The partnership will provide technical assistance to the central bank as Uganda seeks to mobilise $28.1 billion for climate action by 2030.
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen the financial sector’s ability to identify and manage climate-related risks, as the country seeks to attract more investment for climate action.
Under the agreement, EIB Global, the bank’s international development arm, will provide technical assistance to help the central bank improve climate-risk supervision, disclosure and reporting by financial institutions. The agreement was signed at Kampala Serena Hotel on October 21, 2026.
The partnership comes as Uganda seeks to mobilise an estimated $28.1 billion to implement its climate commitments by 2030, according to the government’s climate-financing strategy.
Support to extend beyond the central bank
The technical assistance will help BoU develop a roadmap for greening the financial sector and strengthen its framework for climate-risk disclosure. It will also support implementation of Uganda’s National Green Taxonomy, launched in 2025 to define economic activities considered environmentally sustainable.
The programme is also expected to benefit selected commercial banks. Housing Finance Bank has been identified as the first Ugandan lender set to receive assistance to improve climate-risk management, reporting and lending policies for sustainable projects.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba said the financial system needed to manage emerging risks without unnecessarily limiting credit to businesses and other productive sectors.
“We must strengthen resilience without unnecessarily constraining access to finance. Our objective is a financial system that understands emerging risks, allocates capital into sustainable projects, and continues to finance productive activity,” Nuwagaba said.
He thanked the EIB, the European Union and the governments of Germany and Luxembourg for supporting Uganda’s efforts to strengthen its financial system.
Germany and Luxembourg fund programme
The agreement falls under the EIB Group’s Greening Financial Systems Technical Assistance Programme, which is financed by Germany and Luxembourg through the Greening Financial Systems Fund, in coordination with the NDC Partnership. The programme provides technical support to central banks, financial supervisors and financial institutions seeking to improve their management of climate-related risks.
Uganda joins other African countries receiving support under the initiative, including Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ethiopia. The programme also operates in countries outside Africa.
The cooperation is intended to help financial institutions account for climate-related risks when making lending and investment decisions, while improving their ability to direct capital towards environmentally sustainable activities.
However, the agreement’s announcement does not specify how much additional climate finance Uganda will secure as a direct result of the technical assistance.
