Jinja, September 5, 2025 

Thirty-one government officers from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have successfully completed a two-week intensive training in the Certificate of Financial Implications (CFI) – Integrated Regulatory Cost-Benefit Analysis. The certification ceremony was held at the Pearl on the Nile Hotel, Jinja, marking another milestone in Uganda’s efforts to institutionalize evidence-based and fiscally responsible policymaking.

The training, delivered by the Makerere University Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED), and National Planning Authority equipped participants with practical skills to evaluate policy and legislative proposals for their financial, economic, and social implications.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Mr. Paul Mwanja, Commissioner for Infrastructure & Social Services at MoFPED, who represented the Permanent Secretary, commended the officers for their commitment at a time when government institutions are finalizing the Auditor General’s audits, implementing the FY2025/26 budget, rolling out the National Development Plan IV’s tenfold growth strategy, and preparing for the 2026 General Elections.

“Your participation affirms a collective commitment across Government to strengthen the quality, transparency, and credibility of public policymaking in Uganda,” Mr. Mwanja said. He urged graduates to return to their institutions as champions of reform, share their knowledge with colleagues, and drive the change needed in Public Finance Management. He also announced that the next cohort of the training will take place in January 2026.

Prof. Ibrahim Mike Okumu, Dean of the School of Economics at Makerere University, delivered the graduation address, highlighting the certificate’s importance in addressing Uganda’s triple challenge of scale, scarcity, and speed.

“This program does something unique. It teaches you not only to ask whether a policy or project is beneficial, but also whether it is affordable and resilient under real fiscal constraints,” Prof. Okumu noted. He challenged graduates to apply their skills at project, portfolio, and policy levels—ensuring value for money and enhancing public trust in government spending.

He further emphasized that Uganda’s pioneering approach to integrated CFI-CBA positions the country as a leader in Africa and beyond: “You, Uganda’s first CFI-CBA graduates, are now part of a global brain trust. Your work will speak to investors, parliaments, development partners, and above all, the Ugandan people.”

Dr. John Sseruyange, Manager of the PIM Centre of Excellence, expressed appreciation to participants for their active engagement throughout the training and thanked MoFPED and the faculty drawn from Makerere University, the National Planning Authority, Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Energy for their technical support.

The Certificate of Financial Implications – Integrated Regulatory Cost-Benefit Analysis was introduced following the Revised Guidelines for Financial Clearance, effective July 1, 2025. The guidelines require MDAs to prepare their own financial implications statements, subject to rigorous cost-benefit analysis, thereby strengthening linkages between fiscal responsibility and regulatory impact assessments.

With the successful completion of the second cohort, Uganda is steadily building a critical mass of professionals capable of embedding cost-benefit thinking across government, ensuring every shilling delivers maximum impact for citizens.

The Public Investment Management Centre of Excellence (PIM CoE) at Makerere University held its Steering Committee meeting on 4^th September 2025 at Mestil Hotel in Kampala. The session, attended by all members, focused on reviewing progress, reflecting on achievements from the past financial year, and charting the way forward for the Centre.

About the PIM Centre of Excellence

The PIM CoE was established in March 2022 at Makerere University’s College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED). Its purpose is to strengthen Uganda’s public investment management system through training, research, and advisory services.

The Steering Committee plays a critical role in oversight, review, coordination, and advisory functions, guiding the Centre’s work and ensuring that public investment processes align with national development priorities.

Highlights from the Meeting

Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Joseph Muvawala, the Executive Director of the National Planning Authority, praised the October 2024 Annual PIM Conference for expanding perspectives on project design and delivery. He emphasized the importance of shifting from theory to practice in training, advocating for students and officials to engage with real-world projects. He also underscored the Centre’s new autonomy—transitioning from a subvention to a vote—which gives it greater independence but also demands stronger financial accountability. Dr. Muvawala further called for a permanent physical home for the Centre, noting that sufficient resources are available to make this possible and that negotiations with government are underway.

Mr. Ashaba Hannington, Commissioner, Project Analysis and Public Investment (PAP), Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED), highlighted achievements from the 2024/25financial year, particularly in sustainability efforts. He noted that the PIM Centre of Excellence, in partnership with MoFPED, successfully organised the Annual PIM Conference in October 2024, which brought together key stakeholders to reflect on progress in public investment management.

He further shared that, working with MoFPED and the World Bank, the Centre developed and secured approval for three new certificate courses by the College Academic Board:

1. Certificate in Integrating Environment, Social and Climate Change in the Investment Cycle.
2. Certificate in Climate Risk Assessment and Climate Proofing of Investments.
3. Certificate in Integrating and Managing ESHS in Procurement.

Mr. Ashaba added that, with the growing demand for tailored training, the Centre developed three additional courses, also approved by the College Academic Board, further expanding opportunities for capacity building.

With rising demand for tailored training, three additional courses were developed and approved by the College Academic Board. Mr. Ashaba reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to continued collaboration with the Centre in strengthening Uganda’s public investment landscape.

Prof. Eria Hisali, Co–Principal Investigator of the PIM CoE, outlined strategies to make the Centre’s activities more vibrant and practically impactful. He emphasized hands-on engagement—working directly on projects, providing advisory services, and carrying out timely peer reviews. Prof. Hisali also revealed plans for a new Master’s program in Economic and Investment Modelling, a ‘training of trainers’ (ToT) initiative, and deeper practical capacity building for both staff and participants. He revealed that in efforts to enhance Capacity Building, several trainings had been carried out in the previous financial year including that of 46 staff from MDAs in Essentials of PIM, 59 participants in 2 cohorts in Financial Appraisal and Risk Analysis and 25 participants in Economic Appraisal and Stakeholder Analysis. He proposed a “trailer feasibility test” for completed projects, to assess whether their delivered benefits matched original projections and to identify optimism bias in project planning.

Dr. John Sseruyange, Manager of the PIM CoE, shared the Centre’s growing regional footprint. Beyond training Ugandan officials, the Centre has already trained 6 Central government officers from Somalia in Infrastructure Asset Management, sparking further demand for advanced courses in financial and economic analysis. Interest has also come from Zimbabwe and Somaliland, reflecting the Centre’s growing reputation as a regional hub for public investment management training. To support this, a prospectus is being prepared to expand training across Africa and the world.

Why It Matters

The Steering Committee reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the PIM CoE continues to serve as a think tank and capacity-building hub for government and regional partners. By improving how public projects are appraised, financed, and implemented, the Centre contributes to better service delivery, stronger accountability, and Uganda’s broader development goals.

On 29^th August 2025, researchers from Makerere University College of Business and Management Sciences and the Copenhagen Business School, in partnership with Uganda Small Scale Industries Association disseminated the key findings and policy recommendations aimed at impacting both the informal and formal sectors in Uganda.

The dissemination workshop follows an intensive and participatory research project, which presents insights from a large scale study of over 1,100 small-scale firms across Uganda. Hosted at Makerere University, the dissemination workshop on Firm Formalization and Sustainable Development, brought on board key stakeholders including regulators, policy implementers, researchers, industry partners, the private sectors, manufactures, the academia, business men and women from the informal sector, and the media.

Approximately 90% of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa operate in the informal sector. Uganda’s informal economy employs the majority of workers, but is characterized by low productivity and unsustainable practices. In Uganda, nearly 78% of the working population operate in the informal economy, spanning from street vendors to large unregistered businesses. Firms may choose to remain informal to hinder the accessibility of tax information, which consequently affects the government’s ability to mobilize domestic revenue. While informality provides livelihoods and informal firms may enjoy a significant degree of adaptability and flexibility, they typically face low productivity, limited worker protection, and environmentally harmful practices.

In 2022, an interdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners embarked on research to examine the informal sector, gain a deeper understanding of the informal sector, as well as, its impact on sustainable development. The research team conducted field experiments and survey-based studies between 2022-2024 to evaluate the links between formalization and sustainable development.

Led by Prof. Marcus M. Larsen as the Principal Investigator, the research team consisted of the following the members: Prof. Faisal Buyinza-Local Principal Investigator, Dr. John Seruyange-Makerere University School of Economics, Dr. Ismail Kintu and Dr. Yusuf Kiwala-Makerere University School of Business, and Prof. Rebecca Namatovu-Copenhagen Business School. The research was funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

“Our research shows that formalization can promote sustainable development, but outcomes differ by type: URA tax registration drives the most meaningful improvements in business, labour, and environmental practices, while URSB business registration mainly boosts legitimacy and local government licensing lags behind. To realize Uganda’s green and inclusive growth goals, formalization must be coupled with sustainability incentives, targeted reforms, and strong support from government, business associations, and civil society. From the policy perspective, the government needs to simplify the legitimization process through increased proximity of the registration centres for SMEs to leverage the benefits of formalization.”

Opening the dissemination workshop, the Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences-Prof. Edward Bbaale represented by the Deputy Principal, Professor James Wokadala, emphasized the significance of the study in shaping Uganda’s development agenda.  He underscored that Makerere University is committed to undertaking research with partners to drive inclusive growth and sustainable economic development. The Deputy Principal noted that the interdisciplinary research team combining the global north and global south expertise, positions the College of Business and Management Sciences at Makerere University, to produce impactful research to influence policy and practice at the national and global levels.

Unpacking the key concept in the research project, Ms. Veronica Namwanje, the Director of Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA) explained that formalization goes beyond business registration. “Formalization is about strengthening enterprises to grow sustainably,” she articulated. Commending the partnership between USSIA and the School of Economics at Makerere University, Ms. Namwanje stated that this collaborative learning experience will strengthen SME’s in Uganda. “This research will significantly impact Uganda’s economy. 75% of the labour force is employed in the non-formal sector. The research will support over 12,000 member SMEs across Uganda,” she said.

Building on the remarks from the College Principal and the Director of USSIA respectively, the Moderator of the dissemination workshop, Dr. Anthony Tibaingana called upon the project Principal Investigator, Prof. Marcus Larsen from Copenhagen Business School, to present to the audience, the gist of the research on formalization and sustainable development.

Prof. Larsen commenced his presentation by acknowledging the Local Principal Investigator, Prof. Faisal Buyinza and Makerere University researchers in Economics and Business for their commitment and dedication. “This project started in 2022. You have worked with me wholeheartedly. Thank you for being true partners,” he remarked. Prof. Larsen explained that this research exposed him to the beautiful country called Uganda, its fine weather and hospitable people. As this particular research project comes to an end, he leaves Uganda and Makerere University with good memories, of working with people, committed to the transformation of society.

Setting the pace into his presentation that provided a strong case for formalization of business given its contribution to inclusive growth and development of any country, Prof. Larsen provided a comparison between the Global north where formalization is a norm.  “The Global North has zero tolerance for informal practices. In the Global North, you must be formally registered to operate a business,” he reported.

In the Global South, Prof. Larsen disclosed that the research studies proved that the number of firms under the informal sector was quite high. Through the research project, Firm Formalization and Sustainable Development in Uganda, they observed that many small scale businesses operate without any form of registration, from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

With over 78% of the working population employed in the informal economy through numerous establishments (ILOSTAT, 2024), Prof. Larsen stressed that the situation in Uganda, necessitates a combined effort to ensure formalization of businesses/firms. He notified the audience about Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.3, which encourages the formalization and growth of micro, small and medium sized enterprises. He also made reference to Uganda’s 4^th National Development Plan, which states, and I quote: “This dual nature of informality contributes to low productivity, survival and growth of enterprises, as well as, limiting effectiveness of government policy incentives.”

Prof. Larsen argued that addressing high firm informality in the Global South through formalization can unlock growth, enable access to resources, spur sustainable development, drive inclusive growth, and contribute to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Examining SMEs and the environment, Prof. Larsen reported that the research findings indicated that that environmental issues are given less attention by SMEs. “Informal workers are particularly affected by and affect climate change. Most of the interactions proved that informal workers use environmentally unfriendly practices,” he stated. Prof. Larsen together with the research team advocated for a transition to formalization of firms, which leads to environmental sustainability with decent workers.

The research team observed that informal workers suffer from job insecurity, and in most cases, their employers do not remit their social protection funds. For instance, in Uganda, most of the workers in the informal sector did not have any contributions with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

Presenting the key research insights, Prof. Larsen focused on the formalization and practices, interpretation for policy makers, and SME survival and sustainability. Formalization and Practices provided hints on URSB (business registration), URA (Tax Registration) and Local Government (Trading Licenses).

Providing the interpretation for policy makers, Prof. Larsen elaborated as follows: URSB formalization mainly signals legitimacy, but has limited impact on deeper practices; URA formalization, though resisted initially, delivers the strongest and broadest improvements in business, worker and environmental practices once firms adopt it; and Local government licensing is associated with negative or weak outcomes indicating a need to reform systems to better incentivize sustainability.

On SME Survival and Sustainability, the key research insights include the following:

Financing: MSMEs that started with external financing were 12% more likely to survive than those using internal funds.

Gender: Male owned MSMEs had a higher survival rate (+13%) due to greater access to resources, though firms owned by females reported stronger sustainability orientations.

Location: Urban-based firms had 10-20% higher survival than rural firms, though rural enterprises displayed higher sustainability practices overall.

Education: Owners with university education had survival rates 17 to 24% higher than those with primary schooling.

Business associations: Female-owned MSMEs in associations had 13 to 16% higher survival rates

Registration effects: Surprisingly, longer registration with URA/URSB was associated with slightly lower survival rates (1 to 4%), pointing to burdens of compliance.

The Local Principal Investigator, Prof. Faisal Buyinza, advocated for multi-faceted policies to empower SMEs in Uganda for instance, through simplifying registration, providing green tax incentives, protection of workers and guarding against counterfeit products.  Prof. Buyinza presented the following policy recommendations:

• Raising sustainability standards in business formalization
• Building green and fair fiscal systems
• Strengthening social protection and green employment
• Enhancing entrepreneurial skills for sustainability
• Promoting youth and ago-led green innovation
• Advancing women’s leadership in sustainable enterprises
• Digital transformation for green formalization
• Civil society and employer advocacy for just transition

The participants delved into an interactive question and answer session moderated by Prof. Eria Hisali, former Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences, who provided strategic guidance and oversight at the inception of the research project.

Prof. Hisali called upon the participants and key stakeholders to contribute to the discussion, when he said: “The informal sector is not abstract. The informal sector is with us. I therefore call upon you to share lived experiences and practices on this matter.”

Taking on the form of a plenary, the following ideas were raised:

• Financial constraints are a major blow to SMEs. This is further complicated by the payments required through registration, licensing, taxation, and other formalization processes including the high cost for online operations that require access to the Internet.
• Power outages in Uganda significantly affect business operations. When power is on and off, SMEs incur losses due to the nature of their activities.
• URA has a close working relationship with Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA). This partnership should be leveraged to reach out to business owners in the informal sector.
• The government should provide tax incentives to local investors. This incentive will positively impact formalization of businesses.
• URBS should come up with tough measures on standards in order to safeguard Ugandans from counterfeit products.
• URA and URSB should note that majority of players in the informal sector are not educated, and, as such, should come up with specialized awareness programmes delivered in a language that they can understand.
• Noting that despite the benefits of formalization, entrepreneurs fear to formalize their business, those concerned should invest time and resources to identify the reasons behind this attitude.
• Create awareness by deliberately popularizing the benefits of formalizing a business, and the incentives that accrue to someone who has formalized his or her business.
• Commending the stakeholder mapping and segmentation with respect to policy recommendation, the participants requested for the involvement of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
• Tackling the policy recommendation on digital transformation, the participants recommended the involvement of NITA-Uganda.
• Formalization of businesses and registration is affected by the high cost of Internet services and subscriptions. The participants reported that the high costs of Internet deter online operations.

Reflecting on the ideas raised during the plenary sessions, Prof. Hisali observed differences in the level of awareness regarding business formalization. He called upon the Uganda Small Scale Industries Association and Makerere University to continue the discussion with key stakeholders to conduct periodic awareness creation and training sessions.

On a positive note, the participants and stakeholders were notified that URA was in advanced stages of according tax holidays to SMEs. Prof. Faisal Buyinza, who interacted with URA, during the course of the research project (2022-2024), highlighted that effective July 2026, start-up business up to UGX 300million, will not be taxed. Such start up business, will enjoy a tax holiday of three years.”

The submission from Prof. Faisal Buyinza was supported by officials from URA who were physically present in the dissemination workshop held in the Conference Hall, at the College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University.

The participants were thoroughly engaged during the dissemination workshop, which entailed remarks from the College Principal, presentation by USSIA, project purpose and findings, research presentation, policy implications, question and answer session, and final reflections.