Throughout this year, a top regional economist expects Uganda to maintain a stable benchmark rate that influences the interest rates commercial banks charge on credit throughout.
Jibran Qureishi, Stanbic Bank’s regional economist for East Africa, bases his forecast on the fact that inflationary pressures in Uganda appear subdued and, therefore, there is little reason for the central bank to panic by shuffling around its key monetary policy rate.
“I think moving forward this year, we will probably see a stable monetary policy stance. I don’t expect them to change the central bank rate.” he said. He added that Bank of Uganda was “more positive now on inflation than they were six months ago. That’s why I think they wouldn’t be in a hurry to actually hike rates…”
Qureishi was speaking during Stanbic bank’s 2019 Economic Forum, which took place at Kampala Serena hotel. The forum ran under the theme ‘Achieving a paradigm shift in Uganda’s Economic growth through leveraging technology.’ Patrick Mweheire, the chief executive of Stanbic bank, weighed in too, saying things look good in 2019.
“We are optimistic that this will be a positive year for growth. This platform was an opportunity to discuss and explore the best practices in utilizing technology to drive Uganda’s economy,” he said.
Analysts have sighted ICT as the biggest accelerator of economic growth. In FY 2017/18, for example, the sector registered the highest growth at 7.9 per cent per annum, industry at 6.2 per cent, services at 7.3 per cent, and agriculture at 3.2 per cent.
Emma Mugisha, the Stanbic Head of Corporate Investment Banking, talked about how technology has reduced the cost of labour, which forms the largest expense for most institutions.
“Agency banking, for example, is not a digital platform. We are using it to create pseudo ATMs. It has allowed us as a bank to drive financial inclusion and reach more people affordably in a space of one year. Today, banking is no longer an eight-hour business, technology has made it a 24-hour affair,” she added.
In Africa, the sector presents multifaceted opportunities across telecommunication and tower infrastructure sharing, media and technology.
Standard Bank has a long history in the sector and concluded the first major telecommunications transaction in Nigeria in 1998.
