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Policy & RegulationSubscribers

Who regulates Uganda's big SACCOs? Inside the standoff over Bank of Uganda licensing

By Kaza Research Desk

2 March 2026 · 4 min read

The Bank of Uganda building in Kampala
The central bank wants SACCOs above set savings and capital thresholds to be licensed under the MDI Act. · Photo: B722N / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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When the Bank of Uganda announced in June 2025 that it would begin licensing "large" SACCOs, the threshold looked straightforward: societies with voluntary savings above Shs1.5b and institutional capital of at least Shs500m would come under its direct supervision. By the end of February 2026, the policy was in limbo. The central bank had extended the compliance deadline by six months, to 30 September 2026, after only a handful of eligible SACCOs had applied and the cooperative movement's leadership had taken its objections all the way to State House.

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Sources & references

  1. Why BoU Postponed SACCO License Enforcement — Plus News, 2026-02-26
  2. Museveni halts central bank directive on Sacco licensing — Daily Monitor, 2026-02-02

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