ROME, ITALY — Ugandan businessman Casbart Tukundane has been invited to participate in the inaugural Uganda–Italy Business and Investment Forum in Rome, where the government is seeking to attract foreign investment, strengthen industrial development and create new opportunities for local enterprises.
Tukundane, associated with Delcom Construction Limited, is among the private-sector figures invited to engage with potential business partners during the two-day forum taking place on October 13–14, 2026, at the Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The meeting is being held under the theme “Unlocking Shared Prosperity.”
The forum provides a platform for Ugandan businesses to explore partnerships with Italian companies in construction, manufacturing, agro-processing, energy, pharmaceuticals and other sectors. For Tukundane, the engagement presents an opportunity to explore business relationships that could support the growth of local enterprises and Uganda’s wider economic development.
Delcom Construction Limited operates in Uganda’s construction sector, with experience in building and renovation projects. As Uganda seeks to attract investment into manufacturing and processing, construction companies could contribute by developing the factories, warehouses and other facilities needed to support industrial expansion.
Opening the forum, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja urged Italian investors to establish processing industries in Uganda instead of mainly buying and exporting the country’s raw agricultural products. She said greater local processing would allow Uganda to retain more value from its produce while expanding employment and business opportunities.
“We want our people from Italy to take coffee made in Uganda, not grown in Uganda,” Nabbanja said, calling for increased investment in coffee processing, packaging and branding. She also challenged participants to measure the forum’s success through signed agreements, companies established in Uganda and jobs created, rather than speeches alone.
Nabbanja further called for stronger investment partnerships between Uganda and Italy, including support from Italian financial institutions and greater consideration of Uganda under Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa. The forum is also focusing on energy, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and agro-industrialisation, with business-to-business and business-to-government engagements intended to identify potential projects.
The emphasis on agricultural value addition also reflects the work of existing Ugandan businesses such as Rwahi Investment Company Ltd. According to its company profile, Rwahi operates agro-processing plants in Busia and Arua, where it mills grains, processes and repackages cereals, manufactures animal and poultry feeds, and provides services such as drying and pre-cleaning produce for farmers. Its operations illustrate the type of local value addition the forum seeks to encourage, although its participation in the Rome meeting has not been confirmed.
As the forum continues through October 14, attention will turn to the business opportunities and partnerships that emerge from the discussions. For Tukundane and other Ugandan entrepreneurs, the meeting offers a platform to explore connections with international investors, while the government seeks to translate Uganda–Italy relations into industrial growth, stronger local businesses and employment opportunities.
