President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni lavished praise on businessman Hamis Kiggundu alias Ham while meeting investors at a foreign trip in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ham earned Museveni’s praise after his moving speech about investment opportunities in Uganda which are facilitated by the peace and transformation ushered in by the NRM regime.
Ham owns a string of businesses stretching from real estate to agro-processing and value addition under Ham Group of Companies.
Ham assured the UAE investors that Uganda is peaceful, has fertile soils, favourable climate but above all good governance by the leadership of President Museveni which protects investors and ensures they recoup their investment.
“I started doing business in garment, then I moved into real estate and I started doing commercial buildings. I am currently putting up a stadium approximately 200m dollars and putting up 500 houses in Uganda and moving to agro-processing and value addition,” Ham told an eagerly listening audience of purely billionaires.
“So if I can make it in Uganda to almost close to a billion dollar company right now, that is Ham Group of Companies.”
Ham told the money magnets that the only resource they need is sufficient capital to start with.
“Currently, Uganda has a population of 45 million people out of which from the time NRM came to power, they were only 15 million.
That means that 80% of the current population are young and energetic what they need is productivity We have fertile soils, good climate and energetic population. Uganda has the opportunity to make money as long as you come with sufficient capital,” he said.
“All you need like the President has said is agro-processing integrated zones to add value to our agro-produce because we have the manpower. And then we shall take care of the domestic market through import substitution, then we look at regional market through East African Community (EAC) and further we are looking at international market,” he said.
In his conclusion before the audience gave him a thunderous applause, Ham gave the investors confidence.
“So I call upon you and I give you confidence that Uganda has all it takes to make it just like I made it from nothing with the help of the regime and now I own a company that worth a billion dollars.”
Commenting on Ham’s presentation, Museveni said whereas Ham is young, he knows where to invest.
“Kiggundu Ham as I told you is a young man but as you hear, he is one of the few Ugandans with spectacles which can see properly,” Museveni spoke in parables.
The President was in UAE for three days, held a couple of investments meetings and also held talks with his UAE counterpart about wooing investors in Uganda.