Kampala, Uganda – Uganda has maintained its fourth position in the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index, scoring 63 points, according to a report released by Absa Uganda.
The report, which evaluates financial market development in 23 African countries, noted that Uganda’s score has shown significant improvement since 2017, reflecting the country’s progress in developing its financial markets.
“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.”
The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index assesses 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.
The report noted that the majority of African countries have improved their scores, reflecting a turn for the better in the macro environment.
The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index is a comprehensive benchmark of financial market development in Africa, providing a toolkit for countries to assess their financial market development and identify areas for improvement.
