The World Bank Group (WBG) Board of Executive Directors has endorsed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Uganda, a 10-year strategy spanning from 2026 to 2035 that is designed to accelerate a private sector-led economic transformation and expand opportunities for the country’s rapidly growing population. Developed in close collaboration with the Government of Uganda and through consultations with other stakeholders, this framework aligns with the nation’s long-term Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan.
It reflects a shared commitment to converting Uganda’s strong growth potential, young population, and rich natural endowments into sustained improvements in productivity, incomes, and livelihoods. The creation of more and better jobs sits at the core of this strategy, serving as the most effective pathway out of poverty and the strongest foundation for shared prosperity. With 600,000 to 700,000 young people entering the labor market each year, Uganda’s primary development challenge and opportunity lie in accelerating productivity and expanding access to higher-quality employment across the economy.
Highlighting the scope of the framework, World Bank Country Manager for Uganda, Francisca Ayodeji (Ayo) Akala, stated that Uganda possesses extraordinary assets, including a young population full of potential, abundant natural resources, and a government deeply committed to long-term transformation. She emphasized that the CPF represents the World Bank’s commitment to walking alongside Uganda over the next decade by investing in its people, infrastructure, and institutions to power prosperity and translate growth into better living standards.
To achieve this, the CPF is organized around four mutually reinforcing outcomes: strengthened economic governance, healthier and better-skilled people, better-connected communities, and a more productive and inclusive private sector. Over the next ten years, the WBG will mobilize significant resources to achieve massive developmental targets, including doubling energy access to reach 50 million people by 2035 (up from 25 million today), providing 22 million people with quality health and nutrition services, supporting 10 million students with better education, improving transport infrastructure for 20 million people, extending financial services to 14 million people and businesses (including 9 million women), and securing a 100% increase in agricultural yields within targeted value chains.
A defining feature of this new strategy is its emphasis on the “One WBG” approach, which strategically brings together International Development Association (IDA) financing, International Finance Corporation (IFC) investments and advisory services, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) guarantees.
This coordinated method is designed to make the World Bank’s support highly impactful, efficient, and responsive to Uganda’s evolving needs. On the financial side, the WBG anticipates an indicative lending program of approximately $2 billion per IDA three-year cycle, building upon an existing portfolio of $4 billion. Additionally, the strategy aims to catalyze up to $1.3 billion in direct private investment and mobilize an additional $2.5 billion from private capital markets. Recognizing that a strong private sector is the ultimate engine of lasting economic growth, the IFC will support targeted private investments across various sectors, while MIGA will leverage the WBG Guarantee Platform to expand risk-mitigation guarantees for foreign investors. This comprehensive risk reduction will strengthen investor confidence and unlock critical, long-term private capital, ensuring that the CPF provides the continuity needed to support complex reforms and sustain a lasting economic impact.
