Government officials and sector stakeholders have warned that Uganda’s fast-growing service sector is failing to generate sufficient productive employment despite contributing nearly half of the national economy.
The concern was raised during the Pre-APEX Dialogue held on Tuesday at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, ahead of the annual APEX Forum to be chaired by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
The meeting reviewed the performance of the service sector from 2010 to 2025, covering ICT, trade, tourism, finance, transport, logistics, health, education, and the creative industries.
According to presentations at the meeting, the sector now contributes approximately 50% of Uganda’s GDP, making it the country’s largest economic pillar.
However, participants noted that most jobs in the sector remain informal, low-paid, and concentrated in urban areas, with youths largely absorbed into boda-boda transport, vending, and petty trade rather than high-value industries.
Key Challenges Identified
- Limited transition from informal to formal employment
- Skills gaps between training institutions and labour market needs
- Underinvestment in technology-driven service industries
- Policy and regulatory inconsistencies across sub-sectors
Ministers Call for Shift From “Growth to Impact”
Opening the dialogue, Minister for the Presidency Hon. Milly Babirye Babalanda said the government would prioritise service-led job creation under the 10-Fold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand Uganda’s GDP from USD 50 billion to USD 500 billion in a generation.
“The numbers show growth, but citizens want results they can feel. This sector must shift from survival-level trading to productive, export-driven services,” she said.
Delivering a message from the Prime Minister, the Deputy Head of Public Service, Dr. Theopista Mary Wenene pledged stronger institutional coordination to address structural bottlenecks affecting sector performance.
In her closing remarks, the Minister of Economic Monitoring, Beatrice Akello Akori warned that recommendations from the meeting would be tracked and enforced, stating that line ministries would be held accountable for implementation before the APEX Forum.
