Who we are

Our story

Our Background

Uganda Manufacturers Association was originally established in the 1960’s at a time when Uganda had a young but vibrant industrial sector. However, the association went into abeyance in the years that followed largely due to the prevailing security situation in the country. It was later revived in April 1988 by a group of new industrialists led by the Late Dr. James Mulwana. Starting with only 26 Member Companies, the Association has since grown to 1,737 members and today boasts the accolade of being a premium association nationally and regionally, enjoying global recognition and respect, and being a self-sustaining business association. Uganda Manufacturers Association is the largest Business membership Organization representing the manufacturing sector in Uganda.

Trade Fair Background:

Since 1992, the Trade Fair has continued to grow in influence both locally and abroad.

The idea of the Uganda International Trade Fair exhibition in Uganda was first conceived by Dr. James Mulwana (RIP) soon after the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) was revived in 1988.

Until then, trade promotions were being done using mobile floats that drove through Kampala City showcasing manufactured products.

Dr. Mulwana managed to convince the Government to stop the idea of using floats to do promotions as they were not only very costly but also an inefficient way of marketing products

given that they reached only a few people on the streets. The best practice all over the world, the UMA Chairman argued, was doing national exhibitions over a number of days. Indeed, many countries did have gazetted show grounds dedicated for exhibitions in their capital cities and other large cities. Uganda also had one at the time but it was located in Jinja which was too far away from Kampala City.

To get the ball rolling, the UMA organized two very successful trade fairs in 1989 and 1990 in the first week of October as part of the Independence Day celebrations. These Trade Fairs gave a great opportunity to Ugandans including Government officials and policy makers to learn about Uganda’s incredible industrial potential, how much progress the manufacturing sector had made at the time and how far the country still had to go. The first show took place at Lugogo Indoor Stadium in Kololo but UMA started looking around for a place that it would use as its own premises.

Later, UMA succeeded in convincing the Government to give it a 22-acre piece of land at Lugogo. This land was originally a coronation venue and was not in use. It was given to UMA by the then Minister of Local Government, Mr. Jaberi Bidandi Ssali. Given its location and size, it made a perfect home for a Show Ground.
However, a major draw-back was that the used to get water-logged during the rainy season. To deal with the problem, Dr. James Mulwana contracted a Chinese company known as Sietco to put a half meter layer of murram over the entire grounds in order to raise the ground level. This was the company that had previously built Namboole Stadium.

Though the mud problem had been dealt with, there was the other challenge of finding the money to build the infrastructure to make the ground usable for exhibition purposes. The UMA did not have sufficient funds to work on it. The Chairman of the Association, Dr. Mulwana and his Board, worked out a plan and divided the grounds into many plots that were allocated to various UMA members. Shortly after, some of the UMA members embarked on some construction work on their plots but the UMA Secretariat itself lacked funds to put up anything. Dr. James Mulwana then offered to construct the Main Exhibition Hall using his own money, with the view that UMA would pay him back when funds became available. However, this did not happen and he ended up completing the job single handedly.
Of course most of the infrastructure at the time was nowhere near ideal but thankfully the Main Exhibition Hall was completed. H.E President Yoweri Museveni subsequently laid the foundation stone on the building

on 30th July, 1992. The gigantic hall did help a lot because it served as the impetus for the construction of many other buildings within the show grounds.
Companies such as the Madhvani Group, Spear Group, Sembule, etc, followed suit and set up additional structures.
Later, companies such as Mukwano, Crown Beverages, Aristoc, and several others also started constructing their own structures.

Presidents visit First TradeFair Members continued to work as a team and what initially seemed
a very difficult task was gradually accomplished. The first Trade Fair at Lugogo UMA Show Grounds took place in January 1993 and another later in October of the same year.
Incidentally, the October exhibition coincided with a COMESA Regional Meeting, which H. E. President Yoweri Museveni was chairing at the time. President Museveni asked the visiting Heads of State to go with him to theTrade Fair and have a look at what was on show. This gesture gave the Trade Fair a splendid kick-start.

Over the years, the Trade Fair has continued to host Heads of State from across the Great Lakes region, both political figures and other VIPs.
For example, the former President of Kenya, H. E. Daniel Arap Moi, the former Presidents of Tanzania, H. E. Banjamin Mkapa and H. E. Al Hassan Mwinyi, the President of Rwanda, H.E
Paul Kagame of Rwanda, were some of the many Heads of State who have visited the Trade Fair over the years.

Today, the Uganda International Trade Fair is one of the biggest such events in the entire region. Since the event started, this is the 28^th Uganda International Trade Fair. What a tremendous journey it has been! For thousands of local and foreign producers and service providers, the Trade Fair has continued to provide a relevant marketing platform. The 2019 Trade Fair attracted almost 400 exhibitors from all over the world. The Trade Fair has not only attracted global players but also hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the social spectrum – young and old. Indeed, the ability of the Uganda International Trade Fair to attract such huge numbers is what gives it its potency as a tremendous platform for exhibitors to showcase and market their products and services over a number of days. At the Trade Fair, show goers get a chance to interact directly with the producers of their favorite products
and to buy the same at factory prices. Some even earn themselves supply
and distribution agency deals. Over the three decades, a lot has changed on the business scene
locally, regionally and globally. For example, Uganda is now part of several regional trading blocs such as the East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), all of which form the Tripartite Free Trade Area.

Joining these trading blocs has presented many opportunities to Ugandan manufacturers; but on the flipside, it has also exposed them to stiffer competition. For two straight years (2020-2021),
the Uganda International Trade Fair was not held because of the stringent restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

For many producers and service providers, this period has been very challenging as their supply chains were disrupted due to lockdowns in many of the source markets for their raw materials
and other supplies. Many manufacturers are now just embarking on the arduous journey to recovery. With the benefit of hindsight, the pandemic has helped manufacturers and suppliers to
appreciate the dire risks associated with depending on foreign markets.

It is therefore not surprising that this year, the theme for the Trade Fair is, ‘Business Recovery by Harnessing Local Sourcing and Deepening Value chain Integration.’ More than ever before in its 30-year history, this year’s Trade Fair offers manufacturers, producers and service providers a tremendous opportunity to be intentional about expanding and deepening their local and regional networks as an alternative to foreign sourcing.