Summary:
- Valued at $132 million in its first phase, the Inspire Africa Coffee Factory received $22 million in funding from the government.
NTUNGAMO: Players in Uganda’s coffee industry are calling for government support to enhance investment in coffee value addition.
Nelson Tugume, Chairman of Inspire Africa Coffee Factory and an entrepreneur in Ntungamo District, Southwestern Uganda, urged various agencies to prioritize support for local investors at all levels.
The Inspire Africa Coffee Factory aims to revolutionize Uganda’s coffee industry, providing an opportunity to elevate local investors while strengthening the country’s economic potential. The factory is poised to set a benchmark for coffee value addition in both Uganda and the broader East African region.
Tugume believes the project will generate significant profits and expressed concerns about the tendency of Ugandans and Africans to resist supporting local investors while readily embracing foreign ones.
Valued at $132 million in its first phase, the Inspire Africa Coffee Factory received $22 million in funding from the government. Tugume highlighted President Museveni’s support for the project and urged opposition leaders to share the same vision for Uganda’s coffee sector.
He noted that the project’s success could pave the way for similar initiatives in other regions, contributing to the achievement of Uganda’s coffee value addition goals.
Tugume also addressed ongoing rumors suggesting the factory is owned by President Museveni, stating that these claims are false. He clarified that while the president had heard about the project’s success, he merely pledged his support.
Since 2023, the government has been investing in the coffee value addition chain through the Coffee Investment Consortium Uganda (CICU). This initiative aims to increase export revenue, create employment opportunities, and raise farm gate prices.
CICU unites coffee stakeholders in Uganda to add value to coffee and promote the export of value-added coffee from Uganda as a single-origin source.
