Uganda has maintained its fourth-place ranking in the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index, a position it has held for the past year. However, the country’s score has shown significant improvement since 2017, reflecting its progress in developing its financial markets.
According to the index, Uganda’s score has increased to 63, driven by its strong macroeconomic performance and transparency. The country has made significant strides in improving its financial markets, rising from ninth place in 2017.
“Uganda’s rise from 9th place in 2017 to 4th today is a testament to our progress,” said David Wandera, Interim Managing Director of Absa Uganda. “While we celebrate these achievements, we recognize there is still work to be done. Developing our financial markets further requires ongoing collaboration between government, regulators, and the private sector.”
The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index evaluates financial market development in 23 African countries, assessing countries based on six pillars: market depth, access to foreign exchange, market transparency, local investor capacity, macroeconomic opportunity, and enforceability of financial agreements.
Uganda performed well in terms of its macroeconomic environment and transparency, ranking second only to Namibia. The country also scored highly in terms of legal standards and enforceability, with a score of 85.
However, Uganda still faces challenges, including low market liquidity and pension fund development. The country scored poorly in terms of market transparency, tax, and regulatory environment, ranking 11th with a score of 76.
Despite these challenges, Uganda’s performance in the index is a positive sign for the country’s financial markets. The index report notes that the majority of African countries have improved their scores, reflecting a turn for the better in the macro environment.