The East African SME Oil & Gas Conference starts today, Thursday, November 18, 2021 and ends tomorrow in Kampala, under the theme: ‘Exploring opportunities for SMEs in the Oil and Gas sector’.
Organized by Stanbic Uganda Holdings in conjunction with the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, CNOOC, and the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), the conference is intended to bridge the knowledge gap between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the international oil companies, as Uganda moves to commercialize its oil reserves.
The summit that will be accessed both physically (at the Serena Kampala Hotel) and virtually (via Zoom), will also address some of the challenges SMEs encounter when seeking opportunities in the oil sector.
The development phase in Uganda’s oil industry is estimated to attract investments worth $15 billion to $20 billion in not only the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) activities but also in farming, catering, camp management, logistics, security and waste management among others.
“We have pledged, together with our partners to support local SMEs so that much more money can be retained in Uganda. Solutions like how to access affordable finance will form part of the discussion. This is why the conference is important,” Tony Otoa, the Chief Executive, Stanbic Business Incubator, said.
(L-R) Sebikari, Otoa, Tumusiime and Mpalampa
The Stanbic Business Incubator was founded in 2018 to nurture SMEs, helping them appreciate best practices so that they could compete for any available opportunities against the finest international companies. The Incubator has so far trained 1,216 Small and Medium Enterprise and 2,392 entrepreneurs.
UNOC has always partnered with the Incubator to enhance the capacity of all its suppliers, according to Catherine Tumusiime, a UNOC executive.
Gloria Sebikari, the corporate affairs manager at PAU urged all enterprises across Uganda and the region to attend as the summit would be very enriching.
“The oil and gas industry is expected to drive growth in Uganda. So by helping the SMEs tap into this development, jobs will be created and unprecedented revenue generated,” said Eva Mpalampa, the Sector Head Oil and Gas at Stanbic Bank.
