Uganda CBDC Tracker

Uganda is currently in the research phase. Andrew Kawere, the Bank of Uganda’s director for national payments, told Reuters, “Bank of Uganda is currently doing preliminary studies on whether or not a central bank digital currency should be considered ... and especially explore what policy objectives it would address.”

CBDC History and Development

In May 2022, Bank of Uganda director Andrew Kawere told Reuters, “Bank of Uganda is currently doing preliminary studies on whether or not a central bank digital currency should be considered ... and especially explore what policy objectives it would address.” At the time, Kawere said the central bank had no timeline in mind. However, he flagged that he was particularly concerned about Uganda’s low mobile phone adoption—worrying that it was too soon to digitize the money.

Later in October 2022, Bank of Uganda deputy governor Michael Atingi-Ego said, “We are now looking and trying to understand the objectives for support of the CBDC, the design options, what is the role of the central bank, what role will financial institutions have to play, monetary policy implications; do you pay interest on it.”

CBDCs made their way into the Bank of Uganda’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy in November 2023. The report noted that a “CBDC will likely lead to further financial exclusion for those who do not have access to the infrastructure needed to adopt the currency.” Specifically, the report shared concerns that Uganda’s low mobile phone adoption, poor infrastructure, and low digital literacy could result in the CBDC having a harmful effect.

In September 2024, the Bank of Uganda released a consultation report, a frequently asked questions page, and a 54-question survey. Beginning with the consultation report, the Bank of Uganda provided a crash course on how the Ugandan payments system works. The central bank then argued that a CBDC is needed to “promote access to public money in a digital world, increase in financial inclusion, [improve] cross-border payments, [increase] payment’s diversity and efficiency, [preserve] financial stability, support … monetary policy process, [reduce] financial crime[, and reduce] currency printing and distribution costs.”

As for the survey, the questions appeared to fall into three groups. The first group gauged the public’s understanding of CBDCs. The second group then explored the public’s view of CBDCs. This group included questions asking if respondents would use a CBDC and whether they think creating one would help or hurt the economy. Finally, the third group included questions that asked respondents what they would ultimately like to see in a CBDC if were to be issued in Uganda.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Uganda earned a 35 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. As Freedom House noted in the report, surveillance and corruption are major issues for Uganda. The issuance or adoption of a CBDC in Uganda could worsen these issues.

Freedom House reported that there have been concerns that “Ugandan intelligence officials used spyware to monitor journalists, political opposition, and foreign diplomats.” Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used to greatly expand surveillance by putting financial records on government databases by default. Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used to greatly expand surveillance by putting financial records on government databases by default.

According to Freedom House, “corruption remains a significant problem.” Freedom House further reported that “the country loses an estimated $5.5 billion annually to corruption in key government agencies, and $161.7 million in fraudulent procurement deals.” The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.