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E astern
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U ganda
U G A N D A
Eastern Africa: Uganda Overview Uganda had a GDP of USD $34 billion in 2019, and a population of 45.7 million in 2020.353,354 It has 1.1 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 2.5 million jobs in SMEs.355 The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) initial estimates (post-COVID-19) expect Uganda’s economy to grow at a rate of 4.3% in 2021, an adjustment of -0.6% from pre-COVID-19 estimates, after a 2% to 2.5% slowdown in projected growth in GDP in 2020.356,357 The population is still expected to grow at 3.7% annually.358 This study has estimated that approximately 27,400 social enterprises are operating in Uganda, employing 62,300 people directly. In 2030, based on the above estimate for population growth, Uganda’s working age population (15-64) will reach 33.9 million people.359 This study projects there will be approximately 86,000 direct jobs in social enterprises in Uganda by 2030, corresponding to an addition of approximately 23,700 between 2020 and 2030. As discussed further below, support by the Ugandan government and development partners, adoption of mobile money and telecommunications, eased government regulations of ICT, and tax incentives are expected to drive job growth in these sectors. Social enterprises in the agricultural sector are also expected to provide considerable income-generating opportunities in the future, driven by technical and operational support offered by the government. Figure 34 shows the estimated total number of direct jobs in social enterprises in 2020 and 2030 (projected). 100 K
86,976
80 K
62,233 60 K
40 K
20 K
0
Number of jobs 2020
Number of jobs 2030
Figure 34: Estimated direct jobs in social enterprises in Uganda 2020-2030
