





Chief Guest Dr. Mary Teopista (Center), Amb. Francis Butagira, Registrar General Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho and URSB board members pose for a photo at the URSB ISO Certification External Stakeholders celebration
Hon. Nobert Mao congratulates the Registrar General, Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho, and Board member, Ms. Lydia A. Sekkabira on the ISO 9001:2015 certification milestone
Mr. Hamidu Tumuhimbise, a senior Registration Officer, attends to a client during the UEB claimants exercise at the Uganda Business Facilitation Center, Kololo
A delegation from PACRA led by the Deputy Registrar Mr. Chewe Peter Chilufya (Center) visited URSB for a 3 days benchmarking visit on the Intellectual Property Registry on how systems operate, the digital improvements implemented and how these reforms contribute to reduced turnaround time
A delegation from UNOC visits URSB to benchmark on the Digital Transformation Journey.
Director General WIPO Mr. Daren Tang, Minister of Justice Hon. Nobert Mao, The Registrar General Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho, URSB Board members a delegation from WIPO pause for a photo at the Uganda Business Facilitation Center during the DG’s mission to Uganda

Justice Minister Mao highlights URSB’s role in attracting foreign investment
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Norbert Mao, emphasised Uganda’s improving business environment during a recent Business and Innovation Forum for commercial attachés in Uganda, focusing on the Uganda Registration Services Bureau’s (URSB) one-stop centre as a key initiative to attract foreign direct investment.
The Forum, which hosted distinguished foreign diplomats, ministers, URSB board members, and government representatives, aimed to showcase URSB reforms and innovations, engage with the diplomatic community, and promote Uganda as an investment destination.
“Many good things happening in our country are not being talked about,” Hon. Mao observed, noting that Uganda now offers some of East Africa’s easiest business registration processes. The one-stop centre integrates immigration, work permits, business registration, and tax services—directly addressing frustrations previously faced by foreign investors.
Hon. Mao expressed concern about Uganda’s economic strategy, which he described as too dependent on borrowing. “Eventually as a borrower, you end up belonging to the lender,” he cautioned, advocating for increased foreign direct investment as an alternative funding source.
The Minister highlighted Uganda’s recent removal from the international financial “grey list,” improving the country’s borrowing conditions and investor confidence. He also acknowledged ongoing diplomatic challenges with the EU and US regarding human rights issues.
“URSB remains the number one performing agency in Uganda,” Hon. Mao stated, praising the organisation’s achievements in intellectual property registration, including 2,700 trademarks and 100 copyrights processed.
The Minister concluded by expressing his commitment to innovation support, including recently launched innovation hubs and potential partnerships to reduce transportation costs through increased manufacturing investment.