Morocco and Europe after adding value for enhanced market competitiveness.
Expressing interest in Uganda’s diverse sectors such as infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, and industry, the Moroccan investor acknowledged the vast opportunities in Uganda.
“Your Excellency, the Kingdom of Morocco is having many bilateral agreements with different countries; out of the 82 bilateral agreements which have been signed between Morocco and various African countries in areas such as agriculture, religious tolerance, tourism, infrastructure development, among others, I am interested in knowing where Uganda’s interest would be,” he said.
After further valuable guidance on potential investment areas by President Museveni, Mr. Berkani was also prompted to broaden his scope by including honey value-addition and beverage packaging in his areas of interest.
“Apart from coffee, I am also interested in packaging beverages and adding value to Ugandan honey. Your Excellency, I commit to making this happen because I am determined to,” he promised.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Investment and Privatization, Hon. Evelyn Anite.
