The First Lady of Uganda, Maama Janet Museveni, has lauded the strides made by tech giant Huawei Technologies in revolutionizing the nation’s education system through digital initiatives.

She made the remarks during a meeting with the management team from Huawei Technologies Uganda where the First Lady also received a comprehensive update on the advancements in Huawei’s digital education programs. Emphasizing their commitment, she commended Huawei for its exceptional dedication to fostering Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within Uganda’s educational institutions.

“I applaud Huawei’s commitment to digitalizing the education system and their exceptional efforts in promoting ICT in our educational institutions,” the first lady said, highlighting the key role technology plays in modern education.

The discussions underscored the promising potential for future collaboration between the Ugandan government and Huawei in 2024. The first lady expressed optimism about exploring further opportunities and venturing into new initiatives with Huawei, aiming to elevate the country’s educational landscape through innovative technological interventions.

Huawei Technologies has been at the forefront of technological innovation globally, and its focus on leveraging digital tools for education aligns with Uganda’s vision for a more technologically equipped and digitally inclusive educational ecosystem.

The First Lady’s acknowledgment of Huawei’s contributions reaffirms the importance of public-private partnerships in driving technological advancements in education, ultimately empowering the youth and preparing them for a rapidly evolving digital world.

Dfcu Bank has revealed that it is well positioned to deliver on its strategic objective to transform lives and businesses in Uganda.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the bank say it is in a strong financial position with its capital ratios more than 12% which is above the regulatory minimum, placing it firmly among the top five most capitalized banks.

Dfcu Bank was among the first banks to comply with the revised Bank of Uganda minimum core requirements of UGX 120bn by 31st December 2022. 

The statement came on the heels of the a ruling by a UK Court that the the Crane Bank-DFCU dispute over assets can be tried in the UK.

It had previously dismissed the Crane Bank Limited (CBL) claim on grounds that it was based on actions exercised by Bank of Uganda and therefore considered acts of the State of Uganda. The Court of Appeal has now ruled that some of the acts are commercial in nature and can be tried by a court in England.

CBL filed a claim in the English courts in December 2020 challenging the transaction in relation to the sale of some of the assets and assumption of some of the liabilities of CBL to dfcu Bank Limited (dfcu) by Bank of Uganda (not a party of the claim).

However, dfcu says, “The sale was pursuant to Bank of Uganda’s statutory powers under the Financial Institutions Act.”

dfcu filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the English courts to hear the claim (the Jurisdiction Challenge) on grounds that the actions of Bank of Uganda (BOU) were an act of the State of Uganda exercised in pursuit of the constitutional and statutory powers of BOU, in respect of which an English court should not inquire into. The English High Court agreed, and ruled that the English courts did not have authority to hear the claim. 

BELOW IS THE FULL SUMMARY OF THE CASE

Summary of the Case:  Claim No. CL-2020-000859 (“UK Claim”) by CBL and Others against dfcu Bank Limited, dfcu Limited and Others

1. CBL filed a claim in the English courts in December 2020 challenging the transaction in relation to the sale of some of the assets and assumption of some of the liabilities of CBL to dfcu Bank Limited (dfcu) by Bank of Uganda (not a party of the claim).

• The sale was pursuant to Bank of Uganda’s statutory powers under the Financial Institutions Act. 
• dfcu filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the English courts to hear the claim (the Jurisdiction Challenge) on grounds that the actions of Bank of Uganda (BOU) were an act of the State of Uganda exercised in pursuit of the constitutional and statutory powers of BOU, in respect of which an English court should not inquire into. The English High Court agreed, and ruled that the English courts did not have authority to hear the claim. 

The Appeal:- Crane Bank Limited & Others Vs dfcu Limited & Others:- Case No. CA2022-002042 -Court of Appeal of England

• The Claimants appealed to the English Court of Appeal, which appeal was heard on 3 – 5 April 2023.   

The Court of Appeal delivered judgment on 26^th July 2023. The Court held that, while dfcu Bank, dfcu Limited and others who challenged jurisdiction of the UK Courts to try this matter may be right that the English Court does not have authority to consider the claim, however as some of BOU’s acts may be of a commercial nature and/or there may be public policy reasons why the English Court should decide the claim, this issue  should not be decided at a preliminary stage through a jurisdiction challenge but should instead be determined through a trial. 

• The Court of Appeal made no decision on the underlying facts or on the merits of the claim as these issues were not before the Court.  The Appeal concerned technical legal questions raised at the preliminary stage and did not deal with the claim on its merits. The factual allegations will be for the trial judge to determine.
• Under English Law, dfcu has the right to seek permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision to the Supreme Court. dfcu reserves the right to  appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
• The outcome has no bearing on the Group’s day-to-day operations:
  • The Group is well positioned to deliver on its strategic objective to transform lives and businesses in Uganda. dfcu Bank has a strong financial position with its capital ratios more than 12% which is above the regulatory minimum, placing it firmly among the top five most capitalized banks. Dfcu Bank was among the first banks to comply with the revised Bank of Uganda minimum core requirements of UGX 120bn by 31st December 2022. 
  • The Group is profitable and at its recently concluded Annual General Meeting, paid a dividend to its shareholders. 
  • The Group has strong shareholders, who include Arise BV, Danish Investment Fund (IFU), National Social Security Fund and Kimberlite, among others. 

EUROPE-LEGAL-273679988/1   174891-0001

General – No control

• dfcu has a strong heritage in Uganda since 1964 and has been at the forefront of transforming lives and businesses in Uganda.
  • The Group has a solid management team, which continues to drive the Bank’s strategic objectives to transform lives and businesses in Uganda.
  • The Bank’s operations continue to function as normal. The Bank remains strong, well-capitalized and profitable, meeting all the needs of its customers and fulfilling its purpose of transforming lives and businesses in Uganda.

The Global Solidarity Fund’s pilot project in Addis Ababa, launched at the end of 2020, in collaboration with a consortium of women’s and men’s religious congregations, coordinated by the Archdiocese, is succeeding in getting many internally displaced persons, ‘returning’ migrants and refugees from other African countries into work. Not only because they are employed by companies collaborating in the project in the Ethiopian capital, but also because they have started their own micro-enterprises.

The inter-congregational network recently signed an agreement with two national banks, Hibret Bank and Elebat Solutions, to support them in starting up and growing their businesses.

The moment of the signing of the agreement, at the St. Michael diocesan Centre in Addis Ababa. Photo by Giovanni Culmone / Gsf

Banks involved in the Tila project, supported by government and Mastercard

Supervised by the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills, the Memorandum of Understanding foresees the implementation of an innovative financial inclusion project for migrants and vulnerable people living in Addis Ababa. The project will provide microlending services to organised groups of beneficiaries.

The two national banks are part of a consortium to implement the innovative Tila project, a three-year inclusive scheme launched in 2021 which aims to support 42,000 vulnerable people, including women in rural Ethiopia, internally displaced persons, refugees, homeless youths and people with disabilities.

The project is a joint venture between the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour & Skills and the MasterCard Foundation, implemented by five local implementers.

Don Berga: Tila provides guarantees to obtain financing

Signing the consortium’s agreement with the Elebat digital bank at the St Michael’s centre, which houses the offices of the Socio-Pastoral Commission of the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa, were the commission’s head, Fr Petros Berga, and Mulatua Teshome, chief operation officer of Elebat Management and Technology Solution, in the presence of the heads of the congregations involved in the project.

The digital bank is included in the implementation of the Tila project. As Fr Berga explained, thanks to the support of local banks such as Elebat and Hebret, Tila helps project beneficiaries “who cannot provide guarantees to a bank, for example, to obtain financing for their business” by providing these bank guarantees for them.

Bank manager: this will change the lives of many Ethiopians

“Here in Ethiopia, many, far too many people, don’t have a job,” Mulatua Teshome told us, “and programmes like the one we have initiated with this memorandum, will be able to eradicate, at least in part, this unemployment. They will change the lives of many people”.

The Elebat manager emphasised that, in addition to funding from banks like hers, vulnerable people who want to open their own micro-enterprises will receive specific training and managerial support from the inter-congregational consortium.

“This signing is an important occasion, because we are expanding our network with other entities,” commented Father Berga, “. And this is thanks to the Tila project, which acts as an intermediary between the banks and the beneficiaries”.

The Ministry of Labour & Skills aims to expand the project

At the Ministry of Labour & Skills in Addis Ababa, a large building still under construction, we met Biruktawit Belay, grants and partnerships manager at the Job Creation Commission (Jcc).

“We would like to increase the Tila project because it has created jobs for the most vulnerable communities in our society”, he told us.

It is in line with the Ministry’s commitment to provide job opportunities “for our vulnerable communities, young people, women, refugees, IDPs”, and give them the chance “to get an income to support their families, their children and feel comfortable, especially in a new country like Ethiopia”, he said. And the project of the Gsf and the inter-congregational consortium “is also in line with our strategy”.

A useful platform to serve the marginalised

The Tila project, echoed Teferi Tadesse, an official of the Job Creation Commission, “is a very important platform which has proven effective for serving marginalised groups in society”, for whom it provides mentoring and ongoing training, which is why “the government and our ministry in particular has a commitment to scale up it”.

“We have a lot of potential to do this,” he concluded, “because several partners are approaching the project, especially new financial institutions” that will enable their microcredit products.