Civil Engineers under their umbrella body, Uganda National Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (UNABCEC) have said limited access to loans and insurance is the biggest challenge to their work.
This has been revealed by the organisation’s Executive Director, Daniel Lokong at a meeting for SME companies in the construction sector.
Making a presentation on local contracting in a changing economic environment in Uganda, some of the challenges raised by Lokong included difficulty in accessing loans especially contract loans; insurance of machinery and equipment, specifically delays in receiving compensation for damaged property. This, in turn, causes losses to their businesses, he said.
“The capacity of local firms to implement projects and access project financing is very key in achieving the medium term income status of Ugandans. Local Content realization can effectively be delivered if all engineers in their variant capacities commit their energies and patriotism,” Lokong noted.
The meeting was aimed at understanding the challenges and needs of companies in the sector, in respect to the Top 100 survey.
The Top 100 survey is an initiative of KPMG and the Nation Media Group represented by Daily Monitor in Uganda; it has been conducted since 2009 in Uganda as well as in Kenya and Tanzania.
The purpose of the Top 100 Survey is to identify Uganda’s fastest growing medium sized companies in order to showcase business excellence and highlight some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurship stories.
An open discussion was held, where SMEs shared their challenges which were addressed by the relevant partners in attendance. The challenges that are not addressed at the meeting are shared with the relevant organizations.
Vodafone Uganda, one of the Top 100 partners, was represented by Abdunasil Wavamuno, SME Direct Sales Executive. Other partners represented at the forum were DFCU Bank, Uganda Investment Authority, and ICEA.
