Irish Business in Uganda

St. Patrick’s Day Reception

An excellent Networking opportunity for Irish Businesses in Uganda

Increasing the links between Ireland and Uganda, has assumed much greater importance in the work of the Embassy in recent years. 

The Irish Business Network Uganda was set up in March 2011 with the purpose of creating networking opportunities to support the growth of Irish business in Uganda, provide the opportunities for Irish businesses to share their experience of working in Uganda and help with the entrance of new Irish businesses into the Ugandan market.  This is done through a number of events carried out throughout the year.   This year, as with previous years, the St. Patrick’s Day reception was an opportunity for Irish business people to network and get a better understanding and appreciation of the opportunities available in different sectors.

‘I was delighted that some of our business contacts and partners invited by the Embassy came to enjoy the conviviality as it gave me an opportunity to catch up with many in a short space of time and in an informal setting. This is so helpful for building the extremely important and necessary relationships for success in what we do. It also was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with colleagues in other Irish-connected NGO’s since our varied fields of activity mean we don’t get to meet much in our day to day work, and yet, there are many times when we find common areas to chat about, share ideas, or help each other out.  We have connected quite a few business opportunities through linking people either at the event or in follow up afterwards.’ said Rob Moodie.

‘I can tell you that today has beautifully surprised me,’ commented Mr. Mulhall from the security sector.  ‘I came here to celebrate our national day and to enjoy myself but it has turned out to be a great networking event.  I met two people and we started talking and before long we were discussing business.”

As Ireland was celebrating 20 years in Uganda as well, it was showcasing the work Irish Aid has done in Uganda.  Bernard Wright, an Irish business man and owner of the only Geographic Information System (GIS) Company in Uganda, made a map showing geographical areas of Irish Aid support to Karamoja region, which has been the area of focus for the Irish Aid programme over the last ten years. This was especially a great opportunity for him to showcase his work. 

‘It was great to see the Geo Gecko map stimulate a number of discussions at the celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day. People could visualize and really appreciate the work of Irish Aid in Karamoja. The high number of follow-up inquiries was also a great result for us!’  Bernard said.