STRENGTHENING TRADE INDIA & UGANDA

Quality Chemicals Limited — the joint venture between Cipla Ltd (India, 40%) and the Government of Uganda (60%) — is the only pharmaceutical manufacturer in Uganda producing WHO-prequalified antiretrovirals and antimalarials. We manufacture 17 product lines from our Kampala facility in Luzzi Industrial Area, all formulated from Indian API inputs. The Cipla India relationship gives us direct access to the highest-quality APIs at pricing that allows us to serve both the public sector PEPFAR programme (~1.4 million patients on our ARV regimens) and the private market. For Indian API manufacturers looking to enter Uganda: the NDA registration pathway is your first step, and I strongly advise engaging with the National Drug Authority early — they are professional and receptive to WHO-GMP pre-qualified products. Uganda's no-Halal requirement is a genuine simplification: no restriction on gelatin capsule type whatsoever. Our manufacturing here creates a direct pull for Indian APIs, chemicals, packaging materials, and laboratory equipment — the QCL-Cipla JV model is replicable for other Indian manufacturers willing to invest in local production rather than just export.

TotalEnergies E&P Uganda — operating the Tilenga project in Buliisa District, Lake Albert — is constructing one of East Africa's most significant hydrocarbon developments. The EACOP pipeline and our upstream processing facilities create a very significant procurement programme, and Indian industrial equipment suppliers have been increasingly competitive across multiple categories. We have specified WPIL centrifugal pumps for our crude oil transfer and water injection systems — the API 610 compliance documentation from WPIL was exemplary, among the best we have seen from any supplier globally. Kirloskar Green DG sets are our standard for camp power at all 6 well pad locations — reliability and parts availability (from Kampala's Industrial Area dealers) are critical considerations, and Kirloskar meets both. My advice to Indian industrial suppliers approaching EACOP: the UNOC domestic content requirement creates a compelling case for establishing a Uganda-registered subsidiary or JV before approaching our procurement team. Indian suppliers who do this are in a category of their own for preferential consideration. The emergency air freight capability from Mumbai to Entebbe — under 48 hours for critical spares — is a genuine competitive advantage that Indian suppliers should articulate clearly in their tender documents.

My grandfather came to Uganda from Saurashtra in 1924 to work on the Uganda Railway extension. My father built a wholesale pharmaceutical business on Kampala Road in the 1960s. When Idi Amin expelled us in 1972, we lost everything — but we returned in 1991 and rebuilt, and today Patel Medical Distributors is one of Kampala's leading pharmaceutical wholesalers, supplying 200+ pharmacies across Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara, and Gulu. We buy exclusively from Indian manufacturers — Cipla, Sun Pharma, Aurobindo, Torrent, USV. The quality is consistent, the pricing is the best available in the world for WHO-GMP, and the documentation for NDA clearance is always perfectly organised. What I tell every Indian pharmaceutical exporter who asks about Uganda: no Halal restriction, English documentation, and the Northern Corridor from Mombasa is efficient if you use a reliable freight agent. The Indian community in Kampala is your commercial infrastructure — come and meet us at Nakasero, visit Kampala Road, and you'll understand immediately why Uganda is India's most natural African market. The boda-boda drivers running Bajaj motorcycles, the construction sites using JSW steel, the hospital running Cipla medicines — this is India's quiet but profound commercial presence in the Pearl of Africa.