Kampala — UNITED Bank of Africa (UBA), one of the largest banks in West Africa, has invested $12m (about sh22.8b) in Uganda, Manz Denga, the managing director, has said.

Denga said UBA would soon expand to Kenya, Burundi and Mozambique.

He said UBA was an African bank and not Nigerian.

Denga said during a dinner with the bank's senior managers and directors that the bank boasts of a 17% lending interest rate, which is low, especially for a starting bank in Uganda.

"We remain agile and focused to do business differently by banking the unbanked seamlessly with a mindset of retail bank value proposition," he said.

Denga said 97% of Ugandans were given an opportunity to work in the bank.

He said the bank was well received, adding that before coming to Uganda, he was told the fraud rate was high but since they started, they hadn't experienced it yet, a situation that reaffirms his belief in Uganda and Ugandans.

UBA has five branches in the country in Kampala on Jinja Road, William Street, Kansanga and Ndeeba and in Jinja. The Mbale branch is to open in two weeks.