Investors from inside and outside the country have been welcomed to invest in Kagera region following the various stages of implementation of projects that the region has reached including development plans and many investment opportunities available.
Kagera Region is second in terms of fish production and fishing opportunities in the country, preceded by Mwanza Region, an opportunity that benefits its residents by providing them with employment, good nutrition, income and economic development, including the construction of better housing due to fishing activities .
Speaking on December 19, 2024 at Kaitaba Stadium in Bukoba district in Kagera region when he participated in the Second Investment Festival of the region as part of the Ijuka Omuka Festival Week (Remember Home), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Hon. Dr. Doto Biteko has called on the people of the region to invest in the construction of factories to add value to fishing products, factories for making fishing tools such as nets, ropes, rescue equipment and boat machines instead of importing such equipment from abroad.
Dr. Biteko said that Kagera Region leads the nation in having 6 livestock ranches out of 15 existing ranches in the country. He named the ranches as Missenyi, Mabale, Kikulula, Mwisa II, Kitengule and Kagoma.
He said that the region, through all its councils, has set aside a total of 345,430.97 hectares for livestock grazing where the presence of these grazing and breeding areas provides a great opportunity for investment by establishing modern beef and dairy cattle breeding to attract the establishment of meat and milk processing plants, especially in areas with national ranches.
“I see that Kagera is going to grow at a very fast pace and I should use this opportunity to ask and invite investors from all over the country and abroad to come and invest in Kagera due to the opportunities that exist because the investment environment is good and the regional leadership is well prepared to receive them and serve them with standards”, he said Dr. Biteko
He added that Kagera Region is also leading in the production of bananas with an average of 2.4 million tons out of 3.6 million tons that are produced equal to 60 percent of the production of that crop in the country.
On average, the banana crop in the region earns the farmers between 240-300 billion shillings per year, thus making a significant contribution to the economy of the region and the nation as a whole.
Dr. Biteko said there is still an opportunity to invest in the technology and infrastructure of banana crop processing to increase value and produce other products derived from that crop.
“I am aware that the region has designed and established a project for large coffee plantations with a size of 10,000 acres. A project that aims to benefit about 10,000 people including young people and will be implemented for a period of three years from 2024 – 2027. To begin with, there is already a 400-acre farm in the village of Makongora in Muleba district where each young person has been allocated one acre of prepared land and given free seedlings “, said Dr. Biteko.
In addition, the goal of the project is to increase employment for young people, the income of one person and the income of the region as well as increase the income of the council through the coffee crop tax and bring money to the nation.
Head of Kagera Region, Mrs. Fatma Mwassa has said that the Ijuka Omuka Festival (Remember Home), aims to bring together the residents of Kagera and raise investment opportunities in the region.
He said that through the festival, they are promoting the Kagera Region despite the lack of efforts to do so in the past so that the people of the region from various places inside and outside the country are attracted to the opportunities available and go to invest in various sectors.
The Ijuka Omuka 2024 festival started on December 18, 2024 and is expected to end on December 21, 2024.
The festival is loaded with various events including intercession for the Kagera Region and the Nation, Investment Conference, trade fair, cultural festival, traditional clothing display, motorcycle competition and a major football match on December 21, 2024 between Clubs of Simba and Kagera Sugar at Kaitaba Stadium in the region.
