There is a second revolution coming to Uganda. It is the Diaspora
revolution.
Who are they? What do they want? But more importantly, how can a Ugandan
business reposition itself to take advantage of this group of people who now
contribute about $1bn or 25% of Uganda’s budget?
Who are the Diaspora?
In summary Diaspora is a term used
to refer to persons with a similar heritage or homeland, but who are no longer
living there. In Uganda, these persons are commonly referred to as “Ugandans
abroad”, “Nkuba Kyeyo” or “Summers”.
Why are they so important?
Bank of Uganda figures estimates
that Ugandans living abroad have been transferring over $700m annually. A
figure that has been increasing by 10% each year and expected to reach $1bn in
2014!
This contribution is about 25% of
Uganda’s budget, 6% of GDP and its now higher than Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) i.e money from foreign investors and has for long surpassed
the earnings from traditional cash crops like coffee, cotton and tea.
Why should a firm have a strategy for them?
The rest of the article provides an understanding of this group and more importantly highlights some ideas on how to meet their needs.
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