The Vision Group of Companies, commonly known as the Vision Group, is a multimedia conglomerate in Uganda. It publishes the New Vision (newspaper), an English-language daily newspaper that appears in print form and online, as well as other newspapers and magazines in a variety of Ugandan languages.[3]
History
The group was established in 1986, with the flagship publication, the New Vision newspaper. The company's first managing director was William Pike, who started the year the group launched.[4]
In 2007, a board member of the New Vision Group was allegedly poisoned.[5]
The group launched its global mobile application (E-Paper) in 2015 but disabled it in 2019 to work on upgrading it.[7] In March 2016, the groups signed a partnership with Wakaliwood Uganda to promote the Ugandan film industry.[8] In 2017, the group's accountant was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling 262 million shillings from the group from 2008 to 2013.[9]
Don Wanyama, CEO Vision Group.
In May 2020, in the outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda, the New Vision Group sent dozens of employees on forced leave without pay, twelve days after it had announced major salary cuts.[10] Following this announcement, the group's accountant was found dead in her house.[11]
Overview
The group's holding company is The New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Limited (also referred to as the Vision Group). The Group owns other newspapers, radio stations and two television stations, as of January 2010.[12][13] The stock of the holding company is traded on the Uganda Securities Exchange, under the symbol NVL.[14]
The address of the Group's headquarters is 19-21 First Street, in the industrial area of Kampala.[3][15]
Subsidiary companies
The subsidiary companies of the Vision Group include:[16]
Radio Rupiny FM 95.7: Based in Gulu. Broadcasts in Luo
Radio Etop FM 99.4: Based in Soroti. Broadcasts in Ateso[19]
Arua One FM 88.7: Acquired in Arua during 2012. Broadcasts in Lugbara, Swahili and English.
Urban Television: Launched in October 2009. Transmits in English
Bukedde Television (BTV): Launched in October 2009. Transmits in Luganda
West Television (West TV): Operating in the Western parts of Uganda alongside Radio West. transmits in Runyankole/Rukiga, Runyoro/Rutoro and English.[16]
Ownership
The Vision Group is owned by the Ugandan government and by institutional and individual investors. The shares of the Group are traded on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), under he symbol: NVL. The table below summarizes the ownership structure of the Vision Group, as of 30 June 2016.[14]
