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Ugandan manufacturers urged to embrace e-commerce

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Ugandan and other East African Community (EAC) bloc industrialists have been urged to embrace e-commerce platforms to boost their market reach and beat off competition by manufacturers from other regional blocs.

The Uganda Manufacturing Association (UMA) logo

The experts say embracing such innovations will help reduce the cost of production and enhance the sector profitability.

According to Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General, e-commerce is a vital and innovative tool for promoting industrialisation and trade across the EAC region.

Dr. Kituyi made the remarks recently during the EAC Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition in Kigali Rwanda. The three-day summit brought together more than 500 participants such as business leaders, experts and policy-makers, to discuss mechanisms to bolster regional industrialisation.

Wire Mesh manufactured in the EAC region

The UNCTAD boss said manufacturers should take advantage of the immense opportunities presented by e-commerce platforms to enter new markets, create awareness about their products and drive sales to improve profits.

He observed that the economy today is being driven by digitisation, which makes it imperative for regional manufacturers to embrace e-commerce and tap into the untapped markets. This way the sector will be able to create more jobs and foster inclusive economic growth, he added.

Matthias Wachter, the in charge of the Federation of German Industries department of security and raw materials, also urged manufacturers to use technology and e-commerce in the processes to increase production and tap new customers, adding that will help them penetrate markets and sell products at competitive prices.

Reducing cost of production

Meanwhile, the business community has called on regional governments to invest more resources in areas that will further improve the business environment for manufacturers and other players in the regional economy.

Manufacturers across the region have been complaining of high electricity and water charges, and poor infrastructure, which they say were eating into their profits and making the sector less competitive.

Lilian Awinja, the East African Business Council chief executive, said though the EAC region has been registering significant economic growth averaging 6 per cent over the past few years, the performance of the manufacturing sector is discouraging.

“The EAC manufacturing sector has been registering modest growth of 4.7 per cent and its contribution to the regional GDP has continued to shrink to less than 10 per cent,” she noted.

Buy-East Africa Build East Africa drive

The industrialists urged regional governments to prioritise EAC companies in public and private procurement, arguing that this will create necessary demand for locally-manufactured products.

It could also help support technology-based start-ups and boost the firms’ financial capacity.

Many of the participants advocated for the Buy-East Africa, Build-East Africa campaign to strengthen the local content initiative.

They said this would ensure EAC industries thrive, creating more jobs as well as help increase households incomes and reduce poverty.

 

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