UBA Uganda Joins World to Celebrate Africa Day , Commits to Promoting Business Sustainability

Africa’s Global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Uganda joined the rest of the world on Friday, on May 23, 2025, to mark this year’s edition of Africa Day.

The celebrations in Uganda held at the bank’s headquarters located at Jinja Road, in the capital Kampala , went on concurrently across all of its subsidiaries in Africa as well as in the United Kingdom, France, United States of America and the United Arab Emirates, had the underlying theme:  “Africa by Africans: Partnering for Progress”

To mark the event, staff members were dressed in colorful African attire displaying the cultural diversity of the employees of the United Bank for Africa.

There were dance troupes in various offices across the continent organized by UBA subsidiaries, where staff, clients and the public were entertained with African drums and cultural dancers and choice African food.

Speaking during the colorful event, UBA Uganda Managing Director/CEO Kenneth Kisambira this day is important  because  is a time to acknowledge the progress and achievements made across the continent in various sectors, including socio-economic development, various reforms, and cultural advancements.

‘’Our slogan is Africa’s Global Bank. What does that mean? That we are the largest bank serving African countries in various jurisdictions within West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa as well as Central Africa. The bank has been set up to empower African business. We have the Tony Elumelu Foundation which is used to support entrepreneurs, to give them seed capital to promote their businesses. This day is important for us because we look back and say this is our African heritage’’, said Kisambira.

He added that they are all Africans and working in an African bank which is quite critical that they promote  culture,  business, and combine forces to grow the businesses and requirements that are needed to grow the economy of Uganda and African society at large.

‘’Business environment in Uganda is marked by many startups, small SMEs doing all sorts of business. What we’re doing in UBA, we’ve come up with a fund from AfCFTA ( African Continental Free Trade Area ) . We are in partnership and as UBA Uganda we got USD 250M (950bn) to support SMEs. So it’s critical that all members of society and the business community come and partake into this. Our doors across all branches are open to support your business requirements’’, added Kisambira.

He said Uganda has people who can start business at the fastest rate. However, there is also a challenge that some businesses die at the fastest rate.

‘’As a bank, Africa’s global bank, it is our duty to ensure that businesses that start do not die. So when you come and bank with us, we shall start seeing the signs of dying and then we shall work with you. You see the difference between me, a banker, and a business owner?. A business needs different skills. There is a skill to start a business, there is a skill to manage a business, and there is a skill to sustain a business. So we are in the business of sustaining businesses. Sustaining businesses by giving you working capital, giving you financial advisory, and talking to you. And when we see warning signs, we talk to you. We have relationship management’’,Kisambira explained added.

He said this is anchored by the relationship managers who come and talk to clients on a daily basis adding that businesses in Uganda that have served and lived more than 15 to 20 years,  looking at their banking arrangements , are guided all the time.

Hoziana Niyonsaba,the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications for UBA Uganda said the day was put apart to celebrate the growth, the unity, the togetherness, the love of Africans.

‘’It is helps us to memorize and remember who we are, where we’ve come from .It is celebrated in different countries within Africa and even outside Africa because we’ve realized that Africans are everywhere so we celebrate to jubilate who we are, understand our progress in terms of economic factors because our businesses have grown as Africa and if you look at what is happening currently in Africa there is a lot that we take out of Africa. It is because we’ve developed, we’ve grown and we’ve moved of course as a bank. we celebrate it for so many reasons  because we are a global bank with African roots’’, said Hoziana.

She emphasized that this day is celebrated every 25th of May. But because the 25th is on a weekend, as a bank, they come together on the last working day towards the celebration.

‘’For example, this year it is on Sunday, so we’ve celebrated it today 23rd because  Sunday we are off’’, she added.

UBA celebrates Africa Day annually in line with the official celebration by African nations, reiterating its long-held belief that the future belongs to the continent. Africa Day is an annual event, commemorating the birth of the African Union on May 25, 1963. It is dedicated to celebrating the diversity of the African continent, and to highlight the cultural and economic potential that exists on the continent.

The bank leverages the occasion to rekindle the African spirit that drives the UBA group’s vision to be a dominant financial services provider on the continent and its emergence as a recognizable economic power.

United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, serving  millions of customers globally. Operating in over twenty African countries and the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting edge technology.

This article was produced in partnership with United Bank for Africa (UBA) and AfriCash in Africa. UBA through AfriCash is supporting secure money transfer across Africa.