Over two thirds of the youths in Uganda aged between 18 and 34 survive on less than US$800 per year as a result of investing in unproductive business ventures, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Youth Survey Report indicates.
The report indicates that despite government’s intervention to eradicate unemployment in the country, the youth still face the same challenges because government schemes operate on a small scale thereby limiting positive impacts towards addressing the problem.
Further, according to report, 21.6 per cent youth display a woeful lack of knowledge about government and other schemes that would help them in their entrepreneurial ambitions.
‘Uganda’s young people are under educated and ill equipped to manage commercial enterprises beyond the one person startup phase, therefore as a result they end up failing of earning less than $ 800,’ states part of the report.
In 2014 government released Shs 265 billion under the Youth Livelihood Fund but most of the money was misappropriated, with the youth investing in wrong business ventures. In an audit of the program’s performance by 2018 only 16 billion has been recovered and only 30 districts have recovered more than 80 per cent of the money disbursed.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour Pius Bigirimana has said that the Youth Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Fund was established in conjunction with the Centenary Bank though which a budget of Shs25 billion will be disbursed.
“From Shs 100,000 to Shs 5 million or 20 per cent injected equity for youth group investments, funds have been accessed to support, start and expand their business enterprises,” Mr. Bigirimana said in an interview with Eagle Online, adding however, that government is working hard to fix unemployment issues among the youth.
According to Mr. Bigirimana, easing unemployment is one of the reasons why Uganda signed a labour export Memorandum of Understanding with countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia.
And contacted, the Youth Female MP Anne Adeke Ebaju said much more is needed to engage upcountry youth to benefit from new business initiatives.
She also implored government to tighten immigration controls at its borders to stop the trafficking of girls to Arabic countries, saying most of them are sexually molested by their employers basing on the fact that some labour companies confiscate their travel documents.
