Business owners have expressed optimism that business will grow in the next quarter due to election-related spending. This is contained in latest findings released by the Economic Policy Research Centre in their Uganda Business Climate Index UBCI) for the April to June quarter.Released on Wednesday, the UBCI report shows a slight improvement in business confidence across the country’s private sector with the index increasing by 3.7 points from 88.8 in the first quarter of 2025 to 92.5 now.In these surveys, which started in 2012, the centre monitors businesses involved in manufacturing, agriculture and services.Rehema Kahunde, a researcher in the macroeconomics department, says they involved 1152 businesses where owners revealed that they are likely to make more sales as Uganda readies for intense political campaigns ahead of the 2026 general election.Kahunde, who urges government to ensure a violence-free election cycle for the benefit of businesses, further says that the services sector has had the biggest improvement in the last three months with the increase in confidence arising from increased business activity, sales turnover, profitability and better selling prices.Details of the report show that the services sector recorded a modest improvement, with its BCI rising by 2.4 index points to reach 94.7 from 92.3 reported in the previous quarter. This, however, remains below the neutral threshold of 100. Ideally, scores above 100 signal an above-average business climate, while scores below 100 indicate below-average conditions.When it comes to agriculture and manufacturing, Kahunde says they both declined from 99.3 to 98.3 and from 81.6 to 79.9, respectively. The survey attributes the softer agricultural outlook to reduced business activity and sales turnover linked in part to a slump in the global coffee prices that discouraged farmers.For manufacturing, business owners still blame their misfortune on unstable power supply. In fact, in the survey, four in every ten businesses expressed concern about the negative impact of the transition of power distribution from UMEME to the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company.Further, EPRC reveals that the biggest challenge noted by businesses in the quarter was taxation and pressure from the Uganda Revenue Authority at 18.7 per cent. Other challenges listed include competition from informal businesses, which tend to sell products at a lower price.Commenting about this index, Dr Ibrahim Kasirye, the Director of Research at the policy think tank, said generally most businesses in Uganda do not operate at maximum capacity.He also notes that the effect of the upcoming elections on businesses will not be felt immediately, but this feedback will be captured in the subsequent quarters.-URNThe post Business Confidence Increases As Traders Anticipate More Due to Election Spending- EPRC appeared first on Business Focus.