Pearl Bank has crossed the Shs 1 trillion mark in its loan book, up from Shs 749 billion recorded at the end of December 2025.
The milestone is a major boost for the bank’s 2024–2028 strategy, which aims to double market share and drive financial inclusion across Uganda.
Agriculture and agro-industrialisation accounted for about 35% of the total loan book, making them the largest contributors to the expansion.
Nearly half of the portfolio is invested in activities aligned with Uganda’s National Development Plan IV and the Tenfold growth strategy.
Other sectors benefiting include MSMEs, trade, logistics, and construction.
According to Martin Mugisha, Executive Director – Operations, the bank’s ability to scale quickly has been driven by product innovation and disciplined execution.
“We set ourselves the ambition of doubling our market share and then developed products that could help us scale quickly,” he said.
He added that partnerships with the Government of Uganda, Bank of Uganda’s Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF), Aceli Africa, aBi Finance, and AFD have been critical in reducing lending costs and sharing risk.
“The biggest constraint to private-sector credit remains the cost of borrowing. Partnerships allow us either to reduce the cost of funds or share some of the lending risk. That enables us to lend more affordably and sustainably, particularly to agriculture and SMEs where financing gaps remain significant.”
Looking ahead, the bank plans to deepen its agriculture portfolio while expanding into tourism, construction, minerals, and other long-term productive investments that support the government’s ATMS agenda.
To achieve this, Pearl Bank will need increased access to long-term capital to match the financing requirements of these sectors without creating liquidity mismatches.
“We are still on the journey towards doubling our market share. The next phase will require stronger local and international partnerships and, critically, more long-term capital,” Mugisha said.
Instead of relying heavily on brick-and-mortar branches, Pearl Bank is expanding financial inclusion through digital platforms and its agency network.
The bank expects these investments, combined with stronger partnerships and continued execution of its strategy, to drive the next phase of loan-book growth.
