Pearl Bank's loan book has crossed the Shs1 trillion mark, signalling a significant expansion in the bank's financing of businesses, households and productive sectors of Uganda's economy.
The milestone, announced on September 1, represents a substantial increase from the Shs749 billion loan portfolio recorded at the end of December 2025, reflecting the bank's continued push to grow its market share and expand access to credit.
Agriculture and agro-industrialisation have emerged as the biggest contributors to the growth, accounting for about 35% of the bank's loan book.
Pearl Bank said nearly half of its lending portfolio is now invested in activities aligned with Uganda's priority growth sectors under the National Development Plan IV and the government's Tenfold growth strategy.
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"We set ourselves the ambition of doubling our market share and then developed products that could help us scale quickly. Agriculture and agro-industrialisation have been particularly important, supported by disciplined execution across the Bank," said Martin Mugisha, Executive Director - Operations at Pearl Bank.
The bank has increased financing across the agricultural value chain, including production, processing and related enterprises, while also expanding lending to micro, small and medium enterprises, trade, logistics, construction and other sectors that support economic activity.
Partnerships key to affordable credit
Pearl Bank attributed part of the growth to partnerships with government and development finance institutions that have helped reduce the cost of funding or share lending risks.
Among the partners are the Government of Uganda, Bank of Uganda's Agricultural Credit Facility, Aceli Africa, aBi Finance and the Agence Française de Développement, among others.
Mugisha said such partnerships are increasingly important at a time when the cost of borrowing remains one of the biggest constraints to private-sector investment.
"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," he said.
"That enables us to lend more affordably and sustainably, particularly to agriculture and SMEs where financing gaps remain significant."
The bank's strategy is particularly significant for sectors such as agriculture and small businesses, where access to affordable and appropriately structured finance has remained a challenge for many enterprises.
By combining its own lending capacity with concessional funding and risk-sharing mechanisms, Pearl Bank said it can extend financing to businesses that may otherwise struggle to access conventional commercial credit.
Beyond agriculture
While agriculture and agro-industrialisation remain at the centre of the bank's expansion, Pearl Bank said the next phase of growth will involve deeper financing of other productive sectors.
The bank plans to increase its presence in tourism, construction, minerals and other long-term investments supporting the government's Agriculture, Tourism, Minerals and Science and Technology (ATMS) agenda.
However, Mugisha said financing such sectors will require greater access to long-term capital.
"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," he said.
He added that longer-term funding would allow the bank to finance investments whose returns are realised over extended periods without creating liquidity mismatches.
"That will allow us to finance longer-term investments without creating liquidity mismatches while keeping onward lending affordable," Mugisha said.
Digital expansion to widen financial inclusion
The Shs1 trillion milestone also comes as Pearl Bank seeks to expand financial inclusion without relying primarily on opening more physical branches.
The bank is investing in digital platforms and its agency network to bring financial services closer to customers, particularly those outside traditional banking centres.
Pearl Bank currently operates 59 branches across Uganda and has more than 8,000 agents. Its physical network is complemented by the Pearl Bank App, Pearl Online and smart ATMs.
The approach is intended to lower the barriers to accessing financial services while allowing the bank to serve a wider customer base at a time when digital financial services are becoming increasingly important to Uganda's financial sector.
The bank said the investments, combined with stronger partnerships and continued execution of its 2024-2028 strategy, are expected to support further growth in its loan book.
The Shs1 trillion milestone is also aligned with Pearl Bank's broader strategic objectives of driving sustainable financial inclusion and stimulating entrepreneurship and enterprise.
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For a bank whose roots stretch back more than two decades, the latest growth marks another phase in its evolution from a savings-focused institution into a fully-fledged commercial bank financing increasingly larger portions of Uganda's productive economy.
Pearl Bank began its journey as the Post Office Savings Department in 1926 before evolving into PostBank Uganda Limited in 1998. It is wholly owned by the Government of Uganda.
The bank says its current strategy is anchored on its purpose of fostering prosperity for Ugandans, with a focus on expanding access to finance while supporting businesses and sectors capable of generating economic activity and employment.
As the bank targets a further increase in market share, its ability to mobilise longer-term capital and maintain partnerships with government and development finance institutions could determine how far it can extend lending to capital-intensive sectors while keeping credit affordable.
For Pearl Bank, the Shs1 trillion loan book is therefore not simply a balance-sheet milestone but an indication of an increasingly ambitious role in financing Uganda's next phase of economic growth.
