AICL asked Ugandan investors Nigeria to use Abuja as an entry point and to attend ABIE 2027, as officials from both countries pushed AfCFTA trade links
On Friday 11 September 2026 it was reported that Group Managing Director of Abuja Investments Company Limited Ambassador Maureen Tamuno, speaking on Thursday in Kampala, Uganda, asked Ugandan investors Nigeria to treat Abuja as a gateway into the Nigerian market and to attend the Abuja Business and Investment Expo from 13 to 15 October 2027.
Ambassador Maureen Tamuno addressed the Uganda–Nigeria Business Forum and Exhibition 2026.
She said Nigeria and Uganda sit as entry points into West and East Africa and should turn diplomatic ties into business, investment and private-sector work.
Abuja Investments Company Limited is the Federal Capital Territory’s investment holding company, set up to attract capital, public-private partnerships and introductions across the capital.
She tied the pitch to infrastructure and economic work under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike.
She also pointed to Abuja Film Village International Limited, an AICL subsidiary, as a door for studios, production and training with filmmakers and overseas specialists.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Trade, General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, said both countries should move past goodwill and build trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area, using the forum theme of business linkages and market access.
Nigeria’s delegation was led by Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He said outstanding agreements should be finished and people-to-people ties strengthened.
Acting Ugandan High Commissioner Philip Odida, Acting Nigerian High Commissioner Misitura Abdulraheem and Ambassador Richard Kabonero joined business leaders in naming manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, research, creative industries, financial services and agro-processing as possible fields.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for Regional Cooperation, Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo, closed by asking agencies to chase leads and cut trade barriers.
Chief Michael Awunor of the Nigeria-Uganda Chamber of Commerce, Uganda Airlines chief executive Girma Wake and Quality Chemical Industries Limited chief executive Ajay Kumar Pal were among those present.
The forum produced an invitation and a list of sectors, not published deal values. ABIE 2027 will test whether Kampala contacts become capital on the ground in Abuja.
