Martin Mugisha
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Pearl Bank has perfected the art of extending business loans to companies, helping them access the extra money they need to grow, buy equipment, or survive slow periods.
The bank recently announced that its loan book has crossed the Shs 1 trillion mark, a major milestone in the Bank’s transformation and its growing role in financing Ugandan businesses, households and productive sectors of the economy.
Martin Mugisha, Pearl Bank’s Executive Director for Operations said that this milestone represents significant growth from the Shs 749 billion loan portfolio reported at the end of December 2025, as the Bank continues to expand its market share and financing of productive sectors of the economy.
“Agriculture and agro-industrialisation have been the largest contributors to the growth, accounting for about 35% of Pearl Bank’s loan book,” said Mugisha, adding that nearly half of the portfolio is invested in activities aligned with Uganda’s priority growth sectors under the National Development Plan IV and the Tenfold growth strategy.
“We set ourselves the ambition of doubling our market share and then developed products that could help us scale quickly. Agriculture and agro-industrialisation have been particularly important, supported by disciplined execution across the Bank,” said Mugisha.
Pearl Bank has henceforth expanded financing across agricultural production, processing and related value chains, while also increasing its presence in MSMEs, trade, logistics, construction and other sectors that support economic activity.
A major driver has been Pearl Bank’s ability to work with partners that provide affordable funding or help reduce lending risk. These include the Government of Uganda, Bank of Uganda’s Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF), Aceli Africa, aBi Finance, AFD and other development finance partners.
Mugisha further noted that the biggest constraint to private-sector credit remains the cost of borrowing. Partnerships allow us either to reduce the cost of funds or share some of the lending risk. “That enables us to lend more affordably and sustainably, particularly to agriculture and SMEs where financing gaps remain significant.”
The Shs1 trillion milestone is aligned with Pearl Bank’s 2024–2028 strategy and its high-impact goals of sustainable financial inclusion and stimulating entrepreneurship and enterprise.
Pearl Bank also intend to deepen its presence in agriculture while expanding financing into tourism, construction, minerals and other long-term productive investments that back the government’s ATMS agenda.
Achieving this will require increased access to long-term capital to match the financing requirements of these sectors.
“We are still on the journey towards doubling our market share. The next phase will require stronger local and international partnerships and, critically, more long-term capital. That will allow us to finance longer-term investments without creating liquidity mismatches while keeping onward lending affordable,” Mugisha said.
Pearl Bank is also expanding financial inclusion through its digital platforms and agency network rather than relying primarily on additional brick-and-mortar branches.
The Bank expects these investments, together with stronger partnerships and continued execution of its strategy, to underpin the next phase of loan-book growth.
The Bank’s journey started in 1998, after having operated as a Post Office Savings Department from 1926 then evolved to PostBank Uganda Limited, a government-owned institution dedicated to expanding access to affordable savings and credit services.
In 2023, the bank embarked on a 5-year strategic plan that is aligned with its tagline Grow. Prosper, an abridged version of its purpose of Fostering Prosperity for Ugandans, which is implemented through its high-impact goals: To drive sustainable financial inclusion and To stimulate entrepreneurship and services.
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