The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has developed an integrated package targeting support to SMEs involved in value addition in Mukono District.
Basil Ajer, the UIA Director of SME division says this comes at a time when most SMEs collapse before they celebrate their ‘first birthday’.
Under the package, the UIA in partnership with Mukono district local government wants to support the growth of SMEs involved in small scale manufacturing such as textile, shoe-making, bakery, soap making, agro-processing, candle-making, art and craft, paper manufacturing, grain milling, making sanitary towels, production of jelly, processing of bottled water, oil seed extraction and wine processing.
UIA has profiled about 200 SMEs in the district and according to Ajer, the Authority has partnered with other agencies like Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Uganda Insurers Association and Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority, to train the Mukono SME operators.
Under the programme, entrepreneurs who will show that their businesses are commercially viable will have their products certified.
“These are entrepreneurs who are constantly innovating, but need support to grow their businesses,” he says, adding that has already empowered some the entrepreneurs via skills training.
“The training is anchored on the needs assessment results, which point to particular challenges in the businesses that needed to be addressed,” Ajer says.
The initiative is expected to be rolled out to all regions of the country as government targets to formalize and licence all the SMEs. Government also wants to allocate the SMEs land in the industrial parks set up across the country.
A recent study shows that SMEs in Uganda face challenges such as; poor records keeping, inability to do business performance analysis, stock record management, poor branding skills, lack of knowledge o the requirements for the participation in public bids and business registration.
