Kampala, Uganda

Finance, Development
& Climate Specialist

Over 25 years spanning microfinance, rural financial institutions, MSME finance, and climate adaptation finance. Practitioner, academic, and independent consultant working across Uganda and the wider East and West African region.

Colin Agabalinda

About

PhD holder in Business Administration and Sustainability. Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance (Frankfurt School). Practitioner background in credit, banking, and programme management before moving into technical advisory and academic roles. Current work bridges field-level finance practice, institutional research, and higher education.

Academic

Lecturer & Research Fellow

Makerere University Business School — Faculty of Commerce. Teaching microfinance, financial inclusion, and banking. Research Fellow, Climate Finance & Sustainability Centre.

Consulting

Independent Consultant

Technical advisory in rural finance, inclusive finance, climate adaptation finance, and MSME development. Current and recent engagements with IFAD across East Africa and MENA.

Research

Applied Researcher

Published on financial inclusion, financial literacy, cooperative governance, and rural finance. Active research on blended finance for domestic capital mobilisation in Uganda.

Teaching

PhD Lecturer

ICT University — teaching and mentoring at PhD level in research methods and academic writing.

Selected Publications

Book Chapters

The impact of financial literacy on financial preparedness for retirement in the small and medium enterprises sector in Uganda

Agabalinda, C., & Isoh, A.V.N. — In Behavioral-Based Interventions for Improving Public Policies (Chapter 12). IGI Global, 2021.

Journal Articles

Board composition and financial sustainability of financial cooperatives in Uganda

Yosa, F., Agabalinda, C., & Isoh, A.V.N.SEISENSE Business Review, 4(1), 268–285, 2024.

Investor participation on the stock market: To what extent does investor behaviour matter?

Matovu, A., Agabalinda, C., & Mpaata, E.ORSEA Journal, 2025.

Training vs. informal financial services for the promotion of financial literacy and inclusion in Uganda

Agabalinda, C., & Steel, W.F.Enterprise Development and Microfinance, 32(1–2), 107–122, 2021.

Moderating effects of social learning on usage of formal financial services in Kampala, Uganda

Agabalinda, C., & Isoh, A.V.N.Journal of Economics and International Finance, 12(3), 120–129, 2020.

The impact of financial literacy on financial preparedness for retirement in the small and medium enterprises sector in Uganda

Agabalinda, C., & Isoh, A.V.N.International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics, 9(3), 26–41, 2020.

Modelling the impact of financial services on financial wellbeing in Kampala, Uganda

Agabalinda, C., & Isoh, A.V.N. — ResearchGate Working Paper, 2019.

Effects of financial inclusion on smallholder farmers' productivity in Busoga Region of Eastern Uganda

Akanbi, A., Olayide, O., & Agabalinda, C.MDP-IFAD Research Report (PROFIRA), 2020.

Full list on Google Scholar.

Work

Consulting

Independent technical consultant with a focus on rural finance, financial inclusion, and climate adaptation finance. Recent and current engagements have been primarily with IFAD — covering East Africa and the MENA region (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia). Work spans partner financial institution assessments, market analysis, capacity-building programme design, and impact evaluation. Led an OECD-DAC-framed impact evaluation of a remittance-linked financial inclusion initiative in 2025. Earlier, supported IFAD's LACF/STAR project in Liberia, working with cooperatives, farmer organisations, and MSMEs on access-to-finance constraints.

Academia

Part-time lecturer at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) since 2021, teaching in the Faculty of Commerce — courses include Microfinance Reporting Systems, Financial Inclusion, and Commercial Banking. Also teaches research methods and academic writing at PhD level at ICT University. Research Fellow at the MUBS Climate Finance and Sustainability Centre, currently leading primary research on blended finance for domestic capital mobilisation in Uganda under the CC Facility Learning Hub.

Earlier Career

Over a decade of operational experience in financial institutions before moving into advisory and academic work. Managed IFAD-funded financial inclusion programmes at the Ministry of Finance Uganda (PROFIRA and RFSP), overseeing institutional strengthening across 750+ rural financial institutions, 310 SACCOs, and 1,000+ savings groups. Prior roles included credit officer at The Cooperative Bank, banking officer and stockbroker at Bank of Baroda, and programme officer for a UNDP SME support initiative covering 11 districts across Uganda.

Updates

Latest from my work — publications, projects, commentary.

June 2025

Impact evaluation of remittance-linked financial inclusion initiative

Completed a full independent impact evaluation applying OECD-DAC criteria for FRIENDS Consult / IFAD. Oversaw fieldwork, evidence synthesis, and final reporting.

2025

New publication: Prudential regulation and survival of financial cooperatives in Uganda

Co-authored with F. Yosa and M. Musa. Published in ORSEA Journal, 15(1). Examines how regulatory frameworks and board governance shape SACCO survival in Uganda.

2025

Ongoing research: Blended finance for domestic capital mobilisation

Leading RQ2 of a primary research project at the MUBS Climate Finance and Sustainability Centre under the CC Facility Learning Hub. Focus on constraints facing institutional investors in Uganda.

Contact

For consulting enquiries, research collaboration, or academic correspondence.