Business 4 November 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)

How Shs115b Afreximbank Facility is Powering Uganda’s DOTT Services Across Africa

A new $28 million facility from Afreximbank is helping Ugandan construction giant DOTT Services bridge a critical financing gap to compete for mega-infrastructure projects across East and Central Africa. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/how-shs115b-afreximbank-facility-is-helping-ugandan-construction-giant-go-continental-5658220

For years, Uganda’s top engineering firms have watched major regional infrastructure contracts go to foreign multinationals from China, Turkey, and Europe. This disparity rarely stemmed from a lack of qualified local engineers, but rather from the formidable balance sheets and specialized financing required to convince governments of their execution capacity at scale.

To bridge this structural gap, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has activated a $28 million (about Shs114.8 billion) dual-tranche facility for DOTT Services Limited. Provided under Afreximbank’s EPC Contract Promotion Initiative, the funds are already being disbursed to back a regional pipeline of projects valued at more than $550 million across Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Unlike standard business grants or single-project loans, this financial injection acts as crucial working capital. It enables DOTT to mobilize heavy machinery, import key construction materials, pay sub-contractors, and absorb inevitable payment delays when managing large cross-border projects. Traditional commercial banks have historically avoided these complex cross-border risks, leaving indigenous firms locked out of multi-million-dollar infrastructure tenders.

Mr. Humphrey Nwugo, Director of Regional Operations at Afreximbank’s Eastern Africa office, noted that the initiative aims to build strong African EPC champions capable of driving industrialisation. By empowering local firms, the continent retains greater economic value, specialized expertise, and employment opportunities instead of seeing profits flow back to foreign capital markets.

Operating for over 28 years, DOTT maintains an active presence across multiple African nations and employs thousands of workers. Industry experts believe that a successful deployment of this credit line could set a precedent for other indigenous contractors, signaling to international lenders that East African firms possess the maturity to deliver turnkey projects at a continental scale.