Uganda launches sustainable finance curriculum to reshape banking sector
Uganda introduced a financial education program on Tuesday designed to steer lending and investment decisions toward climate adaptation and social equity. The certificate course was presented at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala through a partnership between aBi Finance Ltd and the Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services, backed by the Royal Danish Embassy, the European Union and Impact Fund Denmark.
David Kalyango, representing central bank governor Michael Atingi-Ego, said the shift away from prioritizing immediate returns has become essential for an economy where agriculture employs 72 percent of workers facing weather extremes. He warned that failure to redirect capital could shrink national output by more than 3.1 percent by 2050. A 2022 central bank review found 22 supervised institutions offering environmental and social products but none conducting related stress tests. Kalyango noted regulators now track finance emissions, or the greenhouse gas footprint linked to borrowers, which affects access to foreign funding.
The four-month program covers 11 modules spanning risk assessment, green product design and reporting standards to prevent misleading sustainability claims. Mona Muguma-Ssebuliba of aBi Finance said the initiative addresses a skills shortage among lenders and regulators working to integrate environmental criteria into operations.
