Uganda prepares to issue its first sovereign green bond

Uganda is preparing to enter the sovereign green bond market, with its Finance Ministry and central bank developing a framework for the planned first issuance.

The Sovereign Sustainable Finance Framework received technical validation at a workshop held at Serena Hotel Kigo. Government officials, regulators, financial institutions and civil society representatives took part in the meeting, supported by the Global Green Growth Institute.

The framework will set out which investments qualify for sustainable finance and thematic bond markets. It will also establish how projects are selected and assessed, and how money raised through the bonds is managed, tracked and reported. The proposed rules align with the International Capital Market Association’s voluntary Green Bond Principles, which promote transparency in the use of bond proceeds.

Wilbrod Owor, executive director of the Uganda Bankers’ Association, said banks were interested in financing green investments but needed practical tools and structures to participate effectively. “Capital is not just money. It is skills, knowledge, practice and information and it looks for cash flow, markets and the supporting infrastructure,” he said.

The framework builds on Uganda’s National Green Taxonomy, its National Climate Finance Strategy for 2025-2030 and central bank guidelines on climate-related financial risk management. Participants included commercial banks, development finance institutions, pension funds, insurers, capital market intermediaries, regulators, government ministries and civil society organizations.

A sovereign green bond is government debt whose proceeds support eligible environmental or climate-related projects. Uganda expects the planned issuance to create another financing route for environmental sustainability while widening its participation in sustainable capital markets.

“

Capital is not just money. It is skills, knowledge, practice and information and it looks for cash flow, markets and the supporting infrastructure.