Uganda’s informal sector set to ride on success of the transport union

What the report says

The Independent Uganda reports that the Union Transport Alliance (UNION) and the United Informal Sector Forum (UISF) have launched a partnership aimed at linking Uganda’s transport operators and informal traders into a larger commercial network. The launch took place on Friday at Hotel Africana in Kampala under the theme “Tuliwamu- Building Uganda’s Invisible Economy Together,” bringing together representatives from 18 informal-sector categories, union leaders and other stakeholders.

According to the report, the initiative is intended to make the informal economy more visible and better connected to markets, investment and financing. UNION officials said the arrangement could help expand distribution channels and create more opportunities for selling products, while UISF members were promised broader access to digital marketplaces and commercial partnerships. Fred Ssenoga, the chief executive of UNION, was named product adviser to UISF as part of the new arrangement.

The article says UNION has been building a wider product ecosystem that includes transport-related services and consumer offerings such as its ride-hailing app, water, oil, data bundles and online shopping platform. The partnership with UISF is presented as an extension of that model, with officials describing it as a way to support income growth, job creation and access to services for informal businesses.

The Independent also notes that Uganda’s informal sector remains a major part of the economy but often operates outside formal systems, which can limit access to finance, regulation and support services. The partnership is therefore positioned as one effort to organize and strengthen this large but undercounted segment of economic activity.