Groundbreaking for the Italy-Uganda Coffee Training Center. Photo @MAAIF_Uganda.
Uganda and Italy have strengthened their bilateral partnership to establish a coffee training centre at Kyambogo University, in a move aimed at promoting value addition, developing professional skills and increasing Uganda’s competitiveness in the international coffee market.
The Uganda-Italy Coffee Training Centre is expected to equip young people and other players in the coffee industry with practical skills in coffee processing, quality assessment, roasting, grading and preparation.
The project gained momentum on November 6, 2026, when Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Italy’s Director-General for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Stefano Gatti, presided over its groundbreaking ceremony at Kyambogo University.
Speaking at the event, Nabbanja, who represented President Yoweri Museveni, said the partnership marked an important step towards transforming Uganda from a predominantly coffee-producing country into one that also processes and markets finished coffee products.
She noted that although Uganda had registered record coffee exports of 8.4 million bags, valued at approximately $2.4 billion (Shs9.7 trillion), more than 98 per cent of its coffee was exported as green beans, meaning the country continued to lose significant economic opportunities associated with processing and value addition.
“While we grow coffee, we do not capture its full value. Much of that value is captured elsewhere,” Nabbanja said.
She explained that the centre would help address this challenge by developing a skilled workforce capable of participating in different stages of the coffee value chain, including quality control, roasting, barista services and coffee entrepreneurship.
The facility will comprise a training centre, a quality laboratory, a roastery, a coffee shop and a coffee bar. It is also expected to serve the wider East African region, whose population is estimated at approximately 360 million people.
Nabbanja emphasised the importance of the initiative in addressing youth unemployment, noting that about 70 per cent of Uganda’s population is below 35 years. She added that coffee supports more than three million smallholder farming households, making investment in the sector essential for livelihoods and economic development.
On its part, Italy reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Uganda through technology transfer, investment and professional training. Ambassador Gatti said Italy was ready to share its experience in developing a globally recognised coffee culture and industry.
He cited a similar coffee training facility established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where all the young people who completed the training programme reportedly secured employment.
Gatti said the Ugandan project was expected to be completed within eight months and would operate under Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa and the Advancing Climate Resilience and Transformation in African Coffee (ACT Coffee) programme, with alignment to the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative.
The partnership is also supported by broader development cooperation between the two countries. On November 8, 2026, Uganda and Italy signed a development cooperation framework agreement that could unlock €120 million, equivalent to approximately Shs500 billion, in concessional financing.
The agreement, signed by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi and Italy’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary-General Riccardo Guariglia at State House, Entebbe, covers Uganda’s coffee sector and green city initiatives in Kampala and Hoima.
The financing is expected to support increased coffee productivity, local processing, improved quality and access to international markets, alongside urban waste management and modern food markets.
The collaboration follows earlier discussions between President Museveni and Italy’s Ambassador to Uganda, Mauro Massoni, in August 2026, during which the two countries explored cooperation in coffee development, investment, trade and skills development.
Kyambogo University Vice-Chancellor Professor Elly Katunguka welcomed the initiative, describing it as a significant milestone that would strengthen research, innovation and entrepreneurship while positioning Uganda as a regional centre of excellence in coffee training.
The partnership is expected to create new opportunities for employment, investment and technology transfer while helping Uganda retain more economic value from its coffee industry.
